Trash Jars and Waste

Image courtesy of shutterstock.com.

Long story short, the trash jar is total bollocks. There– I said it. Having a jar filled with the year’s waste is trendy; and yes, I had one. I used an old coconut oil jar from a two-pack I bought from Costco. Somewhere, in an older blog most (most likely tied to my first blog) exists a post about it. I thought it would be a good way for me to measure and limit what I was buying. It did just that; however, so did going through my trash at the start of going low-waste. Then I got to thinking about it. What was the point actual of having just a jar? Sure, a trash jar is a conversation piece, but is it actually providing purpose? In my case, it did no more for me than sorting and taking stock in the beginning did. Since I’m not a public speaker, and I don’t go around with the jar of trash everywhere I go, there was really no need to keep it.

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Open Discourse: Single-Use Plastics

Plastic waste pile. Image courtesy of Dreamstime.com

Today’s topic is all about single-use plastics. The nonprofit organization, Container Recycling Institute, has mentioned the growing trend in plastic production and waste. The EPA’s most recent figures (2018) found that 35.68 million tons of plastics were generated, while only 3.09 million tons were recycled. Humans need to do better.

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First Look at FinalWipe (save your money)



Something came in the mail today! I was really excited. It was the FinalWipe bundle. I had seen this on Kickstarter (was not a backer, though), and was intrigued. I loved the idea of having antimicrobial, bamboo wipes. I noticed that they were organic cotton, instead of the silver ion-infused bamboo, and the container was nice with a bamboo lid. Figured that’s all that had changed. Boy, was I wrong. Now, people have been using rags and cleaning solutions for awhile, prior to the toilet paper we all know and (most of us) use. So what makes this different?

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Plastic-Free July: Day 19, Glass

Just one of several jars. This is the one I use the most for beverages.

A few days ago I discussed the use of silicone, the importance of purchasing quality silicone, and touched on the debate on whether or not it is sustainable. Today is a discussion on glass. While glass is sustainable as it is fully recyclable, there is a point when it isn’t as sustainable as the zero-waste community would like you to think. Purchasing cases of new glass jars can be tempting, especially when you strive to be was plastic-free as possible, but that’s not sustainable. Purchasing more, and throwing away or recycling the glass you currently have, versus simply using what you have. The aesthetic is nice to look at, but it’s not practical and defeats the purpose of being more sustainable.

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