Small Changes, Big Impact
for each one of the world's 7.6 billion humans, we each make about 88 pounds of plastic a year (via Business Insider). and that's just plastic, that doesn't take into account the rest of our waste — the food waste, paper, aluminum goods, glass, and everything else we accumulate and dispose of.
I am always blown away by the unnecessary amount of plastic in the grocery store. plastic bags for produce, plastic wrapped vegetables, plastic clamshell containers, plastic containers for nearly every item. how did plastic become so ubiquitous?!
fortunately, there are some simple ways to cut back on plastic use in the grocery store and at home: • when purchasing packaged items, ask yourself: can I make this myself? can I buy it in a returnable bottle? can I buy it in compostable wrapping? does it come in glass? is it available in bulk instead? • whenever possible, shop in bulk. bring your own reusable bags or glass containers for things like nuts, dried fruit, grains, loose leaf tea, etc. @going.zero.waste on Instagram has a great blog post about using your own containers for bulk items incase the whole thing sounds intimidating. • instead of using the plastic bags provided for produce, forgo a bag all together or bring your own mesh or cloth bag. • grabbing something from the deli or hot bar at the grocery store? bring your own tupperware or a stainless steel lunchbox. • once you've brought your groceries home, use beeswax wrap to wrap up half-used produce or to seal a container instead of using plastic wrap. • try reusable silicone bags instead of single-use plastic sandwich bags. • instead of using convenient Keurig kcups, opt for a pour over using a reusable cloth filter like Coffee Sock and a Chemex.
check out @thewildminimalist , @thrivemkt and @simple_ecology on Instagram for any of the products listed above ☝️
what's one thing you're willing to try on your next grocery store trip to lessen your plastic intake? what are you struggling with? trust me, I forget my bags or containers and buy packaged items more often than I'd like to admit. one step at a time 💚
follow along on Instagram!