5 Disposable Things You Should Stop Using

by BrownThumbMama

I heard about this one family, who reduced their trash to just a couple of handfuls a year? I read about them in Sunset Magazine a couple of years ago. They bring all their own containers to the grocery store (even a pillowcase for bread), and don’t own any books–they get them all from the library. Their story is amazing, but it’s not realistic for our family right now.

5 disposable things you should stop using, go green, repurposing upcycling

We’re doing what we can–our recycle bin is twice as big as our garbage can, and we compost our food waste. But there’s always ways to improve…even little steps can help.

Ready to take the plunge? Here are 5 disposable things you should stop using and things you can replace them with. We’ve made these changes in our family and you can too.

1. Plastic Straws

More than 500 million disposable plastic straws are used in the United States every day. These stainless steel straws (say that five times fast!) are durable and easy to clean.

2. Printer Cartridges

Each second, more than 13 printer cartridges are thrown away in the United States–even though they can be refilled up to 15 times. Use a printer cartridge refill kit and you can save enough to buy a new printer!

3. Paper Towels and Napkins

Save money and trees by using old rags or cut-up t-shirts. If you don’t want the expense of cloth napkins, buy an inexpensive pack of kitchen washcloths.

4. Zip-top Bags

Rinse and re-use (except for those that held raw meat) or switch to glass jars/Pyrex. Remember that the leftovers don’t care the shape of the containers they’re in!

Want to know the 5th thing you should stop buying in disposable form? Check out my post for the answer:

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2 of 3 comments

Jean Myles on Jan 29, 2016
Some good ideas here. Most of them seam to be very doable

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Carole on Jan 29, 2016
I have switched from plastic 2 litre containers of milk to buying in the cardboard cartons. It cost more but the cardboard is not as bad as the plastic for the environment. I also don't ever buy straws. When buying fruits or vegies that are small and loose, I take a mesh drawstring bag - like the type you use for delicates in the laundry, to put things like green beans in. For apples, pears, bananas, oranges and even potatoes, I only buy maybe 4 or so of each (8 large ones for spuds) and just group them together on the conveyer belt at the supermarket checkout so they are easier to weigh. No plastic bag for them. We take re-useable shoppers when we dour main grocery run. I try to avoid any fruit or veg that is in plastic punnets or wrapping. Reducing our plastic one off disposables definitely starts with the way we shop. Even for clothes shopping, take your own fold up or cloth bag and keep in your purse/handbag so that you can refuse the plastic bags at the checkout. I also buy j-cloths for the kitchen and they are washable so I wash them several times before they fall apart, rather than buy more.

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