Writing this post is altogether necessary and a bit stressful. When you know better, you do better. Or something like that. (Related: ignorance is bliss.) I have had a certain level of heaviness, growing over the past few years, as it relates to consumerism, waste, and the feeling I get when I’m holding something I’m not sure how to dispose of properly but that needs to exit the house. It’s this inner dialogue: “What are the rules on this? Can I recycle this? Will this just end up in a landfill?”
Last month I watched A Plastic Ocean with Parker next to me. It was definitely one of those “let’s sit down and watch this movie together!” moments fully hoping for him to be moved by it. Planting those seeds in our younger people, one by one. Hope for the future!
After the movie, I didn’t intend for my Instagram story to become such a conversation about all things recycling, carbon footprint, and more, but it was and it was informative. My fear is that I’m sort of preaching to the choir as I imagine most of my readers are, in some way, shape, or form, like me–concerned about Mother Earth and such. There’s a whole population group that doesn’t care that will never set eyes on my blog. Oh well. This will still be a good reminder for us. Let’s do better. It’s the one earth we’ve got. This all requires a bit more work, a bit more pause. Instead of pitching things when you’re ready to discard, it means bagging it until you gather enough to have a yard sale, consign. Saving your soft plastic until you can recycle it properly (for me, that means bringing it back to the grocery store where they have a bin designated specifically for soft plastic). Worth it, though. We’ll be drowning in our own waste soon, otherwise.
Here’s my notes, taken from my IG stories that day, and some of my own. Organized, sort of, but not really.
- Buy Nothing Project and Zero Waste Movement. The first is a movement, birthed on Facebook by two Washington state women, that’s premise is to, you guessed it, buy nothing. Freecycling at its finest. Share what you have but don’t need, and find something you need but don’t have (without a trip to the store). Chances are good that there’s already one in your area. Reduce, reuse, recycle (and rethink, the founder’s would like to add). Taken from the site: Post anything you’d like to give away, lend, or share amongst neighbors. Ask for anything you’d like to receive for free or borrow. Keep it legal. Keep it civil. No buying or selling, no trades or bartering, we’re strictly a gift economy. Attempt to re-home before you pitch things. Like them on Facebook for more. Here is a book that was recommended to me many times on zero waste. Here are some instagram accounts with loads of inspiration: @zerowastehome, @zerowastenerd, @bezerowastegirl, @_wastelandrebel_, @zerowastechef, @zerowastehabesha, @trashisfortossers (side note: so inspired by these people and that this movement is gaining momentum.)
- Water bottles. This is such a simple one. Do not buy plastic water bottles. Just don’t do it. It takes 17 million barrels of oil a year to make water bottles. And they’re all single-use and are so frequently disposed of improperly. My hope is that they will be illegal soon, forcing those reliant on them to come up with an alternative. My alternative is a big glass water bottle (linking my favorite here because it is large; downside: heavy so not ideal for a hike) and water from our home Berkey. I am almost never without it when outside the home.
- Ordering online/packaging. Choose slower shipping speeds (if you have the flexibility) as it will lessen the emissions as the package will take a more convenient route. Choose less packaging (i.e. Amazon’s Frustration free packaging portal). Maybe choose one item that you will buy local instead of on Amazon or the like (say, books for instance). I fully realize the cost difference is sometimes too great and not sustainable. I recently bought Parker a mouthguard for flag football for $20 at our local sports shop and the same one was under $5 on Amazon. Sorry, but $15 is too great a difference. Reuse packaging materials. I have started turning my Beautycounter boxes inside out, revealing a totally writing-free surface for shipping. Save bubble wrap and other materials and find out where you can drop them off for reusing if you can’t use it all and/or don’t have the room to store. Our local packaging/shipping store will take these materials assuming they have life in them and reuse them so I have started bagging them in our first floor closet, and when the bag is full, I bring it to the packaging store. Here is a great post for more on this (and with other great information–I love Erin’s accessible ways to introduce less-waste into your own life and home.). Also, two Instagram accounts that are doing their part to eliminate packaging while selling really cool, sustainable goods: @thegoodfill and @thepackagefreeshop
- Skip the unnecessary things. There’s a lot of these. Add more in the comments that I’ve missed. Shaving cream. It’s just not a need. However you wash your body will be more than sufficient for shaving cream. A bar of soap, the body wash you use, even a little bit of conditioner. Think of how much we could eliminate in packaging if we let one or two things meet many needs. Say no thanks to the little ketchup packets in your to-go food that you inevitably don’t end up using, soy sauce in your Chinese food take-out, straws when out at restaurants (500 million used a day in the U.S. alone and apparently and they can’t be recycled! Though I’m not sure why.). Bring your own reusable bags to the grocery store, to the mall. I’m trying to be better at this, but recently brought my reusable Dille and Kamille bag with me to H&M and skipped the plastic. Was sure to point it out to Parker when I did so–watering them seeds guys! Ha. Say no thanks to those little toys the dentist gives out, or the goodie bags that are practically thrown at children. These toys are always made of plastic and always break. (Side note: I haven’t gone this far yet. My kids live for their dentist toy at the end of their appointment.)
