Tag: zero-waste

Here’s how to cut down on waste in every room of your house

On By Abbey DufoeIn Environmental, Pollution, Recycle2 Comments

I’m back writing about cutting down our collective waste again! I’ll probably never stop because it’s easy to switch out some of the large sources of plastic in your home, and plastic ends up in the ocean where fish mistake it for food, and, I mean, plastic is EVERYWHERE.

So here’s my definitive guide on reducing, reusing, and recycling your way through your plastic and other waste needs in your home, just in time for Earth Day.

I use almost all of the products I mention here, daily! 

Kitchen

stasherbag_hero
Stasher bags

Easy swaps:

  • Switch from plastic wrap to Beeswrap or another beeswax-based wrap. Or just stop using plastic wrap altogether! If you have to use it specifically for baking, try to reuse it where you can!
  • Use silicone baking sheets in place of aluminum foil where you can. I’ve cooked everything on these, and they cook (and wash in the dishwasher!) like a dream. If you have to use aluminum foil, try to wash lightly with soap and reuse.
  • Ditch plastic storage bags and switch to silicone Stasher bags — the best replacements you can get for plastic sandwich/snack bags. For dry food, I love Nordic by Nature bags (but search for your favorites online).
  • Bring your own grocery bags and produce bags to the store with you. And try not to forget them in the car!
  • Buy recycled (or reusable) coffee filters. I know you drink coffee every day, so this is a way to cut down on your waste. Oh, and if you haven’t kicked the K-cup habit already (or gotten reusable K-Cups), you should — the amount of K-Cups that have been trashed in landfills could wrap around the planet 10 times.
  • Swap out your regular paper towels for bamboo paper towels, or switch to “un-paper” towels (here’s how to make them). You could also try European dish cloths — wash them in the dishwasher to disinfect!
  • Opt for cloth napkins over paper ones. The forests will thank you!

If you want a challenge:

  • Be more mindful of what kinds of food you’re buying at the grocery store, in terms of packaging. Maybe you love soda — ditch the plastic bottles for aluminum cans, which are easier to recycle. You may love buying pre-cut veggies, but think about how much plastic you’d save if you bought the vegetable in it’s true form and cut it yourself! Love your daily yogurt? Opt for a larger container and split it up into smaller servings at home — usually, the more convenient the item, the more packaging it has. And shop at a store with a bulk food section that lets you bring your own containers! These small changes in packaging can make a big wave.
  • Start composting! Now that you’re making more food scraps, put them to work with a counter-top composter or, if you have the space, a compost pile in your backyard

Bathroom

Easy swaps:

  • Switch to a bamboo toothbrush to create less plastic waste (they’re biodegradable — and also not plastic).
  • Make the switch to shampoo and conditioner bars. Lush has an entire line of package-free shampoo bars and solid conditioners you can use over and over again without the guilt of a giant shampoo bottle. Zero Waste Store even has a package-free dog shampoo!
  • Ditch your body wash for a bar of soap. Most soap these days comes in cardboard boxes (which can be recycled) or no packaging at all.
  • Change your toilet paper to toilet paper sourced from bamboo, or something that gets an “A” on the NRDC’s toilet paper sustainability scorecard. The forests will thank you!
shampoobars
LUSH shampoo bars

If you want a challenge:

  • Women’s razors are a huge source of plastic waste, so choose one that lasts a long time (or has less plastic) or opt for a safety razor if you really want to take the plunge. They are expensive up front, but are zero-waste, since the blades can be recycled.
  • Go reusable where you can in your makeup routine. Swap wipes for washcloths. Cotton rounds for reusable cotton rounds. Hell, they’re even making reusable Q-tips now.
  • Switch to toothpaste and mouthwash tabs to clear your kitchen counter of tubes and bottles. These new toothpaste tabs from Bite come in a glass jar that can be recycled, and these mouthwash tabs from Lush come in zero-packaging.
  • Change up your deodorant. This suggestion is tough for people because they don’t love to switch up scents or routines, but you could be saving a lot of plastic. This biodegradable deodorant from Hammond Herbs comes in a push-up tube, while Myro deodorant comes in recyclable pods that you switch out into the reusable canister every month (or week — not judging how much deodorant you use!). Some stores even sell deodorant in bars and jars.

Living Room

Easy swaps:

  • If you’re constantly opening a new lint roller for actual lint or to get rid of pet hair on you and your furniture, try a washable lint roller or self-cleaning lint-roller — you’ll save time AND money (and the Earth, but that’s a given).
  • Swiffer dusters may seem convenient, but you’re making waste every time you dust! Opt for a machine-washable duster like this one from Grove Collaborative, or just make a dust rag out of your old shirts like my mom used to do. And do the same for your actual Swiffer — use an old shirt, towel, or sock to mop up that mess, and then just wash it when you’re done and reuse it again!

