There are many many plastic items we use every day and are very easy to swap for a plastic-free alternative or emit altogether. It’s sometimes really overwhelming and hard to know where to start, so I have a list of beginner-friendly zero waste swaps that will be really easy to implement right away.
Zero waste swaps are in order of biggest impact (most plastic reduced), but they use and quantity depend of your lifestyle.
Crucial zero waste swaps tips
- SMALL STEPS – LONG TERM GAINS: when you are just starting with zero waste you might be tempted to transform all areas of your life into a green oasis at once, only to end up overwhelmed and upset. From experience, start with something that is easy to implement, and easy to sustain.
- the most sustainable thing you can do is USE THINGS YOU ALREADY OWN FOR LONGER
- if you get discouraged, remember every action counts, it’s OK to not be perfect and feel free to reach out to me
Most impactful zero waste swap – switch to public transport or bike
The most impactful thing we can do for the environment as individuals is to approach transport differently. Swap a short weekend trip for a longer vacation, explore the neighbour’s backyard, swap a plane ride with long-distance or night trains, and hop on a bike when you can.
This reduces CO2 our dependency of fossil fuels and supports local economy.
Switch from meat to more legumes and veg
I have no words for how greedy companies produce meat nowadays. Animals are stuffed with antibiotics and growth hormones in appalling conditions. The current crisis has exposed unethical conditions for workers in meat factories all over the world as well.
Reducing our meat consumption reduces not only CO2 but also other greenhouse gasses.
Start by switching 1 meal or 2 per week and see how you go.
Buy local/organic/free range when you possibly can.
Switch from single-use bottled water to a reusable water bottle
I saw most impactful, because 1 person uses (and throws away) roughly 4 bottles per day, which makes 28 water bottles per week, which makes 1456 plastic bottles per person per year.
You may have seen this quote online: “Companies providing bottles water are in the business of producing plastic, not water” (author unknown). This is because a 25-80 % of bottled water worldwide is actually just tap water, depending on the location and brand.
There are locations where bottled water is cleaner, but it’s less common than we think. You can also get physical filters or tabs that purify water if you are concerned.
Get your very own re-usable coffee mug
Similar to water bottles, coffee to go comes with it’s own single use plastic items. Some people think paper cups are recyclable, which may or may not be true. Paper cups were up until recently mostly lined with plastic, that is impossible to separate. With greater awareness and peer pressure, cups lined with some sort of wax may be available, but it’s hard still hard to trace if the wood was sourced sustainably and what coating they used. And does your recycling facility take used coffee cups? Mine doesn’t.
Any brand will do, though baristas prefer low to medium high cups that fit in the espresso machine vs. taller ones.
*Switching to mugs is actually a very easy swap for the office as well.
Zero wasting take-out
Especially in the last couple of months take out was the only way of “dinning out”. But the reality is, take-out produces a lot of non-recyclable single-use waste. Where I currently live, plastic containers are not recyclable, let alone those small sauce pouches. Polystyrene foam (or styrofoam – the white crumbly kind) containers are actually the hardest to recycle.
If possible, cook at home (I do batch meal prep on Sundays Fundays) or eat at a restaurant.
When ordering in, ask for no utensils or sauces.
During quarantine, I ordered from a restaurant down the street that uses paper-based cups and aluminum foil (paper cups are just garbage here and alufoil is recyclable). Some places also allow you to bring your own containers. If your favorite place doesn’t offer plastic-free take-out, ask them if they would consider plastic-free alternatives.
Refuse to buy fruit and veg in redundant plastic wraps
Stores say they wrap our fruit and veg to help it keep longer, which seems like a good thing (fight food waste). However, they need to keep it “fresh” for longer, because it’s transported from so far away it would naturally spoil by the time we cook it. And do we really want to eat lettuce that keeps for 3 weeks? (tested). Pre-packaged bulk food actually sells more produce (creating food waste).
Solution: Look for loose produce grown more locally and grab your own produce bags. Farmers’ markets are even better and they cut out the middle man.
