15 Sustainable swaps 🌳
By now, it shouldn't come as a shock that the state of the world in on an environmental decline. Overlooking the coronavirus pandemic and the humanitarian crisis, temperatures still continue to increase year after year, more species are going extinct and landfills are overflowing.
Pushing the onus onto corporations might seem like the easy way out - "Oh, if Company X stopped making plastic water bottles then we could reduce so much waste" - but if you think about it, why would they stop when there are so many willing consumers? Instead, the onus has to be on us as consumers, to become more aware and make more conscious choices.
Although it may seem like we individually cannot make a difference, by small changes, multiplied across families and households, the scale will start to tip.
This year, I found out about Plastic-Free July which is a month intended to be lived plastic free. As I am on the journey to reduce my own waste and plastic consumption, I consider myself low waste, with the hopes of being plastic-free one day!
I wasn't always like this though - I loved flashing my Starbucks take out cup as much as the next person. A defining moment was when I was at a Starbucks last year, I had just gotten my matcha green tea latte with almond milk in my S'well reusable thermos and while waiting for my mom to pick me up, I was observing the activity at the store.
I noticed so many people throwing their cups into the garbage (since the wax coating can't be recycled), and it made me feel so uneasy I almost wanted to vomit. It's strange, I had never felt like this before but in that moment, I knew I had to bring change into my own life.
Now, almost a year in, I've developed practices that are helping me live a more sustainable life.
Before we jump into the list, I just wanted to remind you that we're all on this journey together and whether you've just stepped onto the path or are at the peak of no waste, it's okay. What matters most is that you're taking this time to educate yourself on how you can move forward.
Mindset shift & mindful consumption
I alluded to this above but it first starts with a mindset shift. Realizing that we have control over what we choose to consume and then making conscious choices.
For me, I knew that if I wanted to make better choices and create less waste, I would have to research and gather information on which brands were sustainable and environmentally-friendly swaps for products that I already use.
We're so used to having convenience at our fingertips, with instant satisfaction now and the consequences coming later.
I used to love ordering masses of clothes on impulse, even if I knew I would return some items, but throwing away all the plastic bags afterwards always made me feel bad. Or throwing away a coffee cup and takeout containers, knowing they were going to sit in a landfill and not decompose for a few centuries.
By becoming more mindful of what we're choosing to buy, where that product will end up and in general, buying less, we can stop a lot of wasteful purchases.
While it is tempting to upgrade to the latest phone or buy that new gadget, I often ask myself if I really need it or if it would just be nice to have.
Okay enough essays, let's move onto some shorter and practical tips!
1. Takeaway coffee cups
What I love about bringing my own cup is that it makes my spending more conscious. If I don't bring my cup on the team coffee run, then I'm choosing not to get anything.
While you might moan about the fact that you have to wash your cup out after you're done and how you don't have time, let's revisit delayed gratification. Would you rather spend five minutes in your "busy" day rinsing out a cup now, or have more serious consequences later?
Since I'm also about saving money, most cafés will also give you a discount for bringing your own cup and your drink will usually stay warm/cold longer in your insulated cup. Also, when you bring your own, you usually get more of the beverage since they don't have the exact measurements to go off of. It's a triple win in my eyes.
I only go to one coffee shop and get the same thing every time, so I opted to keep the stickers on to cut down on my waste a little more! 😊
2. Plastic cutlery
Ever have those moments when you're digging into something delicious and your plastic fork and knife just aren't getting the job done? Or even worse, one of the tines breaks in your food? Yeah, it sucks.
A simple alternative is to carry around your own spoon, fork and knife set. You probably have extra at home anyways and this makes your takeout experience much more pleasant.
3. Sanitary items
For all my female readers, we can bond over the exorbitant cost of menstrual products. I felt horrible disposing of so many products every month until I discovered Thinx - a period underwear. They're super comfortable and absorbent and while they are a bit pricey upfront, the cost per wear is super low. I've been using them for about 18 months now and couldn't be happier.
There are lots of other options out there, from cups to reusable pads and organic tampons, to fit everyone's preferences.
4. Phone case
Imagine upgrading your phone with every new release and then buying multiple cases so that your phone always looks cute. And then imagine where all those cases end up.
Shudders.
