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It's pretty easy to ditch common air fresheners' plastic casing/packaging + artificial fragrance concoctions. Going the DIY route or using straight baking soda lets you be aware of ingredients (you can easily go an all-natural route based on spices, herbs, and fruit for DIY) and allows you to avoid unnecessary single-use plastic.
As we've mentioned in the past, the kitchen is a major source of disposable single-use waste in the home. Common baking tools such as soiled aluminum foil, baking paper, and packaging from ingredients are usually all headed to the landfill after being used.
There's so much to discuss this week regarding menstrual hygiene: the inaccessibility of products for certain populations, the secrecy of ingredients in pads/tampons, the waste due to single-use disposable options, and finally the high lifetime cost.
The EPA estimates that the U.S. disposes of ~20 billion single-use diapers per year into landfills where they take up to 500 years to degrade while creating methane in the process. Disposable diapers cost families around $4,000 over a two year period.
Water filtration is a problem that is felt globally and doesn't discriminate. While this week's suggestions focus on individual-level water filtration options for you to minimize your waste in your personal life, consider donating to a water-based organization to help bring clean water to everyone
We hear over and over again the now prevalent fact that estimates say that by 2050 there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish. In cosmetics in particular, many brands will overuse plastic for marketing or to exaggerate the size of what you're actually purchasing.
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Global plastic production has been on the rise since the 1950's, replacing materials like wood, stainless steel, and glass. However, when it comes to your kitchen, you have plenty of ways to avoid relying on plastic, particularly when it comes to kitchen utensils. Learn more...
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While washing and drying machines have become more energy and water efficient over the years, the total amount of energy used to launder clothes keeps going up because we rely on dryers now more than ever. As part of looking at the laundry experience, let's improve our drying habits.
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The bathroom is an easy spot to let single-use disposables and unnecessary packaging into your life, but that also means it's an easy spot to make a big impact. According to Oceana, the average American throws out around 300 lbs of packaging a year; make an impact by switching up your deodorant. Learn more...
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It's become more common for restaurants (not only fast-food places, but order-at-the-counter and sit-down as well) to provide only single-use, often plastic, disposable options for eating your meal. As a consumer, you can help combat the waste by bringing your own reusable items.
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The bathroom is one of the easiest places to start cutting down on single-use packaging. Consider finding plastic-free alternatives to buying things like conditioner, especially since many countries are struggling to process recycled material with China’s recent restrictions on imported solid waste. Learn more...
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While a great first step is examining the soap you use to clean dishes, next you should consider the implement you're using. Common grocery store scrubber brushes are usually made from non-biodegradable plastic and have a short lifespan before becoming unusable. Learn more...
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In 2016, more than 480bn water bottles were produced up from 300bn back in 2004, and the numbers keep rising. Although most water bottles are produced from recyclable plastic, efforts are failing to capture and recycle these often single-use bottles. Learn more...
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Flossing is an unavoidable and essential part of dental hygiene, but that doesn’t mean you need to resort to those pesky single-use disposable picks or floss that comes in plastic containers way larger than the actual spools they contain. Learn more...
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Books are essential to both everyone’s education and enjoyment, but the concern of deforestation can make anyone pause before buying a book. The WWF estimates we’re losing ~18.7 million acres of forests every year; however, options exist that allow you to avoid purchasing virgin pulp paper books. Learn more...
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Did you know that tea bags usually have a sealant of plastic called polypropylene? In the UK alone, it’s estimated that 6 billion cups of tea are made every year, meaning that 150 tonnes of polypropylene are either headed to the landfill or contaminating unaware food waste compost piles. Learn more...
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Washing your hands is an unavoidable and necessary task (for both cleanliness + health), but we can be sustainable when thinking of both the ingredients and packaging. Ditching packaging whenever possible is ideal, and there's a lot to consider when thinking about the sourcing and usage of certain ingredients. Learn more...
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Appliances make up about 35% of your household energy usage, and due to their wattage, hair dryers are surprising energy hogs considering their small size. Depending on how often you blow dry your hair, it could be costing you anywhere from ~$30-45/year! Learn more...
