Think about the everyday items we use around us. The toothbrush we chuck out every month, razor blades for those clean legs and face, dish scrub to wash your dishes every day, straw for every coke, cold coffee or whatever is your guilty pleasure, detergent plastic bottles containing detergent for your fresh clean clothes, plastic wraps for covering leftovers and the list goes on. If you look around, you can find everyday items that create a huge amount of waste after their use and can be replaced with alternatives available today!
We have inherently relied on making these everyday items from mostly plastic which most likely cannot be recycled because it is mixed with different grades of plastic that make recycling hard, will not degrade in the environment so cause land pollution and to make matters worse are made from fossil fuel-based products which add to a lot of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions to the atmosphere in its making. So, by buying these products not only we are contributing to the waste problem but also GHG emissions.
It is all about demand and supply.
So, what do we do?
As the awareness is increasing about these issues, companies are coming up with alternatives that are created from either plant, reused waste or other renewable resource and will be easily recyclable or compostable. For example, your toothbrush can be replaced with one whose handle is made from bamboo so can be composted and bristles are made from plant-based material like castor oil so bristles can be composted too. Just like this several alternatives can be found for daily items, beeswax-based paper to replace plastic wraps, reusable razors where blades are metal and can be recycled, coconut husk-based scrubs for dishwashing, etc. Below is a list of items you can replace. With online shopping the new way, it is easy to get access to these new items.
Care must be taken though to not buy items where a company claims they are green but are not. Like when a company claims their toothbrushes are fully compostable, but bristles are made of charcoal, in that case, you must remove bristles before you dump the stick in compost waste. So, make sure you read reviews when looking for items, check for product description and google composition to see if they are green meaning compostable or reusable or worst-case recyclable.
It might seem like a task to think about all these items, look for all these items and start shopping but once you get into the habit of getting alternatives it will be like regular grocery shopping. It is worth spending the time at first to change your items because our home, that is the beautiful earth, is counting on us to change our habits and care a little more!
So next time you go grocery shopping think about what alternatives you can buy and how to not add to the mounting pile of waste in the landfill some miles away from you!!
Comment below some of the items you have switched to as part of your resolution to go green.
Really good start, got me thinking!