10 Items To Add To Your Zero Waste Starter Pack

Stay hydrated with a reusable water bottle. You will no longer need to purchase and throw away plastic water bottles.

Bring your own cutlery. Many fast paced restaurants only offer plastic disposable silverware. If you bring your own, you will not need to use those pesky single use plastics. Also when ordering take out, use your own silverware instead of getting the package of plastic silverware.

If you need a straw with that drink bring your own. Many restaurants are beginning to offer paper straws, but for the plastic that still offer plastic, use your own reusable straw from home. They come in a variety of lengths and materials.

Use tupperware when bringing excess food home instead of using the togo boxes provide by restaurants. Some restaurants are still using styrofoam boxes which take 500 years to decompose.

Purchase a bamboo toothbrush. These toothbrushes decompose in 5 to 10 years while a plastic toothbrush takes 400 years to decompose. Also bamboo is a very fast growing plant, it grows much faster than trees. So using wood made from bamboo over wood made from trees helps stop CO2 emissions from rising.

Use bars of soap instead of liquid soap in a pump. Bar soap can come in no packaging at all and they can be just a luxurious as liquid soaps. You can also switch to bar forms of shampoo and conditioner.

Use a menstrual cup or period panties instead of disposable tampons and pads. The average woman uses 240 tampons a year. That is a lot of waste in a lifetime. Save money and the environment by switching over to reusable period products.

Use rags instead of paper towels to clean up your spills and wash them later. Some people cut up old t-shirts and repurpose them as rags.

Bring reusable shopping bags to the store next time you shop. Many grocery stores put your grocery bags on plastic bags. Instead of using those bring your own bags or choose paper bags over plastic. Just remember that paper comes from trees and we need the trees to provide habitats for other species and to absorb the CO2 from our atmosphere. So try to bring your own bags if you can.

Lastly thrift your clothes!

Help stop fast fashion from mass producing the latest fashions every month by reusing already existing clothes. Reduce your waste by buying locally or in store so you don't have waste from shipping packaging. Or shop sustainable brands that package your goods in recyclable or compostable materials and give back to the environment.