‘Zero waste’ is a term used to describe a lifestyle that avoids single use plastic waste and minimises waste in other areas like food or electricity.

Fantastic as they have been, we all know about coffee cups and water bottles by now. So what other simple swaps can YOU make to be a little more zero waste? LET'S FIND OUT!


1. WHITE VINEGAR

Slimming down your cleaning cupboard is always a good idea for sustainability. You just don’t need 12 different chemicals to clean the kitchen. White vinegar will do the job of most of them! It's a natural, non-toxic cleaning product that kills bacteria, dissolves hard-water stains like water rings on glasses, and cleans grime. Dilute it with water to make a multi-surface spray. It’s cheap so it’ll also save you money!


2. CUT OLD CLOTHING INTO RAGS

There are plenty of wasteful options out there for cleaning surfaces and dishes, like plastic sponges, j-cloths or paper towels. Even reusable microfiber cloths aren’t ideal because they are frequently made from plastic-based fabrics which release microfibres into the water when they’re washed. Instead, save old clothes from heading to landfill by repurposing them into rags! Totally zero waste and totally free!


3. PENCILS INSTEAD OF PENS

If you like to put pen to paper, you don’t have to give this up to be sustainable! Use a recycled paper notebook and a pencil instead of single use plastic pens. Pencils are made from wood and it is usually possible to look up the sustainability credentials of the manufacturer to make sure the wood is sustainably sourced. Both the wooden sharpenings and the graphite pencil lead will degrade over time, making pencils infinitely more sustainable than plastic pens, and usually cheaper too!


4. BEESWAX FOOD WRAPS

Clingfilm has one of the shortest life cycles of plastic products. We’ve all had those moments of unrolling the clingfilm, not being able to find the end and just knowing it's going wrong. Instead of instantly creating plastic waste, get beeswax wraps that can be used to cover bowls, plates and wrap food over and over again.


5. SAFETY RAZOR

This is a little more expensive upfront, but could save you money in the long run. Typically, razors are made to be a disposable product. But with a safety razor the only disposable element is the thin metal blade, which can be recycled. They are unisex and will last a lifetime, compared to cheaply made disposable razors prone to breakage.


Single use plastics are a serious concern. They are created from petroleum which involves environmentally damaging practices to obtain. Then they are processed and used, sometimes only for a matter of days, before being thrown away, usually into landfill to pollute the earth, oceans and air. Thankfully, more people are waking up to this wasteful problem and coming up with innovative solutions to help us all reduce our waste.