A Conscientious Audit
For years we have tried to make things more sustainable in our home and beyond. I recently decided to run a “single use plastics audit” to really see how much we output in a month. I didn’t think it would be that bad. We recycle, we clean out and reuse our ziplock bags, we always bring reusable grocery bags, we only get take out a few times a month, we try not to buy products that use too much packaging, and we love reusable straws. Unfortunately we found out that we have more single use plastics than expected. We filled 3 oversized leaf pickup bags worth in one month. I was expecting about 1/3 that amount. I was really discouraged.
Upon further investigation, we found some great ways to reduce the annoying amount of plastics we are using. Through this process Matt and I have put our heads together about how to further reduce single use plastics in our home.
You saved ALL of your plastics for a month?
Just about! It was not fun at all. We were washing wrappers used for food products. We also tried really hard to remember to bring wrappers home from snacks we packed for adventures out of the house. Any straws we used or plastic cups from take out places needed to come home too. I will say that anything that left the house or we acquired out of the house had about a 70% chance of making it into the bin. So no it was not 100%, but as a rule we avoid take out places as it is so that helped.
We also found that it was difficult to remember not throw away what we normally did for the first week. I found myself fishing things out of the trash and washing it to put it into the bin because we would just forget. Ultimately I think we got a good gauge on what we use in a month.
Can’t you reuse all plastics in one way or another?
Unfortunately no. Depending on the type of plastic and what it’s meant to be used for, most plastics will begin to shed something called “micro plastics” that get into our bodies, air, oceans, you name it… it gets everywhere. Which is why as we found out when we started digging that we shouldn’t be using ziplock bags and rewashing them. They are intended to be used only once and tossed. It isn’t healthy for us to be using them over and over. This is why the majority of reusable plastic bags you see (stasher, grove, etc) are actually made from silicone. Silicone does not shed or melt below 450 degrees. So it is one of the safest materials for food grade storage to use again and again.
Most plastic containers and packaging will have a triangle with a number in the middle indicating what kind of plastic the container is made out of. This will tell you whether or not it can be reused for food storage, heated/microwave safe, or whether it can be recycled. I have included a chart below of the different kinds of plastics.
Did you count plastics that can be recycled in your audit?
Those we did not count in this experiment. BUT we did make sure we knew exactly what could be recycled and what couldn’t. Figuring that out was a depressing endeavor. Right now in our county you can only recycle clear drinking bottles. No detergent bottles, no tubs, no plastic bags, all of that goes into the trash. Unless it was a water bottle or a soda bottle (which we rarely use anyway), it went into our single use plastics bin.
We dug a little further and found a group in town that will accept plastics that are numbers 2, 4 and 5. But it is on a case by case basis depending on what their needs are. They are an organization that repurposes these types of plastics. For this experiment we included those non recyclable plastics in our bin since our own recycling center in town was not accepting them.
It is worth noting that what you can and can’t recycle totally varies from place to place, AND what is accepted for recycling changes all the time. There is a saying about recycling “When in doubt, throw it out”. I personally am not a fan of that for fairly obvious reasons. Maybe we change that to “When in doubt, call your local waste management companies or recycling centers”.
I highly recommend checking on what your recycling centers will and won’t accept regularly. Most will have the information online, and all will be happy you are calling and asking. It is a much bigger pain to sift out the plastics that aren’t meant to be in the recycling than to answer a few questions over the phone.
How did the audit work?
It was fairly simple.
I put a large storage bin in our kitchen in a place that would be out of the way, but easy to find. We put it underneath the kids work table as it was about the perfect size and easy to access.
I put notes on the fridge and on our main trash cans including the bin outside that said “Stop! Please save all plastics until (ending date of audit)”.
We saved absolutely everything, which was work and a lot of cleaning out containers and plastic we would normally toss. Think about everything that is wrapped in plastic. All of it was washed and put in the bin.
Once the bin was full we filled clear yard waste sized trash bags with the single use plastic, which was a little irritating because trash bags themselves are single use plastics (I am planning on using them again FYI).
At the end of the month we sorted the plastic and figured out what we were using the most.
Now that it’s over, what will you do with what you learned?
You mean writing about it on the internet isn’t enough? kidding. We brainstormed about the best ways of reducing our consumption of said plastics. We started with a huge list of all the things we could do and then we discussed if those were realistic for our lifestyle. We know the end result isn’t going to be zero plastics, I don’t think that is possible of any household until industry as a whole opts to not use them. Some of these ideas we are doing, but we aren’t “going all the way”. Some of these ideas aren’t new but we are increasing our efforts. Some of these are new to us. Some of these are just so obvious that I don’t know why we haven’t done them yet. In general… here is what we came up with.
Commit to shopping in bulk
We noticed that a huge amount of our plastic was from prepackaged things like bobs red mill flours, bags of almonds, trail mix. It was a lot of things we can be buying in the bulk foods section. If we bring reusable bulk foods bags (yes they exist, even for flour!) then there is NO plastic! The only garbage you are consuming are the twisty ties which are paper and metal and can actually be reused for other things in your home! When I come home I will store the bulk foods in clear glass containers so that they are easy to take inventory of and I can use them again and again.