Carry a thin and light-weight grocery (multi-use tote) bag. Chose sth. light and something you will love using. A lot of the countries worldwide have already switched from plastic to paper or canvas (plastic or cotton) at checkout. I don’t think I need to say this, but store provided reusable bags aren’t intended as a single-use item.
You can also reuse plastic produce bags, use other paper bags, make your own, take bigger items through checkout loose, and obviously, buy some.
There is no best brand, try to prefer cotton fabrics (most are made out of plastic) and get something sturdier that will last more than just a couple of visits to the store.
Zero waste swaps in the kitchen
Zero waste food storage is actually pretty easy. I collected glass jars from bigger yogurt jars, pickled veg, sauces… and I use those in my food prep and shopping in zero waste stores.
I also love bee wax wraps. They keep fresh vegetables and cheese so much longer than anything else I’ve used in the past. Nothing dries out and nothing gets moldy.
I made some bee wax wraps bags as well for snacks on the go.
I never wrap fruit. We often thing we need to protect and wrap our food, but it’s often not the case. Unless your fridge is very dry, things will not dry out that fast.
I also have 2 shallow and wide Ikea glass storage units for things that do not fit in jars.
Quick zero waste swaps for your bathroom
These items are a bit lower on the list, because they more readily recyclable and I do not not to overwhelm you. Plus, it takes a long time to find good skincare products in our price range that work well for us, so it can often take longer to find good plastic-free alternatives.
Zero waste makeup options and solutions + brand recommandations
The easiest: ditch plastic packaging shower gel and go for a soap bar
I even wrote a bit of a trouble shooting guide to buying soap, so you can narrow down your selection.
Second easiest: conditioners and masks and leave-in conditioners
Here’s a fun fact: I do not buy any of those any more. Gone. Out. I have a very sensitive scalp and curly dry hair and my hair (and scalp) is much healthier after ditching all the commercial plastic-full hair care products.
The thing is, most shampoos contain very strong surfactants (SLS) that dry our scalp and hair out and so we need moisturizers to correct that.
I do make some ayurvedic hair masks from time to time (when my hair needs it) and moisturize with almond, grape seed, or castor oil (or a mix).
The most readily available shampoo bar here is Lamazuna. See my review for their shampoo bar for oily hair here. I’m currently testing their conditioner bar as well.
Plastic free laundry detergent
Did you know that a lot of laundry detergents contain micro-plastic? Go organic and look for the nearest refill station. If not available, buy the a concentrated detergent and go for the biggest size available.
I used to make my own detergent, but do not recommend that.
I’m currently testing some sciency laundry detergent that replaces detergent and softener. So far so good.
UPDATE: I finished testing, I’ve been using it for over 6 months now, find the review of this magical sciency detergent creature here.
Until manufacturers install (already available) micro-plastic filters, I’m using the Guppybriend bag.
Did you know menstrual products are mainly plastic?
Tampons and menstrual pads are mainly made out of plastic and the ingredients aren’t regulated anywhere in the world.
If the idea of a menstrual cup is too daunting, start by using organic tampons without plastic applicators or organic pads. They are available in most organic grocery stores. There are even companies starting to made biodegradable pads, but they aren’t available worldwide yet.
Dive deep into the topic of plastic-free periods.
I use a menstrual cup by Lunette.
*I do not use vaginal soaps, washing gels or duches. They create more trouble (and plastic) than good.
To recap the first zero waste swaps
- small steps
- buy better quality & reuse items for longer
- you do not have to be perfect all the time
- reusable water bottle
- reusable coffee cup
- look for a farmers market in the area
- reduce take-out food
- use a thin reusable multi-use tote bag for groceries
- avoid plastic-wrapped fruit and veg
- re-use glass jars for storage
- use (bee or vegan) wax food wraps for storage and snacks on the go
- switch to a bar soap
- go natural poo and condition your hair with oil
- ditch laundry detergent containing microplastic, go organic
- if something doesn’t work out, come back and we can troubleshoot together
And here is a handy dandy zero waste swaps checklist for you to reference later.
Over to you.
Does is look doable? Daunting? Share your successes (or challenges) below!
