One Lid At A Time: 5 Simple Ways To Reduce Plastic Waste
Coffee lids are just the beginning.
It’s no secret that the worldwide use of plastic has become a wasteful industry, producing over 300 million tons of trash every single year. These numbers can be overwhelming, and it can often feel a lot easier to ignore the problem altogether. To make things seem a little less daunting, we’ve gathered together five easy ways you can make a real impact on the waste in your life.
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Invest in reusable containers. It is estimated that the world produces around 150 million tons of single-use plastic every year. These plastics are used once, then discarded into landfills for several hundred years. One of the most immediate ways to make an impact on these numbers is to change the way you store and carry your food and drink. One simple change is to carry a reusable water bottle to avoid waste from single-use plastic bottles. Buying in bulk reduces the amount of packaging needed in-store, so to trim down on plastic containers from your grocery shopping, invest in glass containers for storing the bulk rice, flour, and pasta. The more you change...the greater the impact you can have! Our Earthlid® and Roam Travel Mug are the perfect places to start.
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Learn simple mending and repairs for your clothing. On average, each consumer throws away around 70 pounds of clothing per year. Oftentimes, these items are discarded due to small tears or minor damage that the wearer believes they have neither the skills nor the time to mend properly. Fortunately, many of the most common clothing repairs, such as sewing back on a button or stitching up a small rip, are very easy tasks that can be picked up and perfected in no time. With the help of a few short tutorial videos or in-person lessons, you’ll be able to save and resurrect your clothes instead of tossing them out with the garbage.
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Plan out your lunches or dinners ahead of time. In the United States, the amount of food waste is truly astronomical. For example, it is estimated that over $5 million per day is wasted on discarded or uneaten school lunches. By preparing your lunches or dinners ahead of time, you can not only better control your cooking and container waste, but you can also better control your diet and plan out more nutritionally-dense meals for your week.
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Avoid plastic razors with disposable blades. The modern-day “safety razor” is designed for cheapness and convenience, which means that it isn’t designed to last. After just a few shavings, the blades will typically need to be replaced as they begin to dull and cause small nicks and cuts. Before long, the plastic razor handle itself will likely break or get lost in the shuffle. However, if you opt for a metal, straight-edge razor, you will be purchasing a durable product that is designed to stay with the owner for years and years. You will replace your blades and handles much less often, meaning you will create far less waste.
- Start a compost bin or compost pile for your home. Almost half of all landfill waste in the United States is made of compostable materials—organic matter that can naturally decompose in the correct conditions. By installing a compost bin or compost pile either inside or outside your house, you can drastically cut down on your landfill waste, reduce or eliminate your use of plastic trash bags, and give valuable nutrients back to the earth.
There are many more ways you can reduce the amount of waste in your life, whether you’re searching for alternatives to saran wrap and aluminum foil or ordering more food items in bulk. Most of these steps are small. However, taken together, they can represent truly significant change.
SOURCES:
https://plasticoceans.org/the-facts/
https://edgexpo.com/fashion-industry-waste-statistics/
https://grist.org/article/schools-waste-5-million-a-day-in-uneaten-food-heres-how-oakland-is-reinventing-the-cafeteria/
https://ilsr.org/compost-impacts-infographic/