My top 10 favorite zero waste habits/products.
10. French press with metal filter. This is a simple way for every coffee addict to reduce the waste they produce while saving money. When using a french press with metal filters there’s no need for paper filter or plastic single use k-cups (which are non recyclable). With metal filters you can use them over and over again by washing them between presses, when your filters need to be changed you can easy recycle them, and finally unlike a coffee machine or keurig/tassimo machine most coffee presses are 100% recyclable, can last basically forever if properly kept and use very little material plus they don’t use electricity.
9. Recycling/composting. This is a simple thing we all can do. When choosing to recycle or compost your waste you help reduce what goes in our landfills and help reduce new materials from being used. There’s a lot of people that find it hard to participate in composting but there’s ways you can do it! You can get an indoor composter or an outdoor composter, even make one yourself! You can use the compost for indoor/outdoor gardening, sell it, gift it to a friend/family member, gift it to a local farmer/community garden or look in to your local compost pickup programs.
8. Growing your own food. May it be a small garden in your windowsill or a large backyard garden, growing your food is an awesome way to reduce your food bill, reduce the environmental impact of your food (i.e. packaging and transportation), reduce food waste and help create cleaner air by planting plants.
7. Bulk buying. This is a favorite amongst a lot of zero-wasters. Buying in bulk especially if you can use your own containers is an awesome way to reduce packaging on your products and these places are often are locally run and cheaper.
6. Shampoo, conditioner, lotion, laundry, hand soap bars. Bars are amazing !! They’re travel friendly, compact, long lasting (I personally find that thay lasts 2-4X longer than their liquid counterpart making them cheaper in the long run), and often waste free, they can also be fun to make!!
5. Fabric produce/shopping bags. known by most, used by few. Using fabric bags reduces plastic in a big way! A tip to remember your bags: have a fabric backpack you fill with your bags, keep in your car, bike, shopping cart, or remember to wear it when you go out. You can also make your own produce/shopping bags out of old clothing,towels, blankets so on…
4. Reusable fabric toilet paper, tissues, makeup wipes and paper towels. Washing fabric uses way less water than making paper products, fabric is better for your skin and using reusable “paper” products saves you money. You can buy new from zero waste shops or make your own out of new or old fabric. Just make sure to sterilize your cloths by boiling them, soaking in vinegar, bleach or other disinfectants before washing. Recommended to wash with other towels, socks and underwear.
3. Reusable Straws. Fun, trendy and friendly! I carry mine in a reusable zip-lock bag (made from food grade silicone) and just throw it in my bag before I leave the house. When I get home if I used them I just wash with hot water and soap with my straw cleaning brush and give my bag a wipe out with hot water. They come in glass, metal and silicone ! ( plastic ones break faster and can’t be properly cleaned/sterilized)
2. Thrifting. Thrifting is a fun way to get “new” things without paying for the demand of products to be made (depending on the thrift store). You can get unique products from new to vintage, clothing , kitchen, office, entertainment and more! and depending on where you shop a lot of thrift stores donate proceeds to local organizations, and give job experience to people that have none/ are having a hard time getting hired elsewhere.
1. Upcycling. Upcyling is the best!! You can take trash and turn it in to treasure. You can even make a profit off of upcycling or save money. This is very important for non recyclable products, like why throw out your k-cups when you can use them to mold bath bombs, or they can help you germinate seeds for your garden.