I know not all stores have bulk foods. My favorites are Whole Foods, Market of Choice (Local to Oregon and Washington), and WINCO. YES PEOPLE… Winco is magic and my love for it runs deep. You would be shocked at the amazing goods I’ve found there and at a discount. They have ALL the Bobs Red Mill in their bulk, whole bourbon Madagascar vanilla beans, organic produce… the list goes on. I might do an entire post on the magic of Winco, but I will leave that for another day.
Not just reusable shopping bags, but reusable produce and bulk bags too.
I already mentioned the bulk bags, but did you know they make reusable produce bags as well? Genius! They come pretty large and can fit quite a bit. my plan is to put all of my sturdy apples, oranges, pineapple, bananas, potatoes, etc in one bag because it won’t matter if they roll around together. Then for softer and multi piece items, or items that have strong aroma- I will keep them in their own smaller separate produce bags. My one concern is alienating the check out person. For this reason I might use self check out when I buy a lot of produce. Many of these reusable produce and bulk bags come with the tare weight on them so be sure to point them out to the checker so you aren’t paying more for being green.
We will be reusing containers for non edible purposes around our home
This is going to be a tricky one. As I said before, we are going to have to pay close attention to the type of plastic because even though it isn’t going directly into our bodies, it could be going into our water supply and into the ground. That being said anything you throw away will be going into the ground or water as well! So while the better option is to not purchase plastics at all, those we do purchase we are going to play much closer attention to as far as what type of plastic it is so that we have the option to reuse it around our home if it can’t be recycled.
Taking that into consideration, some of the ways that I plan to reuse these containers around my home are as bath/beach toys for my children, for propagating plants, to use for seed starters, to use as scoops for various things like flour and nuts, for drawer storage and organizing such as paper clips rubber bands and pins, and to use as paint pots for arts and crafts projects.
We will make a larger effort to shop products that are packaged in glass and paper.
Most paper products that are used as food containers are already made from post consumer recycled materials. That being said, glass is still better. I try and save the majority of the glass bottles that come into this house because they are so useful with organizing and to use for food storage. They can be easily cleaned and sterilized, and most glass is 100% recyclable.
Places that I have found that use less single use plastics are smaller wellness focused markets, butcher shops, farmers markets, buying direct from farms themselves, and gourmet marketplaces. Also shop green specific brands at your favorite big box stores (seventh generation, box water, etc).
We are going to increase how often we make our own dressing, condiments, bread, crackers, drinks, you name it.
I have found it a real point of pride that I make so much from scratch in this house. We are going to increase our efforts in doing that and try even more things… like mustard. For some reason, I really want to learn to make mustard. Of course the idea is to make these goods from scratch so that you can store in glass containers or other eco friendly alternatives (beeswax wraps, silicone bags, etc) and reduce waste you would consume from purchasing them in a store.
Switching to solids and glass refills for soap, detergent, mouthwash, shampoo/conditioner and detergent.
This is far fetched for a lot of people. I know there are a lot of people who don’t want to give up their brands for this. MYSELF INCLUDED. I am going to TRY the solid shampoo and conditioner and then go from there. I know I will struggle giving up my Living Proof “Perfect Hair Day” products. Chances are, I ultimately won’t. To some that might sound selfish, but I would rather wash my hair less and use less bottles, than those products up entirely. Either way, I will try the solid.
I also LOVE Dreft laundry detergent for washing my little ones clothing and it’s only available in a giant aggressive plastic jug. That being said there has yet to be a product on Grove Collaborative that I didn’t love. They have solid detergent and I will be trying that. I am sure I will love it.
I will fully commit to solid soap and mouthwash. That isn’t a problem for me at all. I already use refillable glass containers that come with a refill concentrate that comes in a small glass vile. Grove has also been my go to for 2 years for a lot of household cleaning products. We will continue to do that and see what else they have that can replace cleaners that we have in plastic bottles.
We will rededicate our support of companies that take responsibility for reducing their carbon footprint with their packaging
Here are some of the companies that we plan on supporting in the future. Some of them we already use and love.
Grove Collaborative: Only my third time mentioning them. All of their packaging is now either compostable or glass. They have been a strong leader in not only selling sustainable products, but the way they deliver and package their goods is almost completely free of single use plastic. I have been a regular customer of theirs since switching to eco friendly products when I was pregnant with my first baby (4ish years ago).
EcoTools: All products are made with materials that won’t harm the environment, can be completely recycled, or is compostable. Down to their price tags, which have featured seeded paper that you can plant and will grow actual wild flowers. I love their dry brush and selection of loofahs! You can find them at any big box store (Walmart, Target, etc) as well as smaller wellness markets.
Boxed water: their bottled water is served in recyclable milk cartons. There is some controversy about their carbon footprint and how their packaging is transported, however all of their cartons are made from a forrest that is sustainably managed. Meaning that not only does that off set their carbon footprint, but their harvesting practices as well as their constant replanting of trees actually benefit the environment. Any company willing to leave our planet better than they found it is going to get my business.