- Buy in bulk. Buying in bulk means less packaging. This is not an option for those with little to no storage, but even buying a larger bottle of something is doing a small part. One bottle of castille soap which can make hand soap, and household cleansers, many times over. This can be extended to spices, toilet paper, pasta, etc.
- Swap one-use for multi-use items. There were a few mentions of safety razors. Razors alone account for so much waste–EPA estimates 2 billion are thrown away a year and they can’t be recycled. I admit, I’m a little intimidated of this one. Anyone use one? Carry your own utensils for take-out instead of plastic ones. One of my readers is a teacher and has put real silverware in her classroom instead of plastic! I loved that. Reusable straws are great. We use those linked in our own home and they could easily be brought to a coffee shop and used in place of the one they’ll give you for your iced coffee. I think half of this is just getting over the awkwardness at having to say, “I’ve got my own straw!” But when more people do this, awareness will spread, and store owners will also take sustainable options into greater consideration. Norwex! I am obsessed! Like truly. I got the basic package which includes two cloths–one envirocloth and one window cloth for $35. Whitney (who I purchased through) sent me the most mind-blowing video that she made when I bought from her where the Envirocloth with its micro-strands of silver actually picks up all bacteria from your surface with just water. Like she swabbed a surface that had raw chicken on it and the results after being wiped with only the Norwex cloth were more bacteria-free (99%) than a Clorox wipe. It was amazing. Then you rinse it, and use it again. It’s almost entirely replaced my paper towel use in my kitchen. I’ve used it in the bathroom too–the vanity, the sink. And the window cloth did such a good job on my windows. With water ONLY. Think of the waste it’s cutting down on–no cleansers, no paper towels! There are so many more Norwex items that I’ll be adding to my home as I go. According to the EPA the average American household produces 530,000 tons of hazardous waste per year. This is horrifying. Another thing mentioned multiple times was Stasher bags. I’ve now got some and they’re amazing! You can even cook in them. Definitely worth checking out. Planet Box is a family fave, as well as Lunch Bots. Stainless steel and can be used forever. No plastic! Produce bags too (I have these–now to remember to bring them every time I go to the store!).
- Going green with your period. I cringe a little with plastic tampon applicators and all the time-of-the-month waste in general. I switched to a menstrual cup (true story: my Mom bought four of them for each of her daughters because she wanted us to stop using our tampons RIGHT THIS MINUTE!) about a year ago and have eliminated so much waste just doing this (not to mention, conventional tampons are terrible for our health). At first I wasn’t a fan, but then I read message boards that suggested turning the cup inside out and it works! I’d also love to try period underwear (I have a friend who loves Dear Kate and a sister who loves Thinx. A yoga instructor actually wrote me saying that she is so confident in her period underwear that she will wear WHITE leggings during her period because the underwear works that well. BOLD.).
- Buying clothing from responsible sources (and thinking twice about the purchase). Buy less and (potentially) spend more when you do. This is a tough one for me to adopt as I really love a new shirt and not having to spend $100+ on it. I’m trying to slowly make these changes. Fast fashion is a major problem (blogging is a huge contributor to this) for so many reasons from landfills to slave labor. Have you watched this documentary yet?
- Compost! This is something I’ve gotta start doing. Our food is not breaking down in a landfill at all. There’s no oxygen! Does anyone have a great composting resource or specific recommendation for one?
- Eat less meat. We are not vegetarians in this household but we would be wise to have meat-free dinners a few times a week (I’d say we’re nearly there, but could still do better). The meat industry alone contributes to so much greenhouse gas emissions, deforestation, and energy use. According to National Geographic, it takes nearly 2,000 gallons of water to produce a single pound of beef. 2,000 gallons!
