Building a zero-waste, or low-waste, lifestyle can be overwhelming and costly at first, but it doesn&#;t have to be. I&#;ve found simple and less expensive ways to build a zero-waste tool kit on a budget that will help you reduce your plastic waste when you are on-the-go.
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It was just last year that I started to become more conscious of the waste our family is creating every day. I had been on a mission for quite some time to reduce the chemicals that we are using in our home and have been focused on the benefits of clean living.
That research led to my awareness of the plastic pollution problem that is plaguing our oceans and wildlife. I&#;ve been a longtime animal lover/advocate and instantly knew that I had to make a change to reduce the plastic waste our family was making.
I&#;ll be honest, it&#;s not easy in our modern world to avoid plastic at every turn, especially when shopping and dining out.
So I started looking online for alternatives to plastic products and was so impressed with all the options available! I am encouraged that there is a new trend to be more sustainable, but some of these alternatives can be costly, especially if you want to dive in and make all these changes right away, like me.
However, some swaps can actually save you money; such as buying food in bulk bins and avoiding the purchase of disposable plastic products. For example, you may need to pay a bit more upfront for a set of reusable stainless steel straws (vs. a box of plastic, disposable straws). Yet, in the long run, you will save more money since you will likely never have to purchase a straw again!
There are many examples like this that will not only save you money but will also save our planet.
To get started, I&#;ve compiled a set of budget-friendly items to use in your zero-waste tool kit. You can assemble this one time and keep it somewhere handy like your purse, bag, or car. That way you are always prepared to refuse plastic products when you are out and about.
You have a few simple low-cost options for your utensils. You can use an extra silverware you have a home, especially if they are mix-match. You can also head out to a local garage sale or thrift store to find affordable utensils. If you want to invest in a travel set, there are many options to choose from. I like how this set that I got online has a washable, carrying case that comes with stainless steel chopsticks too. However, there is no need to purchase anything new. Use what you have to get started!
If you&#;ve read other posts on my blog, you know that I&#;ve been focusing on making the switch to reusable straws both in our home and when we are out and about. Check out my Guide to Eliminating Single-Use Plastic Straws for several options! I have stainless steel straws in my Zero-Waste Tool Kit, but recently, I found reusable straws that are available in local stores, such as this one by GoSili. It&#;s an affordable option at only $2.50, available at Meijer or online, and easy to pop in your bag, purse or pocket!
A great way to cut down on paper waste is to bring your own cloth napkin! You may have one at home already, or you can even make one if you are crafty and good with a sewing machine (wish I was!). Sew a napkin using fabric scraps, clothing you no longer wear, or even a pillowcase. You can always hit up your local thrift shop too.
This microfiber cloth by Norwex is optional but handy! I like to have this travel-sized EnviroCloth with me because I can use it to wipe down shopping cart handles, restaurant tables, and spills in the car with just the EnviroCloth and water! It&#;s so easy and eliminates the need for disposable cleaning wipes, while still keeping you and your family protected from germs!
All of the above-mentioned items fit into this reusable wet bag and is small enough to fit in most purses and bags. This particular bag is convenient because it has a water-resistant lining making it easy to wipe clean when you get home. However, a budget-friendly idea is to use a cosmetic bag or toiletry bag that you already have on hand.
Of course, you&#;ll want to bring along your own water bottle so you can refuse the plastic cups and avoid buying a single-use plastic water bottle from the store or fast-food restaurant. If you don&#;t have one already, you can consider reusing a glass bottle that you may have from a store-bought iced tea, or you can also use a glass food jar. If you don&#;t have one, ask around! A friend or neighbor may have extras. Peanut butter (barring any food allergies) works really well for removing labels or sticky residue!
Keep reusable grocery bags in your car. This way you are prepared to refuse plastic bags at the grocery store, even if you make an unplanned stop on the way home!
Reusable produce bags are an item that can help you reduce your place waste when shopping for produce. Say no to those plastic produce bags, which are very difficult to recycle!
Avoid using plastic food containers for packing your lunch or snacks to limit your exposure to BPA and other harmful chemicals. The post Is BPA-Free Plastic Safe explains why you want to avoid plastic altogether when you can!