I totally get wanted to having a cute phone and I'm so happy there are more sustainable options, like my personal favourite Pela case which is fully compostable and produced in Canada!
5. Bamboo tooth brush
Another simple swap for something we use everyday - bamboo toothbrushes are also compostable and provide the same cleaning as a plastic toothbrush.
6. Makeup wipes & cotton rounds
I moved away from using makeup removing wipes and cotton rounds by switching to oil cleansing with coconut oil and then using a face cloth to pat dry after cleansing. Full disclosure, I do use makeup wipes on holidays and on flights (we're all a work in process!).
However, there are also many reusable options of cotton rounds that are machine washable, making them a great alternative.
7. Bar soap
Bar soap is my go to for a few reasons: since it's not mixed with water (as many of the bottled soaps are), they're more concentrated and you get more for your money. Another reason is that most of them are package free or in a cardboard box which means it's recyclable (Costco Irish Spring, I'm looking at you!).
8. Buying in bulk
I love going to Bulk Barn with my big bag of jars and getting my items in there. Not only does this reduce the transferring of the product from the plastic bag to a container when I get home, it also cuts down on the plastic bags I use. There's often also coupons for bringing your own reusable containers 🤑
Even in general, buying a bigger size of something is usually cheaper and also uses less materials than buying two of the smaller sizes.
9. Produce bags
After being scarred with too many instances of flimsy produce bags ripping or simply giving out at the seams, I ordered these mesh produce bags for our grocery shopping trips. They're so much more sturdy and are see-through enough that the cashier is able to identify what's inside.
Additionally, the tare weight (i.e. the weight of the bag) is labelled on the side so if you give the cashier a heads up, you'll only be charged for the weight of the produce (the bags don't weigh much anyways).
10. Straws
Another easy swap for disposable plastic straws are either reusable plastic straws (better quality), or metal, bamboo or glass straws. I love drinking out of straws so I stocked up on a variety to make things more fun. My personal favourite is a thicker metal straw for bubble tea or smoothies.
11. Green bin bags
Recently, I had the alarming thought that even though we were separating our food waste into a green bin, we were still using a plastic bag (i.e. not recyclable). I started looking for alternatives and came across newspaper bags. I found out that newspaper is biodegradable and with the help of my dad, we designed a green bin bag that we now use.
It's now become a family activity that we partake in, and sometimes by chance, the bags turn out so beautiful with all the illustrations in the paper.
If you want to know how we make them, let me know 🙂 There's also biodegradable bags which are a great alternative!
12. Compost bin
In the summer time, our compost thrives. With all of the fruit and veggie scraps, we (i.e. my dad) put them into our compost. If you don't have a compost, there are many countertop versions that can sit inside your house (and don't smell) so you can have access to fresh, nutritious fertilizer for your plants all year long!
13. Hydration
I remember grabbing a plastic waterbottle from the house before going out just for "convenience" when I was younger. But why wasn't it also convenient to fill up one of the 4372424238031 reusable bottles we had at home and take that? Not sure.
Now, I have a small collection of reusable bottles that are all filled (no pun intended) with memories and experiences, and I love taking them when I leave the house. This is a simple switch that'll save so many plastic bottles as well as $$.
For all my bubble tea fans out there, don't fret. I DIY'd this jar and lid, and have taken it to many bubble tea stores to get my fix without the waste.
14. Aluminum foil and saran wrap/cling film
These two aren't recyclable either, so I've opted for silicone baking sheets (oven purposes) or simply using a reusable container to store things instead of wrapping them up.
15. Diet
Saving the last and probably most controversial topic for last. Isn't it crazy to think that if instead used all the livestock land for growing food for humans, we could eradicate world hunger? But we're talking about sustainability in this post, so let's save that for another time!
Eating plant-based or even having one meatless meal per week saves so much water, land, carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide emissions.
Additionally, fruits and vegetables are naturally packed in much less plastic and styrofoam than animal products, which saves the amount of waste being brought home.
Concluding thoughts
Again, none of us perfect and doing something in the right direction is better than doing nothing. This list was quite comprehensive and if you're feeling overwhelmed, pick one thing and try it out and then maybe add on something else.
I sometimes want to throw away all the plastic that I have and start all over, but then I remind myself that the goal is to use what we have and do what we can.
Sending you lots of love and light!
-Reina xo