Plastic Challenge: Final 3

I decided it was time to take on the last three of the 11 ways to kick your plastic habit challenge (11 easy ways to kick the plastic habit).  In my opinion these last few are a little easier to tackle than the last bunch I discussed.  And here we go…

9. Avoid synthetic sponges, which are often made from and wrapped in plastic. Replace them with a reusable cloth. One option is Skoy cloths (SkoyCloth.com), these are machine-washable, long-lasting, and compostable at the end of their life.  There are a lot of other options at ShopGreenPages.org, and Whole Foods would have some options as well.

10. Stop accepting that your dry cleaning will always come in a single-use plastic bag. Available at greengarmento.com is the Green Garmento reusable “dry cleaning” bag.   It doubles as a laundry hamper.  I’m not sure if you could get your dry cleaner to use the bags, but if you never ask you’ll never know and if not, just bring your own and tell them to keep their bag.

11. Try a recyclable toothbrush. The Preserve toothbrush (preserveproducts.com), made from recycled #5 plastic, is zero-waste. Once you’re finished with your Preserve brush (or the company’s tongue cleaners, razors, and kitchen products), drop it off at your local Gimme 5 dropbox for #5 plastics at participating Whole Foods stores and food co-ops.  I like this one a lot.  I now have a fancy electric toothbrush, but I definitely could use a number of the products they have on their site, and everything is reasonably priced.  It may not be getting rid of plastic, but it helps contribute to a closed loop system for those plastics we can’t seem to get out of our lives.

I’ve started collecting all my plastic waste for the plastic trash challenge (http://myplasticfreelife.com/showyourplastic). I have to keep reminding my husband to not put the plastic (any plastic) into the trash or recycling bin, but I think I’ve saved everything so far.  The thing I’ve become most aware of is the dog waste bags.  We probably use on average about 10 small bags per week.  As a responsible pet owner, I’m not sure there is a viable way around this.  I could look into flushable/compostable bags, but I would want to research that in great depth, because that’s the last thing we need is a broken toilet or worse.  Almost half way through the first week and I’m feeling decent about the amount of plastic we have generated.  I think the poop bags and cling wrap will be our demise. 

Have you started thinking about how much plastic you use?  Which of the 11 steps do you think would be the hardest, which in your opinion would be the easiest?  Which easy step do you think is missing from the list? I want to hear from you.  Use the comment option below!