We should reduce reuse recycle, but how best to do it?
Horrified by the pile of rubbish your household produces each week? When you take the trash out and notice that your overflowing bin is way fuller than that of your neighbours, it can lead to feelings of guilt and even shame. Time to do reduce reuse and recycle!
If you live in a country that provides recycling bins to separate your rubbish, then you probably presume that the majority of it is recycled, right? Unfortunately, wrong! According to Greenpeace US, of all the plastic waste produced in the US in 2017, only 8.4% of it eventually got recycled. So even if you go to the lengths of washing and separating your single-use plastic waste, chances are it’s not going to end up repurposed in any shape or form. The bare facts are that most countries have neither the infrastructure, nor the funds to recycle efficiently.
For this very reason using eco friendly, zero waste household products is the way forward. Products that you can reuse for months or even years. Products that biodegrade without adding to our planet’s pollution problem. Products that aren’t covered in multiple layers of plastic before they leave the factory.
Here are five eco-friendly kitchen and laundry swaps you can make to dramatically reduce the volume of plastic trash going into your rubbish bin each week:
Paperless Towels – Eco Kitchen Roll
Contrary to popular belief, used paper towels are not recyclable. Add to that, the fact that an area roughly the size of the Netherlands, is deforested every year, in order to produce paper products, and the value of reusable kitchen towels becomes evident. Our Eco kitchen Roll is hand-sewn from beautifully designed, 100% organic, cotton fabric. It includes six squares of towelling-backed fabric, that clip together to form one long roll. It can be used to clean up spills and mess in the kitchen and then chucked in the washing machine and used over and over again. Handily, the roll can be placed on a kitchen roll holder to sit on your kitchen counter, just like traditional kitchen roll. Hugely versatile, Eco Kitchen Roll can be used as mats to protect tables, as oven gloves or even as napkins – it’s certainly pretty enough!
Beeswax Wrap (Beeswax Paper)
There is no reason these days to continue using plastic wrap or saran wrap, as it is sometimes known. With plenty of eco-friendly food covering alternatives on the market, you are pretty much spoilt for choice. For their zero-waste credentials and longevity, you can’t beat beeswax paper. Wax Wraps are organic, food safe and when looked after properly, last up to two years. Use them to wrap fruit or vegetables , to cover leftovers in bowls, or to wrap packed lunches. They are both fridge and freezer safe and come in a variety of bee-autiful patterns that won’t fail to brighten up your kitchen!
Eco Dishcloth
Even if you bagged the longevity genes and you live to be the oldest human on the planet, it won’t be long enough to see one of those green and yellow plastic kitchen sponges (you know the ones I am talking about!) biodegrade. Check out this beautiful eco-friendly, 100% cotton dishcloth, that is lovingly handmade by artisans in Chiang Mai. Sold in packs of 3, these dishcloths are soft enough to protect the surface of your pans, but textured enough to remove stubborn bits of stuck on food. and why not use one of your pack of 3 to clean your car? Super absorbent and guaranteed not to scratch your paintwork, customers tell us it’s the perfect hack.
Hexawash
Nearly all conventional laundry liquid comes in hard plastic bottles or plastic bags. Used and then almost always casually discarded, this form of packaging really creates the very worst kind of single-use plastic waste, as well as being potentially toxic to the environment. Hexawash is a new eco-friendly laundry detergent alternative that not only gives you fresh, chemical free washing, but also comes in fully biodegradable packaging. This miraculous little washing pouch contains magnesium, which cleans your clothes as well as any conventional laundry detergent and lasts for an incredible 300+ washes. If you are looking for convenience and value for money, you’d be hard pushed to find a better non-toxic laundry alternative than Hexawash.
Wool Dryer Balls
Tumble drying machines chew up more electricity than almost any other household appliance. If you live in a very cold and wet climate, at least for part of the year, then they can be as essential as a washing machine, particularly if you need to wash and dry laundry on a daily basis. So how can you ensure that your drying machine is having as little impact on the environment as possible? The answer is to throw in three Wool Dryer Balls with every load – they will reduce drying time by up to 30%. As well as reducing electricity consumption and saving you precious time, they also help to separate clothes during the drying process, minimising that unattractive ‘crinkled’ look often produced by dryers. It’s a win for the environment and for the large majority of the population that simply hates ironing!
Make these easy zero waste swaps today and we guarantee it will be your neighbour looking enviably at your small rubbish pile, not the other way around!
