22 tips to reduce plastic use

Tuesday’s column shared the disheartening and almost overwhelming statistics of our increasing, and increasingly Earth-strangling, plastic-filled lives. What can the average person do to reduce it? Here are a few ideas:

Carry reusable shopping bags, in every store. That means not only grocery, but clothing and other stores too. I keep several in the car and at least one collapsible in my purse.

Give up bottled water. Many brands of bottled water are simply filtered tap water anyway. Get a reusable, stainless steel bottle or travel mug, fill it up with tap or filtered water before leaving the house, and refill it wherever you can. That includes airplanes; bring it empty and get water from the flight attendant.

Carry your own containers for take-out, lunch, and leftovers. This should be a no-brainer at the office or school. With restaurants it seems weird at first, but it’s little extra effort to grab something from the kitchen and take it with you. Soon it will become a habit.

Take a reusable mug, utensils, and straw to restaurants. Think about how many used plastic utensils, cups, and straws restaurants throw away each week, all unnecessary if we brought our own. This is slowly catching on; cute little cloth carrying cases can be bought or simply made, and tossed in a purse or car.

Compost. Coffee grounds, wilted lettuce, and tea leaves are good for the garden; keep food waste in a can and let the Earth reclaim it rather than filling more plastic trash bags.

Cut out sodas and other plastic-bottled beverages. OK, maybe you don’t want to, but we could at least limit the packaging choices. Some are opting for fizz-producing home soda makers, and using juice as a soda alternative. Buy glass bottles when you can.

Try fresh bread that comes in either paper bags or no bags. It tastes better anyway. Airtight tins (often found at thrift stores) can keep a cloth-bagged or wrapped bread fresh.

Return plastic produce and egg containers to the farmers market to be reused. I save mine through winter, and make a vendor happy when the market reopens in spring. Patronizing farmers market and choosing local or regional fresh foods reduces the preservation, transportation, and materials involved in getting it to you from farther away.

Choose wine bottled in glass with natural cork stoppers. As a wine snob, I can tell you these wines tend to taste better, anyway.

Let go of plastic-wrapped, frozen convenience foods. Our family is just embarking on this journey. But we’ve found that most of these foods have a lot of salt and preservatives, leaving us feeling bloated and uncomfortable afterward anyway.

Skip chewing gum. Originally made from sap, most chewing gum now uses a synthetic equivalent, rubbery material. Who needs that?

Buy in bulk. The less packaging, the better. Many stores now offer nuts, rice, beans and other items in dispensers; instead of using the plastic bags, bring your own light cloth. At the very least, you’ll probably buy more than one pre-packaged container offers, reducing some waste.

Skip plastic produce bags. You’re going to wash that apple anyway. Put them in your reusable bag before and after checkout.

Use beeswax wraps; they work better! I have been amazed at how much longer and fresher my produce and cheese last since I bought a set of these all natural wraps, and use them instead of baggies.

Clean and wash simply. Try eco-friendly alternatives to detergents and cleaners, stored in glass or cardboard boxes (we need those renewable tree stands) whenever possible. Some natural, simple products such as baking soda or vinegar and water also work, but be careful with acids on certain surfaces.

Reuse natural cleaning cloths instead of plastic scrubbers and synthetic sponges. In the old days, they just used washrags. Compressed natural cellulose sponges are often sold without any plastic packaging because they don’t need to be kept moist; they expand when wet. Natural fiber brushes can be used for scrubbing. Look for natural rubber gloves.

Rediscover bar hand and bath soap. Skip the plastic bottle.

Baking soda deodorant. I’ve not tried this one, but read mixing baking soda and tea tree oil is an effective deodorant (some say better than). Baking soda (on a wet toothbrush) can also serve as tooth powder.

Use soap instead of shaving cream. This one I have tried, and haven’t been the worse for it, ladies.

Look for biodegradable toothbrushes. Stores are beginning to carry them.

DIY food. Increasingly popular are homemade soy or almond milk, yoghurt, broth (never throw away liquid from a roast), and condiments. Tons of ideas if you Google this subtitle.

Fix it, don’t toss it. Many things can be, and once routinely were, fixed rather than replaced. I found a local shoemaker to repair my favorite leather boots, which look great other than needing a new sole. If that buys me another 10 years in them, it’s worth it.

There are many more ideas out there. At minimum, we can all be more conscious of what containers we buy, whether we can reuse, or buy secondhand.

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Sholeh Patrick is a columnist for the Hagadone News Network who wants to consume fish who haven’t consumed plastic. Contact her at Sholeh@cdapress.com.