Tips to Avoid Recycling Contamination

Recycling contamination is a growing issue, and it's more important than ever to recycle smarter. Tossing items you think can be recycled into your bin can actually lead to problems for recycling facilities, costing municipalities a lot of money in disposal fees and risking the entire recycling system. Let's dive into some easy tips to keep your recycling clean and effective!

1. Soft Paper Products Go in the Garbage

You might think paper towels, napkins, and facial tissues are recyclable since they're made of paper. But here's the deal: they're usually too soiled and made from fibers that can't be recycled. Instead, check if your municipality accepts them in an organic collection program or compost.

Pro Tip: Switch to reusable options! Cloth towels and napkins are great sustainable alternatives, and some companies even offer washable fabric options to replace disposable paper.

2. Rinse Your Containers

A quick rinse is all it takes! Containers with leftover food residue can contaminate other recyclables, like paper and cardboard. Wet cardboard is a no-go for recycling facilities and can end up in a landfill.

Pro Tip: You don't need a full scrub down! A simple rinse in leftover dishwater or a shake with a little water can get the job done. Let them dry a bit to keep them from dampening other materials in your bin.

3. Get Rid of Food Grease

Food grease is a big issue for recycling. Greasy pizza boxes or sandwich wrappers can't be sorted out and will ruin a whole batch of paper products during processing.

Pro Tip: Remove the greasy parts of pizza boxes and toss them in the garbage, leaving only the clean parts for recycling.

4. No Plastic Bags in the Bin

Plastic bags are major recycling troublemakers! They can get tangled in recycling facility equipment and pose risks for workers.

Pro Tip: Collect your plastic bags and take them to a store with a drop-off recycling bin instead of tossing them in your home bin.

5. Donate Extra Plastic Containers

Many curbside recycling programs don't accept black plastic takeout containers. They often end up contaminating other recyclables.

Pro Tip: Clean them out and donate to local food kitchens that distribute meals to those in need.

6. Know Which Plastics Are Accepted

Not all plastics are treated the same. Different facilities accept different types of plastics, so tossing in something not accepted can lead to contamination.

Pro Tip: Look for the recycling symbol on the packaging and check the number. #1 and #2 plastics are usually safe, but #3-7 can vary by location.

7. Don't Throw Batteries in the Recycling Bin

Batteries, especially lithium-ion ones, can be dangerous in recycling bins due to fire risks and chemical leaks.

Pro Tip: Use programs like Call2Recycle to drop off or mail in your batteries safely.

8. Coffee Cups Go in the Garbage

Paper coffee cups might look recyclable, but they have a plastic lining that makes them a no-go for most curbside programs.

Pro Tip: Bring a reusable coffee mug! It's better for the environment and will reduce waste.

9. Check Freezer Box Labels

Frozen food boxes often contain plastic or wax linings that can't be recycled with regular cardboard.

Pro Tip: Choose fresh foods when possible, or use reusable containers for freezing.

10. Dispose of Hazardous Materials Properly

Recycling facilities often struggle with hazardous waste. Many items need special disposal methods, so don't toss them in your home recycling bin.

Pro Tip: Look up local disposal options for hazardous waste, electronics, and bulky items with your local program.

Recycling can feel overwhelming, but with a little planning, you can help keep our environment clean and our recycling facilities running smoothly. Remember to check with your municipality about what's accepted and use the Recycle Coach app to find out what goes where. By being informed and reducing contamination, we can all contribute to a healthier planet!

Whether you work from home or at an office, knowing the correct disposal of common office supplies can help you maintain sustainable practices.

Check out our suggestions for office waste and learn how to help reduce it.

Printer paper

Printer paper is widely accepted for recycling. Plain paper is easily recycled through most recycling programs, whether you have a curbside pick-up or drop-off. Some municipalities may require you to separate out paper for a dual-stream collection system so that paper does not get wet or greasy by mixing with other recyclables.

Plain print or copy paper for your work may contain sensitive information which requires shredding. Each municipality tends to have very specific disposal procedures for shredded paper due to the size of the remnants. In general, items smaller than a credit card should not go in your regular recycling because they are too small to sort correctly. Shredded paper falls into this too small to sort situation, but that does not mean it cannot be recycled! Make sure to look up specific collection or drop-off information for shredded paper in your area.

??Waste Reduction Tip: When only printing or copying on one side, keep paper that is still blank on one side in a pile near your desk to use as scrap paper.

Paper containing staples

So what about paper that has staples? You can rip them out if you'd like, but it's not necessary. These tiny pieces of metal are easily removed during the recycling process with magnets or skimmed out when the paper is turned into a slurry.

?? Waste Reduction Tip: Avoid staples altogether by using a stapleless stapler that fastens sheets of paper together by crimping and puncturing them. If you use a lot of staples, think of how much metal you'll avoid using!

Windowed envelopes

We've covered plain paper, but what about envelopes that have adhesives? Or envelopes that have clear plastic windows? Nothing to worry about here either! The adhesives in these envelopes are not a problem during the recycling process. Likewise, the transparent plastic windows are small enough to easily avoid contaminating the paper mix.

