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Sustainable Living: Less Trash in 2018.

It's 2018! In search for more ways to be more sustainable, I thought that I want to reduce the trash output this year. These are 3 things I think I can easily implement this year:

1.) Zero-Waste Cleaning Products


If you look around, ALL personal care products found in any supermarket use plastic containers. Method's line of products (and similar companies like 7th Generation etc.) are better because they use 100% recycled plastic, and are themselves recyclable. Method also offers refillable bags on some of the products which also reduces plastic waste generated.

Just yesterday, I came across a company that goes a step further, named Plaine Products. This company like the above makes responsibly sourced, paraben-free, sulfate-free, cruelty-free cleansing products. However, a big plus is that the products get shipped in reusable aluminum bottles with reusable pumps. When you run low on the products, the company sends you another bottle with a return shipping label for the old container. The old container will get cleaned, sterilized, and refilled for the next purchase - zero plastic waste.

This is the first small thing I will do for 2018. Although I am skeptical of subscriptions in general, in this case, I think it's cool. One small switch, and then I will never have to go to the store again to buy shampoo, body-wash or conditioner. These things will just come to me - no additional effort.

2.) Yogurt


ALL yogurt I have seen so far comes in one-way containers. Most are plastic. I eat a lot of yogurt - 1 cup a day. So in a year, this really adds up (365 cups a year). Last year, I reduced the plastic container output by going bulk and buying large containers of plain yogurt. So last year, I just produced "only" 52 plastic containers. Companies like St. Benoit. used to have reusable containers, but as they increased their reach, they also went backwards in sustainability going from waste generation point of view, going from reusable containers to recyclable glass containers. (It's not a total going backwards. Their goal was to reduce the carbon footprint, and their new glass containers are lighter than the older clay pots they used to have thus reducing CO2 emissions.)

So my solution for this year: Make my own yogurt. It's relatively easy. A few years ago, I got a yogurt maker from my friend. It's time to use the yogurt-maker. A side benefit is that home-made yogurt is much cheaper. The other benefit is that the yogurt will produce even less waste: just the carton from the milk. The containers are reusable.

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