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30 Creative Ways to Use Less Plastic and Go Green!
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21. Keep a small set of silverware with you at work or in the car so you can avoid plastic utensils
22. Replace items in your kitchen
If you have a collection of various plastic items in your kitchen, replace them a piece at a time with glass or stainless steel when they break or wear out.
23. Make your own snacks
Instead of buying those individual snacks or even small bags, why not make your own and then store them in reusable or repurposed containers. Or, buy in bulk and then place them in individual containers for lunches or snacks.
24. Compost!
No matter how small your home, you can make a compost bin. Add food and paper scraps instead of throwing them into plastic garbage bags. The few plastic garbage bags you can use, the better. If this doesn’t appeal to you, try to find an alternative to plastic bags. Some people reuse empty dog food, cat food, and cat litter bags for trash bags.
25. Wash and reuse
Don’t throw out those zip lock bags after just one use! Save money, save the environment, and reuse them. Unless whatever is in there is just too yucky to consider reusing, for most food items, even if they get on the inside of the bag, they can be washed. Hand wash them with a sponge or rag in hot water and rinse well. Set them in a sunny windowsill or someplace warm where they can dry easily. Placing them upside down will help. Once they are completely dry, they are good to go.
26. Say “No Thanks” to plastic straws
Paper straws are ok but you don’t find many of them anymore. Plastic straws are now one of the top 10 pieces of plastic that is found on our beaches. Straws are nice but not really necessary. If you must have a straw, try to find one that you can reuse or reuse that plastic one until it falls to pieces.
27. Say “Yes, please!” to natural fibers
Wear clothes that are made from natural fibers such as cotton and wool. Polyester and other types of fabrics often contain tiny bits of plastic and many of these pieces end up in our oceans, and inside marine animals.
28. Don’t throw away your old electronics’
Try your best to upgrade the ones you have, rather than buy the latest and newest gadget. Try selling your old ones online or take them to the proper recycling facility.
29. Think Sharing!
If you haven’t yet tried them, Craigslist, Freecycle, and Yerdie, are the place to either look for something used ( rather than buy new) or to offer your plastic items to those in need. You can either sell your item or give it away free, but either way, sharing your unwanted plastic items means someone isn’t going to buy new plastic. Many people love to use the barter system where you trade things you don’t want for things you do want. Somewhere out there, there is a match for you and your unwanted plastics.
30. Rethink gift wrap
Yes, those little cutie plastic baby bottles you tie on the ribbon of your baby shower gift are super cute, but are they really necessary? You know it’s going to be admired for a day or two and then tossed in the trash. Experiment with reusable wraps or get creative and try wrapping from the newspaper comics, and add a drawing of a baby that your two year old made and attach that to the package instead. Be creative and avoid using more plastic!
Although you can’t avoid all plastic in this world, you can limit how much you buy as well as how much you use and throw out. Be green and ditch the plastic habit.
