Woah! Is it July previously? These past few months sure seem to have ZOOMed right by. Along with the majority of you, I’ve been working from home this summer while we # FlattenTheCurve and I’ve noticed quite a few things about my house that I merely didn’t before. Things like, did I always use that much Saran Wrap for leftovers? And, where did all these Ziploc bags come from? So, with these questions in mind, I sought to be more conscious of my plastic utilization. Luckily this month just happens to be Plastic Free July( nice going, huh )!
If you don’t once know, Plastic Free July is a global movement dedicated to reducing our single-use plastic trash so “that were going” have cleaner streets, oceans, and communities. As with most things, that’s easier said than done. So how do I go about reducing my plastic apply where reference is literally percolates all levels of our daily lives?
The first step would be to conduct a plastic audit.
You have to know how much plastic you use firstly before you can actually go about reducing it. Conduct an examine as I did. I made a tally of some of the biggest delinquents in my kitchen, bathroom, and closet and afforded some potential alternatives. Let’s get started!
Kitchen
At-home cooking means tons of leftovers for the next day. To keep the food fresh, my family goes through a ton of Saran Wrap after each snack. A sustainable alternative to all this plastic wrap could be beeswax food wraps. They’re easy to use, reusable, and are an all-natural alternative to plastic food cover. And if you want a super-duper cheap alternative, simply gave a layer over your bowl. It keeps the bad nonsense out and holds your nutrient fresh.
Looking around in drawers I noticed containers full of Ziploc crates. To be perfectly honest, I have no idea what we need all of these Ziploc pockets for since I rarely appreciate us make these out, but they’re now and most likely thrown out after a single-use. One no-cost option would be to simply wash the pockets after each exert. Since they’re plastic they’ll last-place quite a while( like hundreds of years ). If you’re willing to spend a bit of cash, Stasher Bags are also a pretty good option.
What we also have a lot of in our live are Tupperware containers. They experience some fair use and are employed for both food and sundry storage. Although plastic Tupperware is a bit cheaper, lighter, and more shatter-resistant than glass containers, the state concerns are more than enough to acquire the button. Plastic receptacles can leach poisonous compounds into your menu at high temperatures, which can have negative health affects. So, if you’ve got any plastic containers lying around, it’s best to reserve those for nonfood items and invest in some Pyrex/ glass receptacles for the kitchen.
If you’re move a good deal of saucers like me, perhaps consider reusing the bottle and refilling it with dish soap. You can buy a larger bottle of dish soap to use for refills or see a refilling station where you can pay for the force of the item you are buying. You can bring in your own container from residence, like reused pasta sauce or soup flasks! Two local refilling stations in Orange County are Eco Now and BYO Long Beach.
Bathroom
Hand soap is pretty same to dish soap. Our family actually reuses the soap bottles and we just refill it with one beings bathtub we buy. We’ve actually been reusing one soap bottle for practically 16 times! That’s almost as long as I’ve been alive.
I actually got a bit stuck with this one. Toothbrushes! I frequently toss out my plastic toothbrush once the bristles on the head start to wear out, and I never truly imparted much thought to the number I go through in a year. I did some probing and found out about bamboo toothbrushes. They’re biodegradable, so you don’t have to feel extremely guilty when flinging it out. Although some come with the standard nylon bristles, many come with natural fiber bristles!
And since we’re in matters of dental hygiene, did you know that toothpaste and mouthwash tablets existed ?!? I know I didn’t, but it turns out that these tablets are eco-friendlier due to their illuminate pact package. They are likewise TSA approved, which is a HUGE plus in my book. I can’t even begin to count how many times I’ve held up my jaunt radical due to a forgotten toothpaste tube immersed within my luggage. Another common dental commodity that too comes to mind is dental floss. For those of you who actually floss, buying natural silk floss is a great alternative to regular dental floss. Bite Toothpaste is a good website for monthly toothpaste tablet dues and some of those previously mentioned bamboo grazes. For the floss, you can check out our friends at Plastic Me Not. They also have some huge plastic alternatives to a large number of pieces.
Closet
Most of its consideration of this agenda item I is located within my closet were Dri-FIT workout invests and fast pattern idiosyncrasies worn only once or twice. Younger me didn’t understand the detrimental effects of polyester fibers on the environment, but older me knows … better. Since most of these clothes no longer fit, I decided to throw them out. But how do you do so in an environmentally friendly way? Donating or recycling your old-fashioned clothes is a great option. Many subscription midsts welcome your aged invests, and nowadays countless organizations recycle your old-time uniforms AND give you a discount on your next purchase. When purchasing new drapes, try to buy exploited or durable entries woven with natural fibers that they are able to last for years. Synthetic textiles removed tiny microfibers in each cleanse that ultimately end up in the ocean.
If you’re rinse your polyester textiles, there are some preventative alternatives to mitigate the removing of microfibers when doing laundry. The Cora Ball is a great option that compiles microfibers into a visible fuzz that are in a position last-minute get rid of properly. Another portable option with a more effective filter is the Guppy Friend bathe crate. It increases microfiber removing, protects your robes, and filters the few fibers that actually do break. The most effective( but most costly and permanent) option is a microfiber filter such as the LINT LUV-R. It’ll stop most microfibers from bypassing its systems and is simple to clean and reuse.
This plastic inspection actually took a little longer than I anticipated and I witnessed a lot more plastic in my house than I ever expected. Sadly, I had to leave out some items for the sake of length, or else this blog enter would actually be longer than all of my college works combined.
One thing not have mentioned that experiences its style into our watersheds quite often- balloon garbage. Check out this awesome resource to help find alternatives for performances and gatherings. By inducing some small changes–such as refusing straws, using reusable utensils, noting alternatives to balloons and using reusable shopping bags–in our everyday lives, we are to be able compile the world a more environmentally friendly place.
Have a delightful Plastic Free July everyone!
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https://www.coastkeeper.org/plastic-free-july-challenge-by-education-intern-aaron-yang/