7 Easy Shopping Swaps to be Less Wasteful
According to a study by the EPA in 2017, the average American produces 5.88 lbs of waste a day with 3.08 lbs going to the landfill and only 1.78 lbs being recycled or composted. This trend has only seemed to rise so it is more likely that the amount has gone up in 2020.
While recycling is more accessible than ever the truth is our good intentions often fail us. Tons of waste still ends up in landfills because we don’t sort or clean items properly. Or they are shipped abroad where regulations might not be as strict and landfills in other countries are flooded polluting our shared waters and land.
Ultimately, the best way to remedy this is to reuse as much as possible—creating the least amount of waste with no doubt of whether or not our efforts to recycle are in vain.
Whenever I nag my mom about being more eco-friendly she argues that it’s too “expensive.” This is a common misconception but the truth is you actually save money in the long run. There’s no need to purchase costly items, in fact, all it takes are simple changes that can accommodate any budget and the most hectic lifestyles. The expectation is not to move to zero-waste overnight. But even a small decrease per person makes a big impact.
If you’re open to suggestions I’ve compiled 8 simple swaps below to get you to zero-waste in no time.
1. Buy less or no plastic
- When you’re food shopping be mindful of the packaging. For produce buy individual fruits and veggies and wash thoroughly as you should in any case. Avoid prepackaged items that come in plastic wrap or containers.
- If you choose to buy food that comes in containers like pasta sauce and see a brand that comes in a plastic container and one that comes in a glass container. The glass one might cost $0.20 cents more. BUT think of it this way: that $0.20 buys you a new storage container!
- Plastics take up to 10,000 years which is the equivalent of 500 generations, to decompose in a landfill.
- Plastics are also made of hydrocarbons aka crude oil, the stuff draining our non-renewable resources and yet nations go to war over.
2 . Use recyclable totes & produce bags
- Take your reusable totes to the grocery store and avoid plastic bags that let’s be real wind up in that drawer you’ll never reuse.
- You can double down on the tote by bringing a mesh bag for your produce while shopping. Great for reducing clutter.
- If you don’t want to buy new ones — use old bags you have at home! Or even bring back your plastic bags from that drawer.
- Many stores even offer a refund of $0.05 per bag.
- Plastic bags also account for 8% of oil production! SO swap that out if you can or use less.
- Plastic bags are deadly for marine life who mistake them for food and are killed after consuming them.
3. Upcycle clothes!
- We are a major consumerist society and when we throw out our surplus of cheap clothing these end up in landfills.
- You might be mindful and donate but even when you donate, if it is not in good condition, it gets sent abroad to be sold or end up as you surely guessed, in landfills.
- A better alternative is to give it away to friends. Host swap parties to exchange clothes, posting it on freecycle.org. Or if your wears are high-end try selling it on apps like poshmark, mercardi, the real real or ebay.
- Upcycle your clothes for a new season with DIY tricks like adding lace, tye-die, or distressing gives your clothes a whole new life.
- Alternatively, shop for one-of-a-kind items with consignment apps and shops like Depop. Vintage offers unique styles at a lower cost.
- Much of our clothes have micro-plastics leeching into our water so buying fabrics that are organic, cotton, and avoiding synthetic fabrics that end in “-these” or “-ester” aka plastics aka oil and less-harmful dyes are best. If you can afford it, of course.
4. Swap your ziplock, cling wrap, for beeswax or silicone covers
- Invest in some beeswax wraps to cover your foods instead of using cling wrap and plastic baggies that are non-recyclable by most municipalities.
- Additionally, you can get some stretchy silicone covers that can cover your containers and bowls so you can save your leftovers. Just attach to some of those glass containers you got instead of your plastic ones!
5 . Buying in bulk, local, and in season
- Buying products in bulk like grains and beans mean less need for plastic bags. It also means that you save dollars. Many stores now have sections where you can buy grains, beans, granola and such by the scoop. PS: don’t forget your reusable mesh baggies!
- Also buying locally at your farmers’ market isn’t just a great photo opp for the ‘gram but you reduce your carbon footprint by having your food travel less distance and remain in season.
- Supporting local farmers, bakers and food producers means you are helping them to continue producing food near you and bolstering your local economy.
6. Leftovers!
- Our food even organic food in landfills produces methane gases. Not all landfills are able to be maintained well and this contributes to our overall greenhouse gasses. So if you can’t or aren’t composting at home or in your community garden try to actually eat as much as you can.
- Save leftovers in reusable containers or bowls now that you have your repurposed glass containers and silicone covers.
- Try preparing foods that you divide into dishes throughout the week. This is also a huge penny saver. I make a portion of beans big enough to eat for breakfast with some eggs, queso fresco, and tortilla and or in the evening to eat with quinoa and sweet potato.
8. Buy less online
- Okay, this is hard. I know I too am a millennial, but nowadays shopping is just a click away and PRIME 2 day, 1 day, 2 hour, NOW makes it so much easier to get things without leaving your house. But what happens to the packages after the trucks deliver your one package? I won’t lie — I’m not going to stop ordering online because I live in the outskirts and some products are hard to find locally, but I try my best to be mindful.
- You can opt to buy in person at local shops supporting your local economy forcing yourself outdoors.
- Or wait until you have all the products you want and need to purchase. That way it’s delivered in one trip and you can opt to for it to be shipped in as few boxes as possible.
- Opt to shop from small businesses, package-free, and locally made/ sourced to ensure you have the lowest impact products.
Many companies promote “recycle” putting the responsibility on the consumer vs themselves
Many vendors lay waste reduction at the feet of the consumer by simply promoting “recycle” on the packaging. The first thing you should do is REUSE but be aware many consumer plastics can leach toxic chemicals so buy products that come in glass containers to reuse as storage whenever possible.
When you’re done you have new storage container saving money by not having to buy new Tupperware to fill up on your grains, leftovers, I use mine to hold my sugar and add to my coffee in the morning.
If you only want to focus on one thing let it be to use less plastic!
Plastic, previously made from organic material from plants, is a polymer. This means it’s made from hydrocarbon compounds—a majority from synthetic plastics which roughly translates to CRUDE OIL
We’re literally using our fossil fuels and non-renewable resources to produce products that themselves are non-sustainable. Along with causing massive geopolitical instability and wars over oil.
I know we can’t all afford Prius’s and Teslas that are more eco-friendly but we can limit our non-biodegradable waste by avoiding buying plastic products.
If you’re curious about the science here’s how it’s made.
We live in a capitalist system that runs on supply and demand and we as consumers drive this force. This means that if we demand more sustainable products, buy less from wasteful companies and more products that are sustainable the supply for these products will increase. Use biodegradable bio-plastic products, and avoid making more waste if you can.
As we are near dangerous levels of pollutants, remember we have the power to change our future if we want to see the next generation thrive.