Please feel free to leave your own advice in the comments! And thank you for all the comments that contributed to this post!
I live in Philly and am able to use a local company to compost. They pick up our bucket weekly and then give us some compost in the spring each year, which we use in a community garden. It feels good to compost, especially because we wouldn’t have the space otherwise. Maybe there’s something like that in the Boston area.
There is! What indoor (if it is indoor) compost system do you use in between pickups?
We use this at home: https://www.amazon.com/Utopia-Kitchen-Premium-Stainless-Charcoal/dp/B015DRQ36E/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1527015503&sr=8-4&keywords=compost+bucket&dpID=41IJSzKeoUL&preST=_SY300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch
We keep it on the counter and it doesn’t smell! Not even in the warmer summer months! Granted, there are just two of us, so your family might have to empty it more frequently…I’ve heard of some people keeping tupperware, etc., in the freezer with their compostable items.
We don’t have a community compost company, but I am married to a crazy science teacher who has since started these worm bins: https://www.amazon.com/Factory-Composting-Moisture-Testing-Meter/dp/B00SNKL9AO/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?s=lawn-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1527015640&sr=1-1-spons&keywords=worm+bins&psc=1
He puts our compost in there and the worms eventually take care of it! They live in the corner of our garage and then we use the soil they’ve processed in our gardens. Definitely an lifestyle adjustment, but for sure cutting back on our amount of waste!
thank you!
Just want to warn that I had a compost bin like this and if we didn’t empty it every 2 days it would fill up with fruit flies (or maggots if we left it too long!) and smell horrible. Eeeh.
In Minneapolis, our compost is picked up with the garbage. For storage during the week, I have dedicated a drawer in the fridge for compost. I line it with a compostable bag and throw everything in there. Keeping the compost in the fridge or freezer helps with any smell. Also, be sure to look into what is acceptable for the compost facility in your area. We can compost so much more than I thought! Any food (meat and cheese included) and so many other things, like paper towels and popsicle sticks. I love composting and have such a hard time throwing food in the garbage when I’m not at home.
They provided us with a very simple 5 gallon bucket with a lid. We put a paper grocery bag in it that’s compostable to keep the bucket from getting really gross. It gets picked up weekly. If we have more than the bucket, we just put it in Tupperware. We leave it indoors and the smell stays in the bucket pretty well- just have to make sure it’s really sealed.
I think I’m going to give A Plastic Ocean a watch too. I’ve never heard of it, but it certainly sounds enlightening! I’ve made a habit of drinking from my own water bottle, bringing my own lunch boxes, my own grocery bags and I generally don’t eat much meat. Glad to know it’s at least helping a little.
Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog
http://charmainenyw.com
What an awesome post – my husband is doing his phD on the theology of waste so this is a big topic in our household, and we’re slowly making changes, including trying to only buy from farmer’s markets and our CSA this summer (and making the rest from local flour and rice). We’ll see how it goes! Thanks for all of these links and options and for encouraging us in this important matter. We all need to do better!
he should’ve written this post!
Cowspiracy on Netflix is a great film that informs about the environmental impact of the meat agricultural industry. It was really mind opening.
Will you update this post if you find out anything the needs to be added? Would love to know more about people’s ideas for composting. 🙂
a compost recommendation up above! i will try to do an update though 🙂
Yes! Thanks so much for this post. We need to be having larger conversations about this, and I think it’s awesome you’re using your platform to do so. My last year in college, I wrote my final paper for my environmental sociology course on ecofeminism and zero waste (Bea Johnson specifically). Zero waste is a movement that’s really altered my values and consumerism lifestyle.
Also: Menstrual cups are LIFE. Seriously, it’s completely revolutionized my period and I feel to free and green each month (dare I say I actually look forward to my menstrual cycle??).
Great post! I would love to greatly reduce our use of plastic bags for storage and lunchboxes. It is a work in progress. I did finally buy some mesh drawstring bags to use at the market for produce, so at least I am cutting back on bringing those plastic produce bags home.
https://www.amazon.com/Bekith-Pack-Premium-Reusable-Produce/dp/B07282FN24/ref=sr_1_6?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1527019491&sr=1-6&keywords=reusable+produce+bags
Also, here is a link to the MA compost bin distribution programs. Look on the list for your town. Some towns give bins to residents for free, or at cost. I picked one up from a neighboring town (my town does not have the program) for $44, which is much less than retail.
https://www.mass.gov/files/documents/2017/10/11/binprogs.pdf
I was intimidated by safety razors at first too, but now I use one almost exclusively and it’s honestly not any different. So much cheaper and less waste! Requires slightly more time for care, as you have to take it apart to make sure it dries completely. The only challenge for me is that you can’t fly with the blades, so you’d have to either buy them at your destination, which could be iffy, or just use a disposable one for traveling.