?? Waste Reduction Tip: Go digital with correspondence and opt for paperless options when dealing with things like bills.

Junk Mail

Junk Mail comes in so many forms: some are easily identifiable as regular copy paper, or even thicker cardstock paper that can be recycled, but what about glossy paper advertisements? Most of these are ok to add to your paper recycling as they tear easily. If they don't tear easily or have a plastic lining, they likely belong in the garbage instead. When in doubt, check with your local municipality's specific guidelines for glossy papers.

If you receive advertisements and coupons printed in a newspaper, these are also accepted tossing in your recycling bin.

?? Waste Reduction Tip: Opt-out of advertisements at your local post office to avoid adding to your home or office waste.

Adhesive tapes

Adhesive tapes are not accepted for recycling at most locations. If insignificant amounts of adhesive tape are on a piece of paper or cardboard box, that is not a problem, but it is best to remove large amounts of tape when it is easy to do so to ensure your recyclables are not contaminated.

Plastic disposable tape dispensers and tape rolls are not always accepted for recycling due to their size and the type of plastic they are made from. Check with your local municipality to see if they accept these items.

?? Waste Reduction Tip: Use brown paper tape which pairs adhesives with a paper backing instead of traditional plastic. This may not work for documents, but it is ideal for taping up cardboard boxes and packaging.

Sticky Notes

While there is a small amount of adhesive, sticky notes are typically accepted for recycling, no matter the color. They also are just a bit larger than a credit card, so the size is not an issue.

?? Waste Reduction Tip: There are many apps to keep notes on your phone or computer so that you don't need to use paper.

Understanding the proper disposal methods for common office supplies is crucial for maintaining sustainable practices at home or in the office. It's always important to look up the specific requirements for recycling in your municipality before guessing what is and is not accepted!

Recycling Metal: What You Need to Know

Metals are super important for recycling, but not all of them belong in your bin. They don't break down quickly, making them valuable resources. Unfortunately, many metal items end up in the garbage, which means we're losing out on things we could recycle. Some metals need special handling, so always check what your local recycling program accepts.

Let's dive into some common metal items you might need to recycle!

Aluminum Cans

Aluminum cans are the most recycled consumer product worldwide! They can be recycled forever without losing quality. Did you know that around 75% of all aluminum ever made is still in use? Plus, recycling aluminum saves 90% of the energy needed to make new cans from raw materials.

When cans end up in landfills, it takes about 200 years for them to biodegrade, and we've wasted over 11 million tons in the past two decades alone.

Some places offer can deposits where you can return your aluminum cans for a small refund. And remember, don't crush your cans anymore; it makes it harder for sorting machines to do their job.

Tin Cans

Think of all those metal soup cans you can recycle those too! Just be sure they're empty and rinsed out before tossing them in your recycling bin. Keep the metal lid inside the can to ensure it gets sorted correctly.

Cookie and Cake Tins

When looking to get rid of an old decorative in, make sure to wipe out any crumbs before adding them to your bin. But before you decide to toss, why not try to reuse them for storing items? They make great containers for sewing supplies.

Metal Bottle Caps

Metal bottle caps (both aluminum and steel) are recyclable, but they can be tricky because they're so small and often fall through sorting machines. To recycle them properly, group them by metal type: use a magnet to check if they're steel (if they stick) or aluminum (if they don't).

Fill a can halfway with caps, crimp it closed, and place it in your recycling bin. Some stores have take-back programs for caps, so check with your local retailers.

Pots and Pans

Unfortunately, pots and pans can't be recycled through regular programs. Check with local scrap metal facilities, as they often accept these items. Alternatively, consider donating them if they're still usable, or even upcycling them into planters.

Metal Coat Hangers

Most recycling facilities don't accept metal coat hangers because they can tangle in the machinery. Check with local scrap metal facilities, or consider donating them if they're in decent shape.

Sustainable Metal Disposal

These are just a few common metal items you might need to recycle. If you have larger metal items, check with your local program first. Keeping metals out of landfills helps preserve our natural resources. Let's keep metals in circulation and find sustainable ways to recycle them!

Traditionally, packing peanuts have been made from expanded polystyrene foam, also known as Styrofoam, but due to the environmental hazards of Styrofoam, there has been an industry shift to use biodegradable packing peanuts as a more environmentally friendly option.

The move to create eco-friendly packaging has provided innovations that have helped customers move away from Styrofoam in order to take advantage of these advances in biodegradable peanuts.

Here are some reasons you should move away from polystyrene peanuts to some of these eco-friendly alternatives.

Benefits of Biodegradable Packing Peanuts:

1. Made from all natural sources: Starch based packing peanuts are made from plants such as corn, wheat, potato, and sometimes mushrooms, whereas traditional polystyrene packing peanuts are made from petroleum.
2. Non-toxic: While no one is recommending humans eat packing peanuts since they are not produced as food grade items, they are technically made from plant-based products. This means they are non-toxic and safe in case kids or pets accidentally eat them. This also means animals or birds that might try to eat them from the garbage or landfill will not be consuming plastics. A common concern is that using these as a packaging material could attract rodents and pests, but since the sugar component is removed from the starch material, it is unlikely to be an issue.