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By now you’re probably aware of how wasteful the K-cup revolution has been, but there are more ways to be sustainable when making coffee than just the filtering. Don’t forget to take into consideration where the coffee came from, the energy used to boil the water (or not), and what to do with the leftover waste. Learn more...
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Like many topics before, trash bag issues center around the use of virgin plastic and plastic pollution in the environment. Since trash bags are picked up stuffed with wet garbage, they’re never separated from their contents and the plastic goes straight to the landfill or incinerator. Learn more...
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Check out any typical American bathroom and you’ll find single-use plastic containers abound, shampoo and hair products in particular. Plastic is accumulating at an alarming pace with only 9% of plastic waste being recycled and plastic packaging accounting for 40% of non-fiber plastic being made. Learn more...
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Bulk shopping may be one of the easiest ways to curb your yearly waste. Grocery shopping is usually at least a weekly occurrence, and by avoiding food packaging, you’ll decrease what goes out in your trash can + recycling bin each week. Learn more...
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ying into similar past topics, facial tissue (aka kleenex) contributes to your yearly paper consumption, and brands you buy in the grocery store or drugstore are often made unnecessarily using virgin tree pulp. Curb your paper consumption, particularly during this sickness season, by looking for alternatives. Learn more...
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Dog poo isn’t just unsightly and gross, but can cause dead spots on lawns and contaminates our water supply with a plethora of diseases, viruses, and parasites. While estimates range, a good guess would be that in the US, dogs produce about 10.6 million tons of poop per year! Learn more...
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The typical "to-go" or "take away" coffee cup you'll get will be single-use and non-recyclable. To keep warmth and prevent sogginess, the cup is made from virgin pulp cardboard lined with a thin layer of plastic, making it basically impossible for recycling plants to separate. In 2015, an EPA post estimated 25 billion cups are disposed annually in the US. Learn more...
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It's difficult to know what materials your toothpaste packaging is made of to know if it's accepted in your curbside pickup, and proper recycling requires cleaning and preparation. Some major brands have started recycling programs, but you can solve the problem at the source: your purchase. Learn more...
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This holiday season, our paper consumption will dramatically increase because of gift wrapping. Depending on where you live and what the wrapping paper is made out of, a lot of it will be single-use and non-recyclable.
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The impact your dish soap has varies depending on local/state laws where you live. Potential causes for concern: phosphates causing algal blooms, the plastic container may not be recyclable, and your water treatment plant may not filter out all chemical ingredients. Learn more...
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While some cities recycling centers may take #2, #3, and #4 plastics, plastic film most likely will be headed to the landfill due to its stretchy nature which jams machinery at recycling centers as well as the fact it’s often soiled with food. Learn more...
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Paper towel usage has a huge impact on the number of trees cut down, pollution (from chemicals used during the process), and landfill waste (about 3,000 tons in the US). If every household in the US made the decision to use one less roll, we could save up to ~544,000 trees a year! Learn more...
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If you replace your toothbrush as frequently as recommended, you will dispose of around 300 toothbrushes throughout your lifetime contributing to the one billion thrown away in the US every year. Learn more...
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According to a USDA study, about 31% of our food supply goes uneaten. Storing our food properly and efficiently can help combat this waste while saving you money and keeping your kitchen organized. Learn more...
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In 2007, Americans threw away more than 68 pounds of clothing and textiles per person per year, and clothing and other textiles represented about 4% of the municipal solid waste—numbers that have continued to grow
According to the EPA, around 2 billion disposable razors add to our municipal waste every year because they are single use plastic and not taken by most recycling centers. Learn more...
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An estimated *500 million* straws are used and discarded in the US every day. The cons: straws are rarely recyclable, cannot biodegrade, add to our marine pollution, and have become part of our food chain by being ingested by marine and land animals
Chemical ingredients used in laundry detergent can be toxic to aquatic organisms and algae, persist in the environment longer than intended, cause eutrophication of freshwater, and are likely linked to health problems in humans
Toilet paper contributes to deforestation, damages ecosystems with chemicals, guzzles up a lot of water, and uses high-energy techniques in production.
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