Zero Waste Tips for Home
Zero Waste Grocery Shopping
● Buy in bulk–some grocery stores will let you bring your own durable containers for dry goods, spices, and many other food products. Good Food Store and WinCo have a great selection—though WinCo won’t let you bring your own containers.
● Bring reusable grocery bags so you can avoid paper or plastic.
● Shop around the perimeter of the store—there’s less packaging and that’s where all the unprocessed stuff is anyway.
● Skip the plastic bags in the produce section.
● Check out the farmers market or join a CSA less packaging and less upstream impacts because it’s local.
● Avoid tea bags and try out loose-leaf teas. If you do use a tea bag, toss it in the compost alongside your coffee grinds!
● Carry a reusable water bottle and coffee cup when you’re on the go.
● Compost! Vegetables, eggshells, and even paper towels can go into your backyard compost pile or compost bin. Remember, meat scraps can only be composted at an industrial compost facility. If you have compostable service wear such as forks, takeout containers, and cups, they should be sent to Garden City compost through a local compost hauler – the non-lined Chinette plates and bowls are compostable!
● Place a small compost bins in your kitchen—it makes it easier to toss things out without having to haul them to the outside pile. Make diverting waste as simple as possible.
● Packing your lunch? Ditch the ziplock in exchange for jars, Tupperware, and beeswax sandwich bags. If you are using ziplocks, remember to wash and reuse them! I love saving tortillas bags a using the as zip locks.
● Drinking more water prevents a large amount of packaging that comes with other drinks such as sodas and juices.
● Skip the trashcan liners. They are mostly good for wet waste anyway, which are almost always compostable. Don’t use compostable trash can liner if you are sending them to the landfill—it means more methane.
● Cook from scratch.
Zero Waste Cleaning
● Durable rags can be used for many clean-up jobs in place of paper towels. Old unrepairable clothes make great rags. If you do use paper towels, remember they can be composted right in your backyard!
● Try to buy cleaners in bulk, so you reduce the amount of packaging used for cleaning products.
● Seek out services such as Kelli Green who will refill containers and are locally based reducing both upstream and downstream impact.
● Try non-chemical alternatives that can be made at home.
○ Vinegar and water=1/2 cup of vinegar+1 gallon of warm water-great for floors and bare surfaces
○ Lemon and water=3 tablespoons squeezed lemon+1cup water-great deodorizer for stinky messes
○ Seeped back tea can be used to clean and polish wood floors—8 tea bags in a ½ gallon of water—don’t forget to compost them!
Zero Waste Hygiene
● Use barred soap rather than liquid soap, you can also use barred shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, and even lotion!
● Check out those cool toothpaste tabs to avoid toothpaste that comes in plastic packaging–oh yeah, ever heard of a bamboo toothbrush? Yes, they’re real. Yes, they’re cool.
● Rather than using single-use disposable razors, try using a durable safety razor (it’s a better shave too, we promise) or (more blades doesn’t mean betters shaves)
● Use a menstrual cup and washable pads rather than disposable tampons
● Skip the virgin pulp toilet paper for the eco-friendly stuff and buy in bulk!
● DIY it—make your own lotion, lip balm, and deodorants.
Zero Waste Your Closet
● Only buy what you will wear.
● Shop second hand. We all know vintage is always in, anyway.
● Shop for clothing made from natural fibers such as cotton, wool, or rayon to avoid the upstream plastics pollution from synthetic fibers such as nylon and polyester.
Learn to sew, and develop skills to repair instead of replacing