Bamboo Toothbrushes

Bamboo toothbrushes are eco-friendly & entirely biodegradable, unlike plastic toothbrushes which cannot be recycled & take a millennium to break down. Every single toothbrush ever made still exists & is sitting in a landfill somewhere!

• Bamboo is also known to possess antibacterial, antifungal, & antimicrobial properties, which makes it a perfect material to design a toothbrush.

• Bamboo is an extremely sustainable & renewable resource. Bamboo trees are super fast growing-(certain species able to grow up to four feet per DAY), with no need for fertilizers or pesticides, so the toothbrushes are made with organic materials.

• I found these bamboo toothbrushes with charcoal infused bristles on Etsy

Safety Razor

Why? It is Environmentally Friendly-The biggest environmental issue with disposable razors is that they are not recyclable.

According to the EPA, 2 billion disposable razors end up in land fills every year. That’s billion, with a “b”. The steel DE razor blades are recyclable, which can drastically reduce the negative environmental impact.

And the razor itself can last a lifetime.

See more about safety razors HERE.

Make Your Own Foaming Hand Soap

Making your own dish, laundry or hand soap is easy, less expensive & better for the planet & your health. Controlling what ingredients & scents you use is very liberating!

Foaming Hand Soap

In a foaming soap dispenser:

• 1/3 cup Dr. Bronner’s Castile soap, unscented

• 2 tsp almond oil

• 15-20 drops essential oil, scent of your choice

Fill dispenser with water to 1/2” from top. Shake well.

Bites Toothpaste Tablets

Ditch the toothpaste tube!

For years, I have been a fan of Tom’s of Maine toothpaste. In my quest to reduce my plastic waste, I found these toothpaste tablets.

• Zero paste, Zero waste!

• All natural, sulfate free, cruelty free & plastic free!

• More than 1 billion plastic toothpaste tubes are thrown out each year, with harsh chemical residues. By 2050, there will be more plastic in the oceans than fish!

• Bites come in glass bottles, which unlike plastic, glass is infinitely recyclable, looks great, & breaks down into sand at the end of its life. They send your refill Bites in 100% home compostable pouches every four months with a subscription. Yep, still no plastic.

• They take a bit getting used to... just place 1 bit in your mouth, bite down & brush with wet toothbrush. Several great flavors. Low abrasivity, no harsh chemicals & naturally whitening. Check them out!

Diva Menstrual Cup

Why switch from pads/tampons to a menstrual cup?

Six reasons you should use a DivaCup, or one like it.

1. Less waste- Eco-friendly. 300 LBS!! That’s how much waste the average person creates in a lifetime using disposable period products.

2. Less $$$-Cost effective. Want to save money? The DivaCup can be reused again & again. No more spending tons of money on tampons & pads.

3. More time-Up to 12 hours of protection. The DivaCup can be worn for up to 12 hours, depending on your menstrual flow.

4. Chemical free-Happy vagina. It’s BPA free, with no added chemicals, plastics or dyes.

5. Medical grade silicone-No nastiness. The DivaCup is the better choice for your body.

6. Canadian made-100% Canadian & proud.

Shampoo Bar

Another way to reduce plastic pollution is to use a Shampoo & Conditioner Bar.

I found this one from The Soap Works at the East Aurora Cooperative Market.

* They are natural soaps-Specially formulated with Aloe Vera as a conditioner this bar leaves hair “squeaky” clean, contains no detergents, & doesn’t come in a bottle.

* Unwrapped Bars are very economical & convenient for sports, camping, workout, cottages, or reducing your bottle footprint in the shower.

* Keeping you & your environment clean.

Apple Cider Vinegar Hair Rinse

In researching ways to reduce my plastic pollution in regards to my hair care, I found this recipe for a hair rinse. My hair feels so soft & happy after I use this rinse & it has more shine & less static.