3. Easy to identify: Many companies use a color coding system to indicated if their peanuts are virgin polystyrene, made from recycled plastics, or biodegradable. Starch-based packing peanuts are typically an off-white color, but not always. The best way to test if peanuts are biodegradable is to run them under water. Biodegradable packing peanuts dissolve in water in a matter of minutes.
4. Compostable: While you aren't able to recycle any packing peanuts, you are able to compost biodegradable peanuts in your home compost. If your municipality runs an organics program, you can check to see if they accept this item along with other food and organic waste.

5. Uses less carbon emission to produce: This type of loose fill uses less energy and produces less carbon emissions that contribute to greenhouse gas emissions than the production of Styrofoam peanuts. One study estimates that using corn-based bioplastics can reduce GHG emissions by 25%.
6. Anti-static: Some items, such as certain electronics, require static-free packaging for shipping. Biodegradable packing peanuts are perfect for this kind of shipping item. This means they also do not stick to your clothes.
7. Produced with waste products: Some companies are trying to solve the issue of diverting food to plastics production by creating a more circular economy model. Bioplastic producers, such as Full Circle, are using food byproducts to create bioplastics instead of using new crops. This means the materials used to produce the packing were planned to be discarded. Another company, Mango Materials, is using waste biogas as a way to produce bioplastics. By switching to bioplastic packaging products, you may be helping to repurpose waste into the production of a new product, creating a circular economy.

8. Reusable: While this is true for both biodegradable or Styrofoam loose fill, it is worth mentioning that packing peanuts are able to be reused again and again.
9. Stronger than polystyrene: Styrofoam loose fill tends to snap under pressure, but biodegradable peanuts have proven to be more resilient in crush tests.

Pitfalls of Styrofoam Packing Peanuts:

10. Traditional Styrofoam peanuts do not break down in landfills: Since they are made from expanded polystyrene, they fall into the large category of plastics that are estimated to take more than 500 years to break down. Styrofoam products are designed specifically to be durable in order to protect what is around them, but this durability is exactly what makes them problematic at their end of life.
11. Traditional foam peanuts are difficult to recycle: Styrofoam in general is not accepted in many locations for recycling, and even when it is, foam peanuts are usually not allowed. Foam peanuts have two strikes against them, due to their static nature, they are difficult to control, and recycling facilities usually have a hard time with small items that get lost or caught in sorting machines.
12. Styrofoam packing peanuts are harmful to production workers: Producing expanded polystyrene can often create hazardous conditions for the workers in those factories. It has been documented that the production of polystyrene can cause carcinogenic fumes that could be harmful to the workers producing those products. Since biodegradable products use non-toxic, plant-based materials, they do not produce harmful byproducts while being produced.
13. Expanded Polystyrene foam is harmful to the environment: Whether it's packing peanuts or Styrofoam cups, any product made from expanded polystyrene is not eco-friendly. The EPA has deemed the manufacturing process of polystyrene to produce hazardous waste for over three decades.

Sustainable Solutions

Biodegradable packing peanuts are an overall more sustainable solution for loose fill. When shipping items, it's always important to look for all the most eco-friendly options.

Traditional Styrofoam packing peanuts are almost never accepted in curbside recycling, making them a difficult product to deal with for disposal. Occasionally municipalities will offer a Styrofoam drop-off program, but due to their static nature, packing peanuts are not usually included in this type of recycling.

Finding alternatives that are more eco-friendly seems to be the only option when dealing with packing peanuts. Biodegradable packing peanuts are the logical solution to combat the plastic waste issues associated with loose fill polystyrene packing peanuts.

Composting is an effective way to manage garden and kitchen waste to create healthy soil. However, sometimes you may feel frustrated with the long composting time.

The good news is that you don't have to wait that long with the right methods. We will share three ways on how to speed up the process.  

Keep reading to find out more. 

How long does compost take to decompose

The time taken by compost materials to decompose isn't constant. A compost pile can take a couple of weeks, several months, or even years. 

It all depends on how you manage the compost pile, the type of compost materials, composting method, and the timing of the compost. 

Remember don't feed any material directly into your compost pile, the first step to have a successful compost is to choose the right compost materials. Some materials decompose quickly, some take longer and yet others don't decompose at all. 

3 Ways to Make Compost Faster

Here are three ways to make your compost faster at home:

1. Have the Right Ratio of Brown to Green Materials

When choosing the composting materials you need to balance the brown and green materials. The brown materials refer to the long-dead woodier materials. Often as the name implies they are either brown or turn brown. 

They include twigs, straw, hay wood chips, fall leaves, shredded cardboard, and cornstalk. The browns have a higher content of carbon than nitrogen.

On the other hand, green refers to the recently dried plant materials. The greens either still possess green color or other signs of life in them. In the compost pile, the greens have a higher content of nitrogen than carbon. 

The quick decomposition of compost material requires the activities of both fungi and bacteria. Whereas bacteria like to feed on greens, fungi thrive on brown materials. 