So to recap, all you need to get started making your Zero-Waste Tool Kit on a Budget are the following: metal flatware, a reusable straw, a cloth napkin, a small, reusable bag, and a reusable water bottle. Assembling these easy, affordable items ahead of time will allow you to drastically reduce your waste while you are on-the-go.
Won&#;t it feel good to know you are making a difference and reducing the plastic pollution that is harming our oceans?
Please leave a comment below or connect with me on any of my social media channels. I&#;d love to see photos of your Zero-Waste Tool Kits or see them in action!
P.S. &#; Are you ready to take the next step on your journey to go green and start practicing your green mindset? Imagine how you would feel 12 months from now if you drastically reduced the waste your family made all year. These 12 Zero Waste New Year Resolutions will help you achieve those goals &#; even if you are a zero waste beginner. Download the FREE checklist today and read all about the simple tips to get you started HERE.
If there&#;s one material we can&#;t seem to live without, it&#;s plastic. And there&#;s a reason for that: It's cheap, durable, and lightweight, making it perfect for everything from iPhones to eyewear.
But what makes plastic so useful for humans is exactly what makes it a nasty environmental contaminate&#;it spreads easily and takes forever to degrade, finding its way to our lands and oceans where it wreaks havoc on wildlife. To date, at least 700 species of marine animals, including shorebirds, have been entangled by plastic or mistaken it for food. The result is often suffocation or starvation.
Since the s, we've generated 8.3 billion metric tons of the stuff, of which a scant nine percent has been recycled. And by , scientists predict the oceans will stock more plastic than fish.
But as problematic and worrisome as all of this is, completely cutting plastic from our lives is impossible at this point. Reducing your plastic use, however, is surprisingly easy and pain-free. You&#;re not going to end the problem overnight, but here are some simple tricks to waste less.
1. Cut Out Plastic Cutlery&#;Especially When Ordering In
Have you ever tried to cut a piece of broccoli with a plastic fork? Yeah, not fun. And yet Americans use 100 million plastic utensils everyday, much of which comes wrapped in even more plastic.
When ordering food online, opt out of receiving plastic utensils&#;it&#;s often as easy as just checking (or unchecking) a box. That's it. And if you&#;re ordering takeout in person or over the , ask the restaurant to skip the plastic flatware.
Better yet: Try cooking for yourself. Although the idea is radical, home-cooked food is often healthier and produces way less waste.
2. Party Plastic-Free
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Let&#;s be honest, no party needs those red Solo cups, which may take 450 years to decompose. So why not use real cups?
Whether you&#;re hosting a dinner party or bridal shower, one great way to reduce plastic waste is to simply use real tableware. If you don&#;t have enough, ask friends to bring extras (people tend to care more about food than whether or not the plates match).
The downside, of course, is cleanup, but there are even guides for that! And if you&#;ve got a dishwasher, well, you&#;ve really got no excuses.
If you still feel that the burden of cleanup is too great (or you&#;re serving booze, which might lead to wobbly hands), avoid the plastic tableware and at least opt for sustainable products instead.
3. Say Bye Bye to Balloons
Many balloons are made of plastic, and when they get away, they can travel for thousands of miles before touching down. Some birds mistake them for food, and others mistake them (or their ribbons) for nesting material.
&#;We see this all of the time,&#; says Steve Kress, executive director of Audubon Project Puffin. &#;One time, I found a ribbon tangled around a puffin in its burrow. It said on the balloon, &#;Angry Birds.&#;&#;
Birds aren't the only animals that balloons harm either; they pose dangers to all other manners of wildlife. So go ahead and ditch the balloons at your next big celebration. And if you're worried about deflating the fun, try some other options. If you&#;re feeling crafty, make tissue garlands or paper lanterns. And if you&#;re feeling lazy, just buy a banner instead&#;non-plastic, of course.
4. Take Advantage of Tap Water
Evian. Fuji. Smart Water. They all sound special&#;but are they really any healthier or tastier than tap?