I’m also a huge fan of period underwear! Seriously a huge game changer for me. I have Thinx and like them, but I’m interested in trying another brand – maybe Modibodi or Knixwear.
And compost – SO easy! I live in a small apartment in a city and have zero outdoor space, but we collect ours in a cat litter tub and then take it to a community garden once every few weeks (with permission). We keep a little bowl on the counter for scraps throughout the day and then empty it all into the big tub. The tub smells when we open it, but it’s air tight so you can’t tell at all when it’s closed.
Definitely go for it on lots of these swaps that you’ve mentioned – so many are easier than you’d think! Another suggestion – reusable produce bags! We use drawstring bags that our sheet sets have come in. Less plastic and easy to just toss in the laundry as needed.
Hi Bridget, I love these ideas. I live in Germany where we have an institution that checks products for potentially dangerous particles. This institution found Benzophenone in the Diva menstrual cups which is suspected to cause cancer. There are lots of other cups on the market but they definitely disapprove the Diva cup. You can find the article here, however, it’s only in German. 🙂
https://utopia.de/oeko-test-tampons-menstruationstassen-67742/
If you do start composting, the best tip we ever got was the keep our counter compost bin (the one you theow stuff in daily) in the freezer! That way it won’t smell and the icky slush is just frozen things so it’s way less gross. Then it’s easy to dump in the compost bin or in your green trash can.
We are in desperate need of new sheets for our king bed. Do you have any recommendations which are earth friendly?
This is a fabulous post! I do many of the things on this list but have much more to do.
I’m glad you love your Norwex!! The company as a whole is really working towards making our environment a better place. Thy even have a recycling program for our cloths. It’s just an all around amazing company and product line. Thanks for trying it and I’m glad you love it!
Here in Boise we have composting with our trash pickup and they just launched the Orange Bag recycling program to capture some of the harder to recycle plastics. It’s obviously way better to reduce than recycle but it makes me feel better that they are making an effort, and help cover those convenience items that sometimes you just need. I also use a menstrual cup and was way happier with the transition than I originally thought.
We just started composting and I was super intimidated by the whole thing at first until I realized you don’t need to be fancy about it. We got a huge plastic tub with a lid and drilled holes all around it. Then, we started adding things and that was it!! No meat or dairy products, but other than that, almost all other food can go in. We also add our lawn debris and any paper (we shred it up so it composts faster) and we water it (hahahha) once a week-ish. It definitely works!! I would say mix it up every time you water it, just to help things to get going, but it’s so easy and I’m so happy we started doing it.
I just got a compost bin on Monday for my birthday so I am glad to hear this because I really wanted it but I am also nervous about screwing it up. In just 2 days it’s already been amazing at how much we’ve put in it. Even if I don’t use the compost (I’ll give it away for free), I am glad to not be throwing it in a garbage bag.
Amen, amen, amen. As long as you’re preaching to the choir, it might as well be inspiring, and this is.
I recently helped pass a plastic bag bylaw and our committee is looking into tackling bans on straws and water bottles.
I carry reusable straws with me and if I’m getting a cold drink, I bring my own cup. I also use mesh produce bags instead of the ridiculous and ubiquitous produce bags that will be on our earth forever.
I live in the Boston area and we use Garbage to Garden compost, a Portland, Me based company that makes weekly pickups of our leftovers and leaves compost. They provide a bucket with a tight lid and we’ve had no trouble with animals, despite abutting woods.
I wake up each day with a fresh mix of despair and hope for our world. It all feels overwhelming. Inch by inch, row by row…
Hi Bridget! LOVE this post. Here in Uruguay all recycling and environmental related issues are SO far behind and neglected that people have to take matters in their own hands in order to make a difference.
We live in a cob/ thatched House, so we dont need to use electrical heaters or condiciones; the House itself keeps worm in winter and cool in the summer. We have a solar water heater , no TV, no wifi (we have laptops and provide internet trough our phones) we compost and dont havent eat mear for 9 years now…we (i am) still triying to reduce consume of unnecesary stuff and go easy on plastic bags. Overall i think we are on the right path to a healthier, greener Life, bit still a lot to work on!