When you don't balance the greens and browns, the pile won't compost efficiently. For example, if the compost grows a stinking smell (ammonia), it means you have fewer browns in the pile. 

On the other hand, when you have fewer green materials, the pile won't heat up. Most gardeners propose the ratio of browns to greens at 4:1. However you can still tweak the ratio depending on what you add to the compost pile. 

2. Shred Materials

Just having the right balance of browns and green in the composting materials isn't enough. Before you feed the material to the heap, you need to shred them into pieces. 

Cutting the grass clippings or leaves into smaller bits makes them decompose faster than when they are whole.

Depending on what you wish to shred you can use a lawnmower, leaf shredder, or chipper shredder to break down the materials into smaller bits. 

Shredding the materials also helps to create air pockets in the bits of leaves, grass, and twigs. As a result, it boosts the aeration of the compost hip and thus increases the decomposition rate. 

As for kitchen wastes, you can pass them through the blender first. Besides breaking them into bits it also makes them more moisturized. 

3. Try Composting with Worms

Another way to speed up the composting process is to leverage worms, this green gardening method makes use of worms' natural diet, normally called vermicomposting. 

The process for vermicomposting is easy, you use food scraps and garden wastes, put them in the worm bins and let worms go to work. 

With the right food, temperature and moisture conditions, worms will eat, multiply, and excrete the beneficial worm castings after a few weeks. 

Worm castings have many benefits, it not only helps break down organic materials faster, but also increases soil fertility and helps plants become disease resistant.  

Meanwhile, vermicomposting also produces liquid fertilizer known as worm wee or worm farm leachate. Combine one part worm wee with ten parts water, you can get  nutrient-rich fertilizer for your indoor and outdoor plants.

Final Word

Try to use the above tips to shorten the decomposition period of your composting piles. And remember no matter which method you choose, the key to speed up the process is to maintain the right brown to green materials ratio, keep materials small sizes and leverage worms to take care of the organic matter. 

Happy composting!

Author Bio:

Tiffany Lei is the founder at Garden Guidepost. She is passionate about gardening and hopes to inspire more people to adapt to the gardening lifestyle and start composting as a way to recycle organic materials.

Plastic Film Recycling: An Overlooked Opportunity

We often focus on issues surrounding plastic bag recycling, but there is an important type of plastic that is commonly overlooked: plastic film and wrap. Plastic film recycling is a category of soft plastic that is similar to plastic grocery bags. The common exclusion of this material when talking about plastic bag recycling is potentially leaving out a vast amount of viable recyclable material that could be used to make new packaging.

What is Plastic Film?

Plastic film, plastic overwrap, and other soft plastic packaging is often found as an alternative packaging option for products that do not use cardboard packaging. Commonly, overwrap is found as packaging over paper towels, toilet paper, water bottles, and more.

Plastic film is made of polyethylene (PE) plastic. This type of plastic is commonly labeled #2 HDPE or #4 LDPE in the recycling loop. This does not mean all #2 and #4 plastics fall within this category, only that if it is #2 or #4 and flexible, it can be recycled with plastic grocery bags.

To be more specific about what constitutes flexible, let's clarify that if you can pull and stretch it with your hands, then it is probably plastic film. If it tears or makes a crinkling noise, it is not the type of plastic film accepted with plastic bags.

Additional materials in this category include plastic air-filled pouches for packaging, bubble wrap, dry cleaning bags, plastic bubble mailing envelopes, and plastic newspaper wrapping. For air-filled pouches, make sure to pop them before recycling them, and remove any labels from plastic bubble mailing envelopes or newspaper wrapping when applicable.

How To Recycle Plastic Film

Plastic film is not accepted in the vast majority of curbside recycling programs. Plastic film is a type of soft plastic that is difficult to sort out and can easily get tangled in recycling center sorting machines. Unless you live in one of the rare locations that accept this material, you should never place this type of plastic in your curbside bins, but it is able to be recycled with plastic bags at designated drop-off locations.

It is important to remember that all plastic film that is meant for recycling must be clean and dry. There should be no stickers or debris on the plastic. If there is, you can remove that portion and recycle the remaining clean plastic.

Make sure you do not add any biodegradable or compostable plastic film to the bin. These types of packaging are made of an entirely different material and would contaminate a load of viable plastic film for recycling.

Where to Recycle Plastic Film

It's quite common to find plastic bag and wrap bins at many grocery or retail stores. Many big box stores such as Walmart, Home Depot, Staples, and the majority of grocery store chains accept plastic bags for recycling. There is typically a bin in or around the entrance of these stores specifically meant for bag and film recycling.

These sites also provide plastic bag and film recycling resources for you to locate bins near you:

• Bag and Film Recycling
• NexTrex
• Earth 911

As with any recycling question, it's always worthwhile to check with your local recycling program to see if they accept plastic film or shopping bags as a drop-off item even if they do not accept them with curbside pick-ups.

How to Recycle More

Plastic film is an often overlooked material that is completely recyclable through these drop-off programs. Since only about 9% of plastic produced is recycled, we need to make sure we are getting the plastics that are recyclable to the right places. Knowing what is and is not recycling can help us recover more materials in order to use less natural resources for new products.

