Reducing Single Use Plastic
/As we near the end of 2019, I am taking stock of the changes I made over the past year to reduce my household consumption of single use plastic.
We’ve done the easy things at this point:
When I look at our trash and recycle there are still some opportunities:
We could stop drinking soft drinks (a health choice for ourselves and the planet).
We could eat fewer foods packaged in plastic (bunched greens rather than ones in bins or bags, loose apples and potatoes rather than in a plastic bag, unpackaged fresh foods rather than frozen foods, etc.). Sometimes those are a healthier choice as well.
We could use fewer kinds of toiletries and shift to larger containers (maybe refilling small ones if needed for travel)
But some things are very hard without companies making packaging changes:
Liquid laundry and dishwasher detergent
Cleaning fluids like large jugs of white vinegar, surface cleaners, toilet bowl cleaners
Meat packaging
Plastic envelopes
Plastic bubble or balloon wrap
The list goes on and on
Reducing single use plastic around our house is an continuing goal…and it’s not an easy one.