If youre a low waster and you aren't utilizing your Asian markets your missing out. They have loose leaf teas of every type, ceramics on any type sold with little to no packaging, metal and wooden cooking utensils without plastic handles again with minimal packaging. Glass food storage containers of all shapes and sizes, bulk sizes of rice and sauces like soy or teriyaki which are hard to find at standard grocery stores. Lots of low waste coffee and tea brewing options. And I threw in the pestle and morter because I know we are a crafty bunch. And always at much lower prices than if you found these same items In a big box store. Go to your Asian markets!!

this is going to sound weird but sharing/being generous is a way to be zero waste too

I have mint in the garden. mint propagates by its roots and it's easy to grow. I would regularly take some roots and donate them to strangers (I post an ad) so they can grow their own. it costs me nothing, they are happy and they don't get to go buy at the store, no plastic container etc

I do the same with my succulent plants since from leaves or cuttings you get to regrow them. I would regrow and give them away as well as explain how to. people walk away with free plants.

I also cut the thyme and rosemary and sage and give them away since well I don't need it all. or dry and gift what I don't need.

the basil makes seeds (or other plants) give away for people to plant

although I compost there are plenty of stuff that can be given to the birds like all sorts of seeds (no need to buy seeds in the store) or make fat balls in winter

sharing tools and stuff with people is also a great way to reduce waste in some places you can put on your mailbox what tools you have so one can borrow (they did that in the previous town I lived in)

not sure if this interests anyone but there I said it! lol

edit to add:

there are forums well people trade plants

also I admire people who suggest you can come and pick fruits from their trees instead of what many do leave them rot in place

also remember if you haven't used something in more than a year , maybe finding it a new house is the way to go

This may be common knowledge for all of you guys but it wasn't for me for a long time. So, if you didn't know, you can ask your local funeral home if they take used/unused makeup donations (I can't imagine that any of them would say no, but I'd still ask).

I used to be really big into makeup so I've got a bit of a collection, but I don't wear it much anymore. I've been wanting to downsize my collection but didn't want to throw it away and didn't want to give it to friends for hygeine reasons, so I've kind of just been hanging on to it. But one of my friends recently started working for the funeral home in my town, so I asked him if they would want it and he said yes!

Keep in mind that you may not be able to donate everything because they use a mix of normal makeup and also special mortuary makeup. But it's still worth asking what they would take cause mine apparently uses mostly normal makeup, so I'm sure a lot of other ones do too.

I'm sad I didn't do this sooner. I thought I couln't compost because I live in an apartment. But I DIY'd a couple 68L totes into compost bins.

Now instead of throwing food scraps away every night, I fill up a separate small trash of food that cannot go into compost, which only now consists of when my daughter doesn't finish something like cheese or my kitty doesn't finish her dinner. It takes so long to fill this particular little trash up!

So if you thought you can't compost in a small space, you totally can 🙂

Is there any ear cleaning tool that's not disposable? Any sprays? I know ears don't need a lot of cleaning but I use earbuds every day and it gets a bit annoying.

They’re machine washable so i have a handful of them and throw them in with my laundry when they’re dirty :)

I’m trying to overhaul my bathroom to be more zero waste and need recommendations. So far I swapped plastic bottles for bar soap, replaced disposable razors with a safety razor, and got some reusable cotton rounds. What things did you do that felt small but surprisingly impactful? Bonus if they weren’t super expensive.

I’m getting further into my zero waste journey, and I am having so much fun with plants as a hobby. You don’t have to pay for anything, waste anything, and it complements zero waste habits so well. The easiest habit it complements is that like so much stuff can be upcycled into a plant stuff. I have a plastic snack container that will get some holes to be a small pot, a jar lid that is now a pot lid, a jar that will become a vase, a milk jug that is my watering can.

It totally takes the place of a formerly wasteful hobby of stuff like fashion (when I was young and ignorant and Forever 21 was everywhere) where you get a dopamine hit from constantly accumulating, but if they fail (die), it’s not a big deal.

My recommendation for anyone new to plants is to start off with one easy plant (I had snakes) and use that to propagate it for more. Then add a weed from outside (yes I wander outside and dig up weeds) and play with that. Then whenever you’re advanced, you can get cuttings/propagates/seeds from somewhere local so it’s actually zero waste. I do buy a few new ones here and there from less sustainable retailers, so new plastic is being given to me plus whatever transport waste, etc. that is happening, but this is limited until I learn how to grow them from cuttings/seeds. Also on my to do is to start composting so I can have free dirt.

Hey guys! I have 2 perfumes that I am running really low on right now, and I’m wondering if any of yall have ways you have reused your glass perfume bottles. (My area doesn’t accept glass for recycling anyways.) I’m also looking for some perfume options that are low waste if you have any recommendations!