Again, sorry for all the spelling mystakes! I hace to work on my english skills!
amazing, eliana! thank you for this comment. you are doing so much more than so many americans. also, your english skills are great!
You are so sweet! I still think i kinda suck at writting but also my phone betrays me…
If you turn the cup inside out, how do you remove it since the stem would be on the inside in that case?
Excellent post – thanks for tkaing the time to go through all these resources!
I love this post! It made me really think about some ways my family and I can do better. We want to do everything we can do! But I loved how you acknowledge that there are tons of people out there who don’t even have this on the radar, we are truly lucky to even be having this conversation. In Flint, MI very near to where I live the whole city relies on plastic water bottles 100% of the time because the water is still not safe to drink. We are lucky to think of ways we can cut down on waste and not have to choose plastic bottles over our children being poisoned by lead in the water. We need to do better to take care of people, because I’d choose safe drinking water for my family over waste every single time. Not to put a damper on this awesome post but it’s what I was thinking about while reading it. It’s wild that people here in the US have to make such a choice right? So crazy.
I love this post, so many great ideas and resources; thank you!
Go for the safety razor! I too was intimidated, the nicks! The blood! The angle of the blade! But alas it was super easy. The blades and handle I got off amazon based on the subreddit recommendations but now wish I would have purchased locally. Have suggestions on where to begin with glass jars for filling from bulk bins? That’s my next green goal. Also can we talk nursing bras/post nursing boob bras. I’m ten months in (and still nursing) but flapjacks is what I feel like I’m looking at and the HM just isn’t cutting it.
i feel you. there is a natori one that nordstrom sells that is the best fitting for my post nursing flapjack breasts. here it is! it’s this one–on sale now. somehow lifts and makes them less empty tube sock-ish. 🙁 https://bit.ly/2KS5Hfg
I love this post!! I’m often disheartened by how few ‘influencers’ or bloggers talk about this. I see these over packaged ‘Fit Boxes’ etc. and totally cringe. However, I wish ‘Eat Less Meat’ were more specific and higher up on the list. It is the biggest, most impactful thing we can do as individuals. And not just meat in general, but specifically beef. https://phys.org/news/2017-12-world-beef.html
thank you for the link! rest assured the list is not in any order of importance.
I’ve been making a big effort on this front as well. I think doing one step at a time is helpful. For example, how can we make our breakfast zero waste? We bought a linen coffee filter, now buy our beans in bulk, and I make my own almond milk and almond butter. I also started getting milk delivered from a nearby dairy in reusable glass bottles.
I love that, Liz. Can you link me to your coffee filter? (And in terms of care, how do you wash it?)
I just dump the grounds in the compost and give the filter a good rinse with warm water. I pull it inside out and leave it to dry on the rack. Good luck!.
https://www.amazon.com/CoffeeSock-Reusable-Filters-Hario-v60-02/dp/B00GMM9YHK/ref=pd_sbs_79_3?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B00GMM9YHK&pd_rd_r=YCW0XCH2V9SPWQZNSTED&pd_rd_w=aPH1O&pd_rd_wg=LKvDv&psc=1&refRID=YCW0XCH2V9SPWQZNSTED
I had no idea that these compost programs existed! This is so exciting! I’m always looking for ways to be more green. We have SO MUCH food scraps and I hate that they sit in our trash. We’ve thought of doing our own compost but just haven’t had the right set up at home yet. I love this post, if for nothing else, I have discovered the compost pick up programs in dallas! Thank you!
Thanks for writing about this, Bridget. You’ve mentioned so many small practical changes that I think make a big difference, especially once more people catch on. I’ve noticed more people and organizations refusing/banning plastic straws for instance. I’ve been trying to make these same changes for a few years now. I am better at some than others. There are lots of things I haven’t used in years and don’t miss–paper towels, plastic razors (try the safety razor. It’s not scary, I promise!), etc. Do what you can and connect with others for ideas/encouragement!
This is so so good. ❤️ Thank you for taking the time and making the space to compile this in a blog post! Pinning it for safe keeping. xx
I love this post. Something that hit me in the face was thinking about our toothbrushes! I am very interested in switching to bamboo toothbrushes for my family. Stasher bags have been life-changing in our family along with stainless steel water bottles. We drink so much more water. I also love composting. We take out far less bags of trash, and my garden is able to thrive. Thank you for sharing your passion and raising the awareness for this need to reduce our waste.