The EPA estimates that 14.5 million tons of plastic packaging and containers are produced annually.

Now that you know a large amount of soft plastic packaging is actually accepted with plastic grocery bags, you can start helping to recover more materials for recycling.

It feels impossible to go plastic free nowadays, but even if we can't solve the problem overnight, there are plenty of ways to help reduce plastic waste in your home to start making a positive impact on our environment.

What happens to all that plastic after we're done with it? We hope it gets recycled, but not all of it does. Only about 9% of all plastic produced gets recycled, which means the rest is sent to landfills or ends up as litter - all too often ending up in our oceans.

While it would be wonderful if we could snap our fingers and fix the problem, it's not that simple. What we can control and change in our own households is a first step that can get the ball rolling for a positive change in how plastic is disposed of.

Sweeping changes in your household can feel overwhelming and sometimes impossible, so it's always good to take it one step at a time. Switch one thing, then when you feel comfortable, switch another. Make your way through the list as it works for your lifestyle and budget.

Making a small change to reduce plastic waste can make a big difference over time!

Reduce Your Personal Care Plastic Waste

1. Switch to Shampoo Bars

Plastic shampoo bottles are often overlooked as a recyclable item. In fact only 1 in 5 people recycle any bathroom items on a regular basis. That means we are creating a lot of unnecessary waste because we are more focused on recycling items in the kitchen.

Plastic shampoo bottles are almost always recyclable, but make sure they are empty and clean, not lined with shampoo residue which can cause contamination.

Instead of falling into the trap of forgetting to recycle that bottle, the better solution is to take your plastic waste out of the equation. Shampoo bars are gaining a lot of popularity, so there are a ton of great options out there. They're essentially a bar of soap for your hair and have a great lather without using as much product.

2. Go with Metal Razors

This is an easy fix with an old-school solution. Instead of adding to plastic waste, you can stop buying reusable and buy a metal razor that will possibly last you a lifetime. Yes, it's expensive to buy a durable, old-school metal razor initially, but think of how much you are spending on plastic disposable razors that you buy repeatedly.

3. Rethink your Deodorant

Deodorant containers are a tricky item for recycling. They look like many other recyclable plastic items, but they aren't recyclable at all. Most areas won't accept them because they often contain more than one type of plastic. Plastics need to be recycled with the same type of plastic, so mixed plastic items that can't be separated on the conveyor belt, get sent to the landfill.

Make sure the actual deodorant is plastic-free as well, and make a change by buying deodorant that comes in biodegradable, compostable, or recyclable packaging. Many of these options consist of cardboard sticks, glass jars, or even just deodorant bars.

4. Choose Wooden Combs

This is such an easy way to reduce plastic waste since you can usually find a natural hairbrush at most locations that sell them. Combs may be a little harder to find, but they are out there at most beauty stores. In addition to doing something good for the environment, wooden combs are more beneficial for your hair's health. Plus, they reduce static while brushing!

5. Change your Menstrual Routine

Sanitary pads are often either made of plastic or lined with plastic. On top of that, they come in individually wrapped plastic packaging. The US alone discards about 12 billion pads per year. That's a lot of plastic! In recent years, there have been many products emerging that can help reduce plastic waste for your menstrual routine such as period underwear, reusable fabric pads, and menstrual cups.

6. Swap Out your Plastic Toothbrush

It is estimated that about 1 billion toothbrushes are thrown away each year in the US alone. That is a lot of plastic. It is easy enough reduce this plastic waste by switching over to a bamboo toothbrush. Untreated bamboo is compostable, but even if you don't compost or have an organics program that accepts bamboo, the time it takes to decompose in a landfill is significantly lower.

One thing to watch for when choosing a bamboo toothbrush is the bristles. Some will still use plastic and even offer replacement bristles, so you don't have to replace the entire brush. Others will use natural fibers so the whole brush is disposed of once you're done. There are many options out there, you just need to choose what works best for your lifestyle.

7. Switch to Silk Dental Floss

This is a plastic item that often gets overlooked. Due to its small size, it's easy to disregard it as a plastic waste problem, yet it still counts as plastic waste. This is fixable by switching over to silk dental floss. Most of these alternatives also provide plastic-free packaging, which is a double plastic waste reduction!

8. Use Dry Toothpaste

Plastic tubes of toothpaste are not recyclable and even if they were, it would be inconvenient to make sure they are empty and clean. You can reduce this plastic waste by switching to toothpaste tablets or powder. It's the same clean feeling on your teeth, but the companies making this type of product are making it with a more eco-friendly and often healthier, all-natural materials.

9. Chew your Mouthwash

You can double down on reducing your plastic waste for your oral hygiene and use chewable mouthwash. Read the label on those because you can't swallow most of them. These products can help get rid of the plastic packaging waste in your home.