After washing my hair, I rinse it with cold water, then douse it with a healthy splash of ACV rinse, leave it in (don’t rinse it out) & style as normal.

I noticed right away how easily the comb went thru my long hair- fewer tangles!

It helps to:

• decrease residue & dandruff

• clarify & stimulate the scalp

• unclog hair follicles which may help with excess shedding or hair loss

• & it works great with shampoo bars!

Simple Apple Cider Vinegar Rinse Recipe

* Mix 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar (ACV) with 1 cup of water in a plastic squeeze bottle, spray bottle or other container ( I use an old shampoo bottle)

* Experiment to find a dilution that works best for your hair type (dry hair likes less ACV & oily hair likes more).

* I added some Rosemary essential oil 5-10 drops. You could experiment with other oils as well.

Household Swaps

Homebrew Kombucha

Make, not buy!

Home-brewed kombucha is easy, delicious & SO much cheaper than store brands. Approximately every month, I decant 25 bottles of kombucha that fermented for about a month. Tasty!

A 2nd fermentation is achieved in 16 oz. bottles with a plug of raw ginger root for extra flavor & fizziness.

Cost savings: I buy Newman’s Own Organic black tea from Wegmans- 100 bags/box for $4.00 & Zulka Morena Pure Cane Sugar from Aldi for less than $3/bag. For the 5 gallons I brew at a time, I use 25 tea bags & 6 2/3 cup sugar which costs me approx. $2.50 total! This makes 25 bottles, which in the store would cost you $3/bottle or a total of $75.!! For less than the price of one store bought bottle, you can have 25 bottles!

See HERE for the recipe & how to make your own kombucha!

If you live in WNY I can give you a SCOBY if you’d like one.

Unbleached Compostable Coffee Filters

Made from unbleached totally chlorine-free (TCF) paper, so no chlorine gets dumped into lakes, rivers or streams during manufacturing. A 2012 study published in Environmental Engineering & Management Journal found that discharge from chlorine-bleaching was “the most significant environmental issues” in pulp & paper mills. Certified for municipal, commercial or backyard composting. After I brew, I toss the filter & coffee grounds in my compost.

Homemade Wipes

By making your own wipes from paper towels, olive or coconut oil & your choice of liquid soap or shampoo, you are saving lots of money & controlling what ingredients are in your wipes.

You can use whatever shampoo/natural soap, or oil you like or have on hand. Please note- these are not antiseptic wipes. These are great to use if you want to make your own wipes without chemicals.

But do not flush- not good for septics or sewers.

HOMEMADE WIPES:

Whisk 1 cup boiling water, 1 TBSP shampoo or liquid soap, 1 TBSP coconut or olive oil (or oil of your choice) in container that will hold a 1/2 roll paper towels (good quality ones, cut with sharp knife)

*Can adjust water amount to make less or more moist.

Pull from the middle.

SodaStream Sparkling Water Machine

I am a fan of fizzy water. Buying the bottles always made me feel wasteful & it was costly.

One day at my friend’s home, I was introduced to the wonderful fizzy water maker- the SodaStream. Since then, I have avoided so much plastic waste & saved money by investing in the SodaStream myself. SodaStream’s carbonating cylinders make up to 60 liters of fresh sparkling water with the just the right amount of carbonation every time.
Plus, I have saved the cost of driving to the store to purchase more single-use plastic bottles of the bubbly drink.

The SodaStream Fizzi Sparkling Water Machine is going for $90 and gets you the machine itself, a reusable (& BPA-free) bottle, & a refillable 60-liter CO2 cylinder. After attaching the bottle, you pump up to three times (depending on how fizzy you want your fizzy water), detach the bottle, & enjoy. You can be as creative as you like with what you’re making. I hear you can also fizz other liquids like coconut water or vodka! I like my fizzy water with a splash of juice.

By 2025, SodaStream users will eliminate 67 billion single-use plastic bottles from our planet. YIKES, that’s a lot!