Not really. In most parts of the world with public, potable water, tap is just as safe to drink as the stuff that comes in plastic. It&#;s also often as tasty&#;or tastier. Globally, we spend more than $100 billion each year on bottled water, a sharp contrast to the pennies you pay to turn on a faucet. Yet another reason to love tap.
So how can you take advantage of this incredible public resource? Find a reusable bottle that you love, and don&#;t let it leave your side. If you have trouble finding a place to refill it, check out WeTap or Dopper, Smartphone tap maps.
If you still occasionally fall victim to Big Water's advertising ploys&#;who doesn&#;t want Jennifer Aniston&#;s Smart Water glow?&#;try to reuse the bottles as much as possible. No one will ever know.
5. Skip the Plastic Straws
Ah, the humble straw: American staple, transporter of sodas and iced coffee, an entertaining bubble machine&#;and also a major threat to wildlife, as anyone who&#;s seen an impaled sea turtle can attest.
Ridding straws from your life is no easy feat. Americans alone use 500 million of them each day, after all. Most of the time they are provided without consent and thrown out thoughtlessly. But they can also be necessary&#;especially if you suffer from certain medical conditions.
If you don&#;t need these suckers, don&#;t use them. Tell your server to skip the straws as soon as you sit down at a restaurant, or use a refillable cup at your local coffee shop. And if you do need to use a straw, try a sustainable alternative. There are straws made of bamboo and paper, stainless steel and titanium. Heck, there are even straws made of straw!
But my personal favorite is pasta straws. Bloody Mary, anyone?
6. Buy Bulk Foods
Food and packaging containers account for nearly half of all trash in landfills, according to the EPA, and buying bulk can help stem that stream.
So go ahead, instead of picking up that small jar of peanut butter, spring for five pounds of the salty goodness. If you do, you&#;ll save money, trips to the grocery store, and plastic waste. According to NC State University, buying peanut butter in bulk, for example, can save families seven pounds of landfill waste per year. Other items that will yield large savings in plastic waste when bought in bulk include staples such as noodles, rice, and beans, according to One Green Planet.
7. Get Better at Recycling
While everyone knows they should be recycling by now, even the best of us still don't always get it right.
Turns out, we recycle only a fraction of the plastic waste we produce, and that&#;s partly due to poor recycling techniques. You do, in fact, need to rinse out your containers, for example. Otherwise they might contaminate plastics around them and end up in a landfill. Also, avoid tossing out recycling in a used plastic bag. What might seem like a smart twofer turns out to be potentially damaging to recycling machinery.
And now that China stopped accepting our recycling, try to avoid buying plastics numbered 3-7, which include common food products like single-serving yogurt cups (another reason to buy bulk!). Many U.S. municipalities can no longer recycle them.
&#;People think that they&#;ve done their good deed for the day by throwing plastic in the blue bin,&#; says Shilpi Chhotray, the senior communications officer for Break Free From Plastic. But in reality, she says, much of that &#;recycling&#; just ends up as trash due to human error.
8.
Actually Remember Your Reusable BagLook, you probably already have plenty of reusable bags, but the tricky part is remembering to take them anywhere.
&#;Bringing your own bags is a no-brainer, but a lot of people don&#;t do it,&#; Kress says. &#;And those little plastic bags are a big problem.&#;
Here's your solve: Store one in everything you take with you&#;your purse, backpack, gym bag&#;and if you drive to the store, in your car. You want bags everywhere. There&#;s just one hard part: When you return from home, don&#;t forget to put them back.
And if you&#;re still worried you&#;ll forget them, just add &#;reusable bag&#; to your shopping list.
If you&#;ve already mastered these tips, it might be time to up your plastic-free game. Chhotray calls this the culture of &#;leveling up.&#;
These tips are &#;a good place to start,&#; she says, &#;but a terrible place to stop.&#;
If your favorite restaurant gives out single-use plastics, for example, ask them to switch to sustainable alternatives. If that doesn&#;t work, try circulating a petition in your community. The next step is to engage at the civil level to put local laws on the books that reduce plastic waste. (In July, for example, Seattle will enact a ban on plastic straws and cutlery.)
&#;Take your practice and get people involved in your cause,&#; she says. &#;The idea is that we have to move away from individual change to this culture of leveling up.&#;
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