5 Ways to Reduce Your Recycling
Did you know I wrote an e-book? It’s perfect for beginner gardeners in their first 3 years of gardening. Check it out and purchase my e-book here!
I want to start today’s blog with a reminder: creating a sustainable lifestyle is all about lifelong learning. There can be a lot of pressure to achieve perfection, but guess what?! We aren’t perfect, no one is — what matters is we are trying! Trying to be more eco-conscious, trying to minimize waste…trying to do better for ourselves, our families and the planet… That’s why you’re reading this blog, right? :)
Recycling is something a lot of us try especially hard to do diligently, but it can be challenging. No matter how much we educate ourselves about waste management, it seems like there’s always something more to learn. So, in honour of Plastic Free July, I want to talk about my #1 recycling tip: do less. What?! Stay with me.
Our goal should be to recycle less and reduce, reuse, refill and repair more. Did you know that only an estimated 9% of what we put into recycling actually gets recycled? Recycling is not actually the be-all and end-all, although that’s what the message has often been. That’s why we rounded up 5 ways to reduce your recycling so you can be part of a greater solution! Keep on reading to learn more…
1. Go for glass
Let’s start with an idea that costs zero extra dollars: purchase products in glass jars that you can reuse afterwards for storage in your pantry, fridge or elsewhere in your home. We love choosing peanut butter jars with gorgeous gold lids to reuse in our pantry, and pasta jars to reuse for extra sauces to freeze or refrigerate. There’s only so much Tupperware we want to buy and have in the home!
P.S. If you can, I also recommend purchasing milk in glass jars that you can return it for a deposit. This lets you save money and it’s one less thing in your recycling each week. We still love a little cream in our coffee (we are not a 100% plant-based family) and it feels good to get our $1.25 deposit back so the company can reuse the jar.
2. Get naked
Opt for more naked produce! Leave the netting, the clam shells and the plastic packaging at the grocery store and choose produce that you can buy au naturel. This may mean you need to look a little harder at the grocery store, or eat more seasonal fruits and vegetables — it’s worth it! Either put the foods in your cart as is (we wash them anyways, right?) or add them to your reusable bag. Thankfully farmers’ market season is here, so this is the best possible time to get naked produce, wahoo! Grab your bags — I love The Market Bags.
3. Reuse once more
Try to reuse a cardboard box, take out container, egg carton or toilet paper roll just ONE more time. We all get deliveries — hello, GUILTY over here!!! We love supporting small shops and sometimes (especially during the pandemic) deliveries are a necessary way to do that. Plus, once in a while, Amazon is the only option. I get it. How about finding one more use for your packaging? There are lots of creative ways to give a box another life: use it for crafts, for storage (my son has a treasure box of things he finds in the forest), or to hide or wrap presents in for later.
4. Make your own
An amazing way to reduce the packaging you consume is to make things yourself. Now, I’m not saying this will always be possible, but when you can, why not go for it? I’ve got more than a dozen low maintenance, low waste DIY ideas for you on my blog — click here to explore everything from holiday ornaments to body scrub to non-toxic play dough. They’re simple and affordable, with minimal ingredients and effort needed. You’ll know exactly what goes into them, you can customize to your liking, and you’ll have the satisfaction of knowing you made them. I hope you find these as fun to make as I did!
5. (Re)fill up!
I’m a huge fan of buying in bulk at the grocery store, or finding shops where I can refill personal care and cleaning products. Bring your own bag, jar or bottle and fill away! And don’t worry, bulk stores always deduct the tare weight from the total weight so that you only pay for the items you’re shopping for (not the bag or container you put them in). This is another reason I love having upcycled organic cotton bags by The Market Bags — it’s such an easy way to reduce recycling AND keep fabric out of the landfill!
As you can probably tell, a major theme from this blog is the importance of proactive actions. Much as we’d like for recycling to be the silver bullet, it’s not. There’s a reason we say to reduce and reuse (including repair and refill) before you recycle! The more we can curb our plastic consumption and slow down the path to the blue bin, the better. And when we do recycle, let’s do it responsibly. It makes a big difference to do your research (if you’re in British Columbia, check out Recycle BC!), avoid contamination, and sort properly.
We could go on and on as we have so many more tips, so please share any of your own ideas below and watch this blog and my Instagram for more coming soon! Thanks for reading and happy Plastic Free July! :)
* Note: Some links featured in the above post are commissionable/affiliate links.