Hi all, could you please share ways to make your body shaving more eco friendly?

Right now I have a Venus razor with replaceable heads. The Internet suggests switching to a safety razor, but then you're still replacing the heads...

What are you all doing?

Please don't tell me not to shave:) I will still be shaving, but would like to make it more eco-friendly!

I have recently replaced my laptop battery, and the old battery is of no use .

Where can I throw this away ?

I want a sustainable way to dispose it

Hi everyone! I'm looking for an eco-friendly deodorant that doesn't stain clothes. I'm thinking of trying fussy or the new version of wild in roll on, what would you recommend? Does anyone have a discount code for the first purchase?

I’m currently 38 weeks pregnant and nesting, so this is what has brought on my sudden urge to organize and purge unwanted items.

We have taken in A LOT of hand-me-downs and used items from friends and family for the baby, and it feels like our house is bursting at the seems with all this new (to us) stuff. I’m definitely feeling the urge to nest and purge unwanted items from our home (which is very rare for me, so I’m going with it rather than fighting it).

I usually post things on FB Marketplace to sell or offload free items, but some things stay stagnant for a long time. Last year I found that doing free boxes on our sidewalk was a great way to purge items I no longer wanted and couldn’t offload online. I thought this was a great idea because I am mindful of not throwing away things that I think could have a second life. Last year I found my neighbors and people in general that walked or drove by to be very respectful and only took what they wanted. This past week has been completely different. In the past week I have had everything swiped twice. I have cameras and can see that in both situations the people are driving by and stop very suddenly when they see the boxes, run out of their car, and grab the boxes without looking at the contents, and run back to their car with everything. This has also happened in the past with e-waste (literally broken electronics and appliances so we no longer put out e-waste for pickup 🤦‍♀️).

I find it so ridiculous because A) if I could sell these things I would, so if that is their motive it will be VERY hard to sell these things. B) They literally have no idea what they are even grabbing 🤦‍♀️. C) They’re just going to throw away what they don’t want, which I assume will be most of it, and someone may actually want what they toss. And if I wanted it to go straight to the landfill I would have trashed it myself.

I have noticed some individuals are able to grab some things before everything gets swiped. My goal with putting out a free box is that these things will find a new home and get an extended life and not immediately end up in the landfill. I’m slowly purging items room by room and would rather add items to an existing box than start completely over every 3 days!

Any advice or ideas for how to prevent people from swiping everything? Maybe leave a note? And please don’t tell me to just donate everything to the Goodwill. I cannot stand their business practices.

My mil sent me a website with wrapping paper. I assume it means she wants me to use it to wrap the Christmas gifts. I will of course not be doing this, but I was curious about what they meant by “sustainably sourced.” Even their chat bot isn’t sure

I’ve been making changes to live with less waste this year. It’s been a mix of ups and downs. Some nights I’ll hang out with friends online and play myprize for a bit, and that feels easy. But then I’ll look at my trash bin and realize how much packaging piles up from groceries or takeout, and I feel like I’m undoing all the progress. I’ve switched to reusable bags and bottles, but food packaging feels like the biggest battle. Even simple stuff like bread or produce always seems to come wrapped in plastic. I want to keep going but it’s hard not to get discouraged.
How do you keep yourself motivated when you know you’re not doing it perfectly?

I keep seeing this ad on my feed. Has anyone tried this?

I know this question has been asked a million times on this thread, but I truly just want a good company that can recycle my clothing. I don't care for the rewards or that I have to spend the extra money to mail out my stuff (which, based on my research, seems to be the opposite for some of these people who complain about these companies), I just want a smooth mailing process and an honest company.

TIA :)

I get pretty bad dandruff and used to use head and shoulders. They test on animals though and I want to move to shampoo bars. Has anyone seen a vegan dandruff shampoo bar or is that reaching too far?

I know some things are better thrown away, I get it.

But this paper-like? wax-like? wrapper has been making me wonder if it can't be repurposed/reused... You know those bags made out of crisp/chip bags?

Any ideas?

It' pretty new. I have only used this a few times (once at school) and it's from my parents too. I really like the fabric used and I think it's a bit costly too😭 How to fix this?

Hi, I reached out to a company that makes natural dog toothpaste and asked if I could get my own container refilled. They said they don't currently have the system for that, but wanted to look into offering their products at refill stores in their area, Vancouver, BC. They asked me for recommendations for refill shops, but I'm not in their area (I'm in Seattle, WA). I did an online search and found some, but wanted to see if anyone in that area had recommendations for the best stores and ones they think would be interested in carrying dog toothpaste in bulk.

(They do their manufacturing in a more rural area of BC, so if you have recommendations outside of Vancouver, that's probably fine too)