Amazon.com: Yes you read that right. While amazon drives me insane with how they ship and their usage of cardboard boxes (please stop shipping me diaper cream is a 2’x3’ box PLEASE!), They actually do a great job reducing the amount of single use plastic they use. They started the “Frustration free packaging” initiative and have worked with other companies to reduce their plastic usage. A big one for us is fisher price. They have always been a big user of single use plastic that just immediately go in the trash bin without any hope of it getting reused or repurposed. Now when you choose frustration free packaging for their products on Amazon, not only is it shipped to you without plastic, it’s usually less expensive and therefor incentivizes the customer to choose this option when shopping. Well done Amazon.
Whole Foods (aka Amazon 2.0): yes of course this was an easy one and another nod to the Jeff Bezos… which I think everyone has some kind of an opinion on and I get it. But the practices of Whole Foods to reduce their carbon footprint have run deep and haven’t stopped since the Amazon takeover. Starting with their use of post consumer recycled paper bags in their produce and bulk foods department. They were also the first grocery store to start the trend of reusable bags in bulk foods. They have been selling them for over a decade.
Patagonia: Save the world and look cute doing it. They actually use recycled plastics in their clothing and they recycle your old clothing themselves. As soon as your fleece gets ratty, just turn it back into the company.
Cost Plus World Market: These guys are a phenomenal resource for eco friendly products. They also do not use a lot of packaging in their products and everything down to the price tags are made of recycled materials. They have an entire section in their store for sustainability within your home. From Composting systems to beeswax wraps… this is the place for all things sustainable in your home.
Unilever: Isn’t it refreshing to see a huge company like Unilever taking a stand on sustainability. This company is a huge manufacturer of several home and personal care products that keep sustainability in their packaging in mind. They are also keeping inclusivity at the forefront with body positive messages, and supporting both LGBTQ and BPOC when it comes to representation amongst their brands.
Seventh Generation: Which is actually a subsidiary of Unilever. They use all natural fibers in their products and any plastic wrap around their paper products (toilet paper) is made of post consumer plastics products.
There are many many more and I will be adding to this list as I find them, down the road I will do a post of my favorite green companies… I will save them for another day.
We will return our coffee pods to the company they came from, recycle them locally, or use a reusable coffee pod.
I’m not giving up my Keurig. BUT there are a lot of great options now for people who are Keurig fanatics like myself. I currently use the single use coffee pods, but I will be switching to a reusable k cup for our machine. Keurig has done a really good job of making their k cups more eco friendly. They have made them so that most communities will take empty k cups as part of their recycling programs. Sadly, Eugene isn’t one of them.
If you live in a community that can recycle the number plastic that is on the bottom of the k cups, all you have to do is cut the top, remove the coffee grinds, wash, and recycle the cups!
We will return plastic pots to nurseries where we purchase our plants.
We didn’t know this was a thing until recently. Not only will most independent nurseries and farms take back your plastic pots, many actually need them! If you are like us, you have these stacked to the ceiling in your garden shed because you are too guilty to throw them away. Or you might have even snuck them in with your St. Vinnie’s or Goodwill donations. Unfortunately, most donation centers immediately throw them in the trash and you are really just adding work for yourself by taking the time to drop them off. BUT…these containers can be reused and are valuable to farms and grow houses.
Even certain dispensaries will take them if they propagate and clone marijuana plants (this of course is only in certain states). Even if you aren’t someone to condones legal marijuana, it is still a place that will reuse your plastic pots. take the win. No matter where you want to take your plastic pots, call ahead to make sure they are accepting them.
Dine in at restaurants instead of carrying out and use your own containers at coffee places.
At this point everyone is thinking “DUH!! I CAN’T!!”. Yes, right now this one is hard. Many restaurants aren’t taking dine in customers still, and places like Starbucks aren’t allowing any reusable cups. For this reason we have decided to buy gift cards in order to support our local restaurants and then dine in when we can. As it is we only get take out maybe 2 times a month (this is also a cooking blog, remember?). Now and post Covid we want to try and dine in as much as possible to avoid the take out containers while continuing to support restaurants.
I completely understand that many people rely on take out. So if you are someone who can't avoid this but hates all the plastic, then I recommend looking for places that don’t use plastic for their takeout boxes. I know locally many have switched to paper containers and even take out boxes that are compostable or made of post consumer recycled materials. That is absolutely the next best thing.
We are going to run the audit again in 6 months and see how we are doing.
Now that we have a baseline for how we are doing we can gauge how well we do in the future. Believe it or not, by that time there will be new rules for recycling and things we buy regularly will be packed differently. On top of which, plastics is such a hot study right now that I’m anticipating more studies will come out on the use of plastics and what they are doing to our environment. So this is really a never-ending project. We will have to keep up to date on everything if we want to keep things as sustainable as possible in our home.
Do you really think this plan will work?
Ultimately some of these ideas are going to work and some of them will be too difficult to maintain in our house. We are going to try and then try again. Make changes, hate them, go back to the drawing board, try again. That last part is the most important thing- Just keep trying, keep improving, and don’t stop caring. None of us are perfect, but making small feasible improvements about the way we consume will make a huge impact. Small changes we make individually for this planet are going to ensure a healthy planet for generations to come.