Single Use Plastic Alternatives for the Low Waste Aficionado
Happy America Recycles Day!
Reusable water bottle. Photo by Parks Conservancy.
November 15th is America Recycles Day, a day each year to remind everyone how important recycling is for us and for our planet. Hosted by Keep America Beautiful, there are many ways to be involved – taking the #BeRecycled pledge, brushing up on what can and can’t be recycled in Knoxville, and hosting your own litter cleanup.
This year, Keep Knoxville Beautiful is celebrating America Recycles Day by reflecting on the role of single use plastics in recycling. While recycling single use plastics is great for the environment, reducing consumption of single use plastics is even better for the environment! The EPA estimates that only 9% of plastic waste generated is actually recycled. The rest goes to landfills. If we can cut back the amount of single use plastic we use instead of just depending on recycling it, then that can really help make a difference for our environment.
With that in mind, we wanted to propose several eco-friendly alternatives to single use plastics to reduce our waste and keep plastic out of the landfill!
Plastic Water Bottle → Reusable Water Bottle
Reusable produce bag. Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash.
Having a reusable water bottle is one of the easiest single use plastic switches. Americans consume around 50 billion water bottles per year, and 70%-80% of plastic bottles end up in landfill every year. Not only can you cover your reusable water bottles with lots of fun stickers, but keeping the water bottle with you ensures that you can always stay hydrated.
To Go Coffee Cup → Reusable Mug or Thermos
Did you know that to go coffee cups can’t actually be recycled? Even though the cup is paper, there is a thin plastic lining inside the cup that prevent them from being recyclable. Instead, bring your own mug or thermos to coffee shops! If you are a devout coffee drinker who goes through lots of to go coffee cups, then consider bringing your own thermos or mug when you go to a coffee shop.
Plastic Straw → Metal or Paper Straw
If you don’t need a straw, then you can always politely refuse one when eating out. If you are good at avoiding plastic straws until those pesky plastic straws are included in your drive through orders, then keep a couple of reusable straws in your glove compartment. This way you can politely refuse a plastic straw while still getting to enjoy your to go drink.
plastic sandwich bags → reusable FOOD STORAGE containers
If you pack a lunch every day for school or work, then you probably have used single use sandwich bags to pack your food. Switching to reusable containers is not only environmentally friendly, but can keep your sandwich getting squished by other items in your lunchbox.
plastic shopping bags → reusable shopping bags
Who doesn’t have a drawer stuffed full of single use plastic bags? Since an estimated 4 trillion plastic bags are used each year globally, I would imagine almost everyone does! Instead of continuing to stuff that drawer full, bring your own reusable shopping bags when you go grocery shopping or to other stores. Keep your shopping bags in your car so that you never have to use single use plastic bags even if you’re just running a quick errand.
plastic produce bags → reusable produce bags
Bars of soap. Photo by Aurélia Dubois on Unsplash
In addition to your reusable shopping bags, bring reusable produce bags to the grocery store! Keep your reusable produce bags in the bottom of your reusable shopping bags so that you also never forget them. As well, if you buy any fruits or vegetables where you won’t eat the rind (such as bananas, avocados, garlic), then they don’t need to be bagged at all! Instead, you can skip the bag altogether and place them directly in your cart.
plastic soap bottles → bars of soap
So far, all our suggestions have been for the kitchen, but what about single use plastic in the bathroom? An easy switch is to swap plastic soap bottles for bars of soap. If you buy locally as well, you can often find bars of soap that come without any plastic packaging. Not only can you use the bars of soap for hand washing, but you can use bars of soap in place of shower gel as well.