Just a single SodaStream reusable bottle can help the average family reduce more than 3,070 single use bottles & cans from our planet. This is critical in eliminating the environmentally damaging manufacturing & supply chain linked to single-use plastic bottles.
It also helps reduce the presence of tiny microplastics & toxins that are caused by slowly degrading single-use plastics in our landfills.

KIND Plant Based Scour Pads

Conventional scouring pads are great for scrubbing off tough messes, but they’re usually made from plastic, which breaks down as you use it & slips down the drain.

Fortunately, there are some plant-based scourers that do the job just as well without contributing to microplastic pollution.

See HERE for the best sponges & scour pads.

Homemade Floor Cleaner

Using commercial cleaners dramatically contributes to indoor air pollution, which can be an enormous problem for those who suffer from asthma or allergies. They also leave toxic residue behind, which can cause other dangerous health conditions, making your family ill. Making homemade cleaners is not only safer, but they are relatively inexpensive to create yourself. Not only are they better for the environment, they are safer for your family. Smells nice & fresh too.

For the recipe see HERE

Beeswax Wraps

Food wrap choices have long focused on petroleum-based options, but you can do better. Cling wrap is the sticky, thin plastic film handy for covering food dishes that you often see at potlucks & in fridges full of leftovers. Many film plastics are recyclable, cling wrap is not.

Most cling wrap is made from polyvinyl chlorides (PVC), a flexible form of plastic used in a variety of U.S. goods. PVC releases dioxin, a toxin known to cause reproductive & developmental human health issues, during manufacture, use, & disposal. Each piece of cling wrap we use ends up contaminating the environment or sitting in a landfill. And PVC can take up to a thousand years to degrade.

Research suggests the potentially toxic plastics in our cling wrap leach into our food & drink. Because PVC is a known carcinogen and suspected endocrine disruptor, this can be detrimental to human health.

Avoid human and environmental contamination by ditching plastic cling wrap & trying this sustainable alternative=beeswax wrap.

Need to store your leftover lunch, a half-eaten block of cheese, a chunk of bread? Beeswax food wraps have it covered (literally). This reusable & plastic-free option infuses organic cotton with naturally malleable beeswax to create a sustainable cling wrap alternative. Beeswax wrap keeps food fresh & is delightfully versatile. Learn how to make your own here.

Laundry Soap Nuts

One way to zero-wastify a laundry routine is to integrate soap nuts into the mix. Like horse chestnuts, soap nuts are a natural way to do your wash. Native to India & Nepal, soap nuts have been used historically to treat skin conditions like eczema & psoriasis, but they can also act as a chemical-free, natural way to clean clothes & fabrics. With the average American running anywhere from four to five loads of wash per week, making your laundry routine as eco-friendly as possible has never been so important. These nuts or berries contain saponin, a natural surfactant in the laundry wash. Saponin is a natural detergent; it’s super foamy & can cut through dirt, oils, stains, & other unidentifiable grime. Soap nuts also may have the ability to kill bacteria. Plus, soap nuts are reusable. You can use them up to 10 times before the shells become softer to the touch & appear grayer, then it’s time to compost them!

I found these at Trader Joes for $6.00

Reusable Bamboo Cutlery Bundles to Use When Traveling

Skip the plastic pack of disposable cutlery when eating on the road & bring your reusable ones. Target had these on sale & I could not resist buying a bunch of them.

You could also make your own travel bundle by wrapping a reusable fork, knife & spoon in a cloth napkin tied with a ribbon. Keep a few sets in your glove box for road trips. Wash & reuse-they will last a lifetime!

Wool Dryer Balls Instead of Dryer Sheets

• Reduce your drying time, which saves you $$$ on your electric or gas bill.

• Reduce ironing time.

• Naturally softens fabric.

• Reduce static electricity

• Avoid reactions to artificial scents or chemicals.

• Put a few drops of essential oils in scent of your choice on the wool balls for a light, natural fragrance.