If you want a challenge:

Laundry

Easy swaps:

  • Swap out your dryer sheets for wool dryer balls. No more throwing away a pile of trash with your laundry every cycle, and you can customize their scent with essential oils.
dryerball.jpg
Friendsheep dryer balls (penguin style!!)

If you want a challenge:

  • Cut out bulky plastic containers of detergent and make your own. Google a recipe that suits you, or try this one from DIY Natural.
  • Line dry your clothes as a bonus (when you can, if you can!). This saves electricity ($$$) but also cuts down on carbon emissions.

Traveling

Easy swaps:

  • Carry your own straw if you need one! FinalStraw (shameless plug, I’m an ambassador!) has a collapsable, dishwasher-safe straw that you can take anywhere, even through airport security. Use my code “ABBEYD” for 10% off your order (they have them in rainbow!).

 

  • Bring your own water bottle. Do I have to explain this one again???? Ok, phew. If you’re worried about finding water on your travels, just fill up your bottle at any restaurant with a soda machine. If you’re still worried, check out FindTap — an app and map with free water stations all over the country (growing every day!).

If you want a challenge:

  • Carry reusable bamboo utensils with you, but remove the knife — it may cause problems for you in the airport security line.
  • Bring a reusable bag with you on your travels too. Chances are you’re going to need it, and refusing a few plastic bags is great!
  • Add a jar or collapsable Tupperware container to this new bag of reusable utensils you’re now carrying around! You can use it to take leftovers from restaurants (or carry snacks!).

Overall, try and limit your plastic packaging when you’re buying anything. If buying in bulk, become more aware of things like paper towels being individually wrapped, or dishwasher detergent coming in plastic wrappers. It takes all of us making a little less waste — REDUCING — to make a huge difference. Happy Earth Day!

Start moving away from plastic in your home with these three easy switches

On By Abbey DufoeIn Environmental, Pollution, RecycleLeave a comment

This year, there’s been a global movement toward zero-waste! But we all don’t need to be completely zero-waste to make a difference.

Here are three habits you can switch TODAY that will have a huge impact tomorrow on your plastic use.

1. Swap out your shampoo, conditioner, and body wash

Take a look in your shower — is it full of plastic bottles? We don’t often think of our beauty routine as a place to make changes to our plastic consumption, but there are many, many ways to make change here.

Make the switch to shampoo and conditioner bars. Lush has an entire line of package-free shampoo bars and solid conditioners you can use over and over again without the guilt of a giant shampoo bottle that may or may not get recycled (even it you put it in your recycling bin).

Need another reason to buy from Lush? Their products are against animal testing, vegetarian, and handmade!

A quick search on Amazon also pulls up dozens of other plastic-free options (with minimal packaging) if you want to go that route and try out a couple kinds to see what’s right for your hair.

As for body wash — just switch to a bar of soap. Most soap these days comes in cardboard boxes (which can be recycled) or no packaging at all.

2. PLEASE stop drinking out of disposable water bottles

Most of the trash I pick up on cleanups is disposable water bottles. Most of the trash in our oceans is plastic. This is one simple thing you can do (with a simple solution!) that cuts down on pollution.

Quoting my own blog post from 2013:

Not only is plastic made out of oil, but most people do not recycle. If they do recycle, sometimes the facilities where they recycle don’t take the recycling to the recycling plant and instead throw it in the trash, leading the bottles into landfills and into the ocean. If the plastic is not biodegradable, which most bottles are not, the carcinogens in the plastic seep into the ground, polluting the ground water. If the bottles make their way into the ocean, they make a dead spot, ruining the delicate marine ecosystems. Also, it is almost impossible to remove the plastic from these areas in the ocean.

Sadly, we still have these issues today. But seriously — buy a reusable water bottle.

3. Cut out plastic wrap and plastic snack/sandwich bags

Another source of disposable plastic in your house is plastic wrap, plastic snack bags, and plastic sandwich bags.

One solution is to just store your snacks in Tupperware (hey, at least you’re using it over and over again, no matter what it is made of!), but if you can’t do that, I’d suggest switching over to a more reusable option.

If you have to use plastic wrap, switch to Beeswrap or another beeswax-based food cover. You can also use it to store veggies, sandwiches, and other food items in your fridge. Just wash it with cool water and you can use it over and over again.

beeswrap
Beeswrap

For plastic storage bags, Stasher really is the best bag you can buy (believe me, I’ve tried several brands. They may be expensive to stock up on at first, but you can freeze them, cook in them, wash them in the dishwasher — and they’re completely leak proof once sealed. Once you buy a set, you will never have to go back to disposables.

stasherbag_hero.png
Stasher bags

For dry food, I love Nordic by Nature bags (the prints are very interesting), but a quick search on Amazon reveals tons more of these to choose from if these aren’t your style)

nordicbynature
Nordic by Nature bags

Making a new habit takes some time, but once you switch, you’ll be wondering why you didn’t do it in the first place! And as Stasher says — it’s time to rethink plastic.