Reduce Plastics in your Cleaning Products

10. Use Natural Sponges

We need to wash our dishes, but those go-to sponges are made from plastic. After you use them for a week or so, they get yucky looking and smelly, so of course you need to throw them out. They are not recyclable, so to the landfill they go. If every household is throwing away their plastic kitchen sponge every week, think of how much plastic waste that creates from one item!

The best solution is to change what you use for a sponge to reduce your plastic waste. If you want something like a classic kitchen sponge with a scouring pad on one side, walnut or coconut sponges are great options. But there are plenty of washable or biodegradable replacements, like natural sponges, regular dishrags, or Swedish dishtowels.   

11. Refill with Soap Tablets

This is a plastic waste reducing switch that is so simple and convenient to make. Instead of buying new soap dispensers, or even soap refill bottles, there are now dissolvable tablets that you can drop in water to fill you soap dispenser. Think of how much easier it would be to fill your dispenser up with water, dropping in a tablet, then shaking!

Some companies make tablets for your cleaning supplies too! Another easy way to clean around the house would be to make your own cleaning solutions from all natural ingredients.

12. Switch to Laundry Strips

Raise your hand if you hate lugging around heavy laundry detergent containers! There's nothing lighter than laundry strips. They are already portioned out for you, and you just throw them in to replace the detergent. Then instead of a big plastic container that you don't want to bother rinsing out (because it needs to be empty and clean), you have a small recyclable cardboard envelope.

13. Use Dryer Balls

You can get wool dryer balls everywhere now. Not only do they dry your clothes faster so you can use less energy on your drying time, they also replace your fabric softener. Just another big clunky plastic container you don't need to carry to the laundry!  

They last a long time, so you rarely must replace them, especially compared to the many plastic bottles or plastic dryer sheets you would normally be using. And if you want something scented, you can drop some essential oils on the ball which will freshen up the load nicely.

14. Get Detergent in a Box

Dishwashing has become an extremely plastic heavy market. Not only are most options coming out of a big plastic bottle - those dissolvable pods are made with plastic too. There are many ways plastic is making its way into our water, but this one seems obvious, and we do it on purpose.

There are so many dangers to our ecosystem when microplastics end up in our water, and subsequently the food chain. Detergent pods (including both dishwasher and laundry pods) are not an eco-friendly solution just because you aren't left with the packaging to deal with. Switching to a cardboard container makes for a much easier recyclable packaging option that reduces plastic waste.

15. Replace Disposable Dusters

Swiffer was a game changing cleaning invention, I'll admit. When it came on the market, it picked up so much more dust and dirt than regular sweeping. But now, there are plenty of microfiber cloths that do the same type of cleaning and are washable instead of disposable.

Buying a few of these is less expensive than buying disposable dusting cloths and you won't be throwing those disposable polyester cleaners away. Even if you don't switch to microfiber cloths and you use a regular old rag on your sweeper, you will reduce a bunch of polyester plastic waste in your home.

16. Avoid Wet Wipes

Wet wipes are a sneaky plastic. They look like they are maybe just like a paper towel or cloth even, but they are made from a mix of plastics. On top of that, so many of them say they are flushable, but there is no plumber in the world that will say it is a good idea to flush them. They cause a huge clogging problem when flushed. In addition, flushing these plastic items adds plastics to our groundwater.

Switching from wet wipes and disinfectant wipes around the house to towels, rags, and cleaning solution is a tiny adjustment, but a doable one. The harder switch would be if you have kids, and you use wet wipes while changing. There are many washable wipes on the market for diapers. And if you need them wet, you could buy or make some baby butt spray for clean up!

Cut Down your Dining Plastic Waste

17. DIY your Water Filtration

This plastic waste reducer is a little bit DIY, so may not be for everyone. You can replace your plastic Britta and disposable filters with either a Bichotan charcoal stick, or by using a Terracotta pot system.

Directions for these methods are here.

If this one is a bit too much to handle, you could buy a filtration system that uses less plastic, but they can be quite expensive. Companies like ZeroWater, Berkey Filters, and Soma are trying to lessen the plastic waste with their water filtration systems.

18. Invest in a Reusable Water Bottle

Disposable plastic water bottles have become the norm for the last 30 years or so. It's hard to remember that we used to drink out of glasses. Now, more than one million plastic bottles are used per day worldwide! And only a small fraction of them get recycled.

The easiest solution to reduce plastic waste in your home and on the go is to carry a reusable water bottle with you. Plastic bottles are one of the leading contributors of microplastics in our water supply. If you're interested in stepping up your game in the fight against plastic in our water, you might even think about participating in a coastal cleanup program.

19. Bring your Travel Mug

Similarly to the reusable water bottle solution above, a reusable travel mug for your coffee would solve a huge problem with disposable plastic waste from coffee shops. Disposable coffee cups pose a big problem because they look like they are paper, but they are also lined with plastic.

This means most locations won't accept them in their recycling program. Plus, there are the plastic lids to think of too. Travel mugs are a quick and easy solution.

20. Avoid Straws

This one seems obvious as we see the straw bans sweeping the country. The US has been disposing of half a billion straws a day for quite some time now. There are many plastic straw alternatives out there now and many fast food establishments have switched to paper straws as a disposable alternative.