• Save money on dryer sheets- these can be used for many years & only cost $5.00 at Trader Joes.

Biodegradable Cornstarch Dog Poop Bags

When walking the dogs, I use these biodegradable bags made from cornstarch, instead of plastic bags.

Found these waste bag refills at TJ Maxx made by Green Bone for $5 for 120 bags=four cents a bag! Their eco-friendly, biodegradable poop bags are made from cornstarch which is also a renewable resource. They are also a member of the American Pet Products Association & all of their packaging is recyclable as well. There are other companies who are making this type of product as well.

Shameless Dog Treats w/ Upcycled Ingredients

Birdie, our mini doxie, LOVES these treats. Each of these treats are made with at least 30% upcycled fruits & veggies. That means those perfectly-nutritious foods that are not-quite-right for the grocery stores (aka jumbo blueberries, mini sweet potatoes, & the yellowest bananas) are living their best second life as dog treats. Shameless Pets focuses on rescuing ingredients from agricultural production, post harvest leftovers, & food processing.

Fruits, vegetables, and dairy are the greatest contributors to food waste & where they focus their efforts.

In addition to wasting nutritious calories, food waste contributes to throwing away precious resources such as water, land, energy, & labor. According to a leading research institution, Project Drawdown, food waste is one of the most pressing environmental issues of our time. If food waste were measured as a country, it would be the third worst greenhouse gas offender after the U.S. & China!

Compostable Sponge Cloths

I love trying new products that help me save money & are good for the planet. Found these at the East Aurora Co-Op. $6.00 for 5 cloths. They are super absorbent, replace up to 15 rolls of paper towels & machine washable up to 300 times. And they are compostable, unlike plastic sponges. I like them already!

Reusable & Washable Microfiber Cloth for Windows

Found these Quickie Cloths at my local home improvement store a few years ago. I LOVE them. I am no longer relying on paper towels for my window cleaning.

The glass/window cloth is:

• Made of high quality microfiber, this Mycro-touch cloth removes up to 99% of Bacteria, allergens, & dust from all surfaces. Specially designed for use on windows & glass surfaces to leave a streak free shine. Use wet or dry with water or your preferred cleaning supplies.

• REUSABLE - Machine washable.

• GO GREEN - Reduce waste & cost. Clean a little bit greener with this microfiber cleaning cloth that reduces the amount of paper towels, chemicals & water needed.

• MICROFIBER BENEFITS - Highly absorbent & quick drying, microfiber is lint-free & non-scratch cloth is safe for use on all surfaces. Microfiber has natural cleaning powers & the dense, circular weave of this cloth enhances its ability to wipe smooth surfaces clean & leave them with a streak-free finish.

• This high quality microfiber cloth is designed for cleaning glass, windows, LCD/Plasma television screens & other smooth surfaces.

Natural Cellulose Sponges

Sponges are often, but not always, made from one of Mother Nature’s least favorite substances: oil-based, landfill-clogging plastic. Let’s say you toss one possibly germy plastic polyfoam sponge in the trash a week. It’s no doubt a safe hygienic move, but this means that a year’s worth of sponges will be taking up landfill space for upwards of 52,000 years. Your house may be spotless, but the mess you’re making in landfills will never go away in your lifetime.

Antibacterial sponges. Avoid them. Most have been treated with the antibacterial/antifungal agent triclosan, an environmentally harmful pesticide that’s been wreaking havoc on aquatic ecosystems for some time now.

This leaves us with cellulose sponges. Pure cellulose sponges are, unfortunately, not as prevalent as plastic ones — & probably a bit more pricey — but you should be able to find them with no real problem-just make sure they’re 100 percent cellulose with no polyester filling. Cellulose sponges are made from wood fibers & although man-made, they’re far more “green” than plastic ones since they biodegrade in landfills & go through a far less toxic manufacturing process. See this article for more info. Another great find at Trader Joe’s!