GREEN TEAM--TIPS TO REDUCE YOUR USE OF PLASTICS

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Tips to Reduce Your Use of Plastics

• Say "No" to single use bags
• Stop buying/using bottled water (use reusable metal containers, instead)
• Buy drinks in glass bottles or recyclable metal cans rather than in plastic containers
• Bring your own coffee cups instead of accepting disposable cups with plastic lids
• Buy in bulk (and use your own container)
• User your own mesh produce bags in grocery stores
• Use your own bags for groceries (get in the habit of keeping shopping bags with you)
• Stop using plastic straws
• Replace plastic wrap with beeswax wrap
• Compost food waste to reduce the need for plastic bags
• Use matches instead of disposable plastic lighters
• Choose unwrapped bar soap in place of liquid soap packed in plastic
• Buy eggs in paper, rather that Stryofoam, containers
• Take your own tiffin container for carryout food or leftovers in restaurants
• ​Sign up for a Consumer Supported Agriculture (CSA) program to reduce plastic packaging
• Buy loaf bread from sellers who don’t wrap it in plastic
• Refuse plastic utensils from take-out restaurants
• Make your own cleaning solutions, stored in glass containers, to reduce use of cleaners sold in plastic containers
• Choose clothing made of natural fibers instead of synthetics that contain plastic
• Buy products in boxes, instead of plastic bottles, when possible
• Avoid buying frozen foods (most are packaged in plastics; even those that appear to be in cardboard or paper often have a coating of thin plastic film)
• Use (or encourage the use of) cloth diapers rather than disposable diapers (that contain plastic)
• Use a razor with replaceable blades instead of disposable razors/blades
• Buy bulk coffee packaged in paper or cans
• Avoid plastic single-use coffee products
• Avoid plastic zip storage containers; use reusable silicone bags or aluminum or wax paper, instead
• Use cloth rather than paper towels for clean-up around the house (reducing need for bags for clean-up)
• Buy CDs packaged in cardboard sleeves or buy music online
• Choose milk in returnable glass bottles
• Choose bottled wine (“boxed” wine is stored in plastic bladders inside the “box”)
• Use powdered dishwasher detergent stored in cardboard boxes (versus plastic “pods”)
• Use natural material cleaning pads, versus plastic scrubbers and synthetic sponges
• Use baking soda mixed with drops of tea oil, applied to underarms with reusable cotton round, instead of deodorant
• Avoid disposable plastic pens; use pencils or refillable fountain pens, instead

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