21. Bring Reusable Containers and Cutlery to Work

Although Tupperware is plastic, it is reused over and over, so the plastic waste from these is significantly reduced when reused. It's even better when you can reuse containers that other food came in - for example, put your lunch in the old butter container and your salad in the old sour cream container.

Plastic cutlery is not usually accepted for recycling, so a great idea is to keep a fork, spoon, and knife in your desk drawer to reuse every day. That can help you reduce a lot of plastic waste at work.  

22. Ask for No Extras with Take-Out

Take out can come with a ton of packaging. If you get black plastic containers, those aren't recyclable, so you should reuse them or see if there's a food pantry that may take them as a donation. Even if you get take out in cardboard containers, they run the risk of having grease and food absorbed into them which is a recycling contaminant. 

There's one simple way to lessen the takeout waste issue. Ask for no condiment packets and no plastic cutlery. That will mean less plastic waste from your meal.

23. Use Beeswax Wraps

Plastic wrap is one of those plastics that you might not even think about because it is so ingrained in how we store our food. A great plastic free alternative is to use beeswax wraps to cover bowls or store vegetables in the fridge. They come in different sizes and can last around a year with proper care. They are also usually compostable and have super cute designs!

24. Choose a Sustainable Sandwich Bag

You can wash and reuse plastic sandwich bags the same way as Tupperware, but most people just throw them away after one use. If you're looking for a snack pouch, there are great washable cloth snack bags that can cut out your bag waste. On the other hand, if you're looking to keep something fresh, silicone bags are a great sustainable alternative. There are even freezer bag options out there.

25. Buy Wine with Natural Corks

Cork is an amazing renewable natural resource. There is no need to cut down trees to harvest it. While it is not generally accepted as a recyclable item in curbside programs, there are plenty of cork recycling initiates, such as ReCork, that have come up with amazing products with recycled cork.  

Really there's no need for wine bottles to use plastic corks to add to plastic waste. If you're not sure which wines use real or plastic cork, there's an app for that. Otherwise, you can always choose a wine with a screw off top instead.

Buy More Sustainable Products

26. Bring your Own Bags

Plastic shopping bags cause a ton of problems in the world of recycling. They can be brought to drop-off locations for recycling at most grocery stores, but not in your curbside pick-up. Now there are also bag bans popping up all over the place. The best thing to do would be to get used to this inevitable change now, and carry reusable bags to the grocery store to reduce plastic waste.

27. Seek Out Plastic-Free Packaging

It's hard to be a plastic-free consumer since it's so common in our products now. But as more companies embrace how detrimental plastic packaging is to our environment, and as natural material options have become a more affordable option for businesses, we are starting to see a shift back to plastic-free materials.

I think as the next few years pass and more innovations in packaging come to light, we will see a positive change of companies moving to plastic-free packaging. If we as consumers start giving our money to companies that avoid plastic, other companies will continue to follow.

28. Wear Natural Materials

Textile waste is a major issue as clothing is less durable and more disposable. Worldwide, approximately 92 million tons of textile waste is generated per year. Of course, not all of that is plastic, but I bet if you look at the label on your clothing, very few items will be made of 100% natural materials. Not to mention the thread and actual labels often have plastic in them too.

When buying clothing, try to buy natural materials whenever possible to reduce the amount of polyester plastic ends up in a landfill down the line.

29. Switch to Cloth Diapers

Disposable diapers currently make up 30% of non-biodegradable waste in landfills. Switching from disposable to cloth diapers would help make a huge impact in reducing plastic waste in our landfills.

Cloth diapers are a bit overwhelming to new parents, but once you get the hang of it, it will be no problem at all. A bonus is that the upfront cost of cloth diapers will still be much lower than the overall cost you'll spend for disposables. If you don't want to deal with cleaning them, there are now many pick up services that will wash them for you.

30. Gift Natural Baby Toys

Wooden and natural baby toys are a great way to avoid buying plastic. Babies put all toys in their mouths, so a wooden toy instead of a plastic one is a healthier option. The next baby shower you buy for, buy natural.

Try Your Best

Phew, that's a lot of plastic waste to think about! It's best to take things one at a time to not become overwhelmed. This list will help you recognize where you can have the most eco-impact on your next shopping trip. Keep this list in mind when making choices for your future purchases and you can reduce the plastic waste in your home significantly.

Finding different uses for old yoga mats is a great way to get around the problem that yoga mats are generally not accepted for recycling at most recycling facilities. Below you'll find many ways to upcycle or reuse those old yoga mats instead of throwing them away. First, let's find out why yoga mats cause such a problem in the waste and recycling stream.

Why Are Old Yoga Mats a Problem?

Yoga mats are made from a plastic called PVC. Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) plastic is so versatile you can find it in flooring, shower curtains, pipes, some shampoo and cosmetic bottles, garden hoses, and it's even in packaging.

This type of plastic is very commonly used, yet it is arguably the most dangerous plastic for the environment. The two main components used in making PVC are dioxins and chlorine.

Chlorine combined with other chemicals is one of the toxins that contribute to the depletion of the ozone layer through Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). While dioxins are a toxic environmental pollutant that affects human health.

Since PVC production and products negatively impact the environment and overall health, it is safe to say that the disposal of this type of plastic also comes at a cost. PVC does not biodegrade; it will stay in landfills indefinitely.

As for recycling, there are currently two methods to recycle this type of plastic, neither of which are widely used due to the cost, the difficulty in separating chemicals within the plastics, and the low output of recoverable materials.

Recycling facilities do not accept PVC plastic like the kind found in old yoga mats. There is hope that with the many advancing technological developments in the field of plastic recycling, someday in the not-too-distant-future, PVC will gain mainstream recyclability.

Ways to Keep Old Yoga Mats Out of Landfills

Here are some helpful new uses for old yoga mats in your own home. Always make sure to wash, sanitize, then dry your yoga mat before repurposing it or donating it.

1. Make Use of the Cushion

The easiest upcycling is when you don't have to do much of anything to reuse something. Because of their cushion, the uses for old yoga mats are nearly infinite.

• Use it as a soft mat for your feet when in front of your laundry machines or kitchen sink.
• Lay it down as a non-slip mat under your rug.
• Place it in your car windshield as a sun visor to keep the heat out.
• Keep it under a puzzle you're working on to roll the puzzle up for storage.
• Put it under your sleeping bag while camping for some extra cushion or at the beach under your towel to sunbathe.

2. Cut It Up

This yoga mat trick requires a low skill level. Just a few snips for size and shape and you can have a completely new use for that old yoga mat.

• Carve it to fit as floor mats for your car.
• Use a large rectangle and frame it (with no glass) to create a cork board.
• Section it into puzzle pieces to create a giant floor puzzle for your toddler.
• Slice out a crescent shape and add an elastic band to make a sun visor.
• Cut a square to fit on top of your refrigerator so that items you store up there don't slide off.

3. Decorate It

Here's where a bit of skill is needed depending on what you're going for. If you want to keep it simple you can, but you can also get very detailed with your decorations. Painting, embellishing, stenciling, glittering, you name it! You can really get creative with these uses for old yoga mats.

• Spray-paint and stencil a new welcome mat from your old yoga mat.
• Create kitchen art by cutting out shapes such as a rooster, a teapot, a coffee cup, a giant fork/knife/spoon set, etc. then paint them a solid color and stencil a pattern over part or all of the shape.
• Carve, paint, and glitter an intricate mandala to hang on your front door.
• Cut your used yoga mat long-ways into thin strips until you reach 2 before the end. String beads on the strips then hang it in a door frame for a funky room entry.
• Cut out Happy Birthday letters, paint and decorate them, then string them together to create a birthday banner (add the person's name too!).

4. Build Something New

Sometimes all you need is to cut a few shapes then use a bit of glue and you have a whole new item. Most of these ideas are about layering to get a bigger padded object. A hot glue gun will work for most yoga mats.

• Add cushion to your kitchen chairs by cutting out 3-5 layers of the old yoga mat to the shape of the seat of the chair. Glue one layer at a time to your chair. Use a box cutter or blade to shave a bit of a rounded edge around the top of the stack. Cut fabric to wrap around the padding then use a staple gun to tightly attach the fabric to the underside of the seat of the chair.
• Cut 5 or more rectangles about 18x8" then glue them together one layer at a time to create a kneepad for gardening.
• Make a reusable grocery bag by cutting two 15x15" squares, three 15x6" rectangles, and two 26x2" strips. Glue rectangles to three sides of one of the squares as if you were constructing a box, then glue the other square to the corresponding sides of the rectangles making sure to glue all seams. Glue strip to the open side of the bag as straps, then repeat for the other strap. Secure all seams with yarn or string using a blanket stitch and a leather needle.
• Cut out two rectangles that are about an inch wider than your laptop then glue three edges together to create a new laptop protective sleeve. While not necessary, a blanket stitch would look nice for this as well.
• Make a picture frame by cutting out two rectangles larger than a photo, one for the backing and one for the frame. On the frame layer, cut out the dimensions to hold the picture, then glue three edges of the backing layer and adhere the frame layer so that you can slide a photo into the frame. You can cut out additional decorative shapes or letters and glue them on the outside of the frame.

5. Donate It

Someone else may have a great use for your old yoga mat in mind! There are so many wonderful places you can consider donating these mats to. Just call ahead to see if they are in need of old yoga mats first.

• Give it to animal shelters for pet beds.
• Donate yoga mats to homeless shelters as sleeping pads.
• See if your local school will take it for their gym classes.
• Check with nursing homes to see if the residents could use it for exercise.
• Bring it wherever you normally donate your used home goods (Salvation Army, Goodwill, thrift stores)

Buy a Different Kind of Yoga Mat

Now that we have shown you ways to keep that PVC plastic yoga mat out of the landfill, let us give you an idea of what to look for when you buy your new one. Some companies currently have yoga mats on the market made of more sustainable materials. Keep your eyes out for mats made from natural cork, natural rubber, or recycled materials.

What other uses for old yoga mats have you tried?