I just found out that stores like Target, throw out those hangers that the clothes are hanging on in the store.
We should take them home and use them...and we should demand that they stop using them. Fold the clothes.
Also, use/buy fewer clothes.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For all the people buying stuff in glass jars, please explain why that's better? It's not recyclable anymore and goes in the trash (even if it is collected) and Javier hear equals higher shipping costs.

Heavier jars equals higher shipping cost!

That's why we should try to get dry goods in cardboard.
CONSUME LESS>>>ask if I really need it.

Anonymous wrote:This is quite tragic. A sliver of folks searching for ways to use less plastic while gigantic companies pump it out for every manner of use at unimaginable rates knowing full well that it will all end up in a pile somewhere for generations. This is one of the things that can and should be stopped at the source.

I finally stopped pretending to myself that my plastic gets recycled and starting throwing it in the trash. It is sad but also I’m hopeful that if we all stop pretending that plastics are being recycled at any meaningful rate, we can get mad and turn against the large scale production of it and toward incentivizing alternatives.

Agree. I will do my part, consume less, avoid plastics.
I will demand that my politicians answer questions.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We still use some of the single use products but we stopped using the single use plastic at home for storage like Ziploc baggies. We replaced all of our storage containers with reusable silicone bags or glass storage containers with snap lock tops. We use our own mesh produce bags when going to the grocery store. We buy beans, rice etc in bulk and use our own reusable bags for that purpose. We compost most of our trash and use Veteran's Compost to pick it up. We recycle the single use yogurt, sour cream etc. We take the plastic film packaging back to the grocery store where they have the recycle bins for plastic film. (I don't know if it actually happens or it is just there to make all of us feel better).

I have a child and I try not to buy the individual packages of snacks. I buy the big box of whatever and put it in containers myself.

We put solar panels on our house.

I feel like we are doing our part.

You can also get comparable baggies.

* compostable baggies, thanks spellcheck. Made out of the same material in your composting bags, and it’ll last your kid through lunch. (Although don’t try to put liquids in them.)

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can't believe this. Regular powder detergent in a CARDBOARD BOX works just fine.

I thought you couldn’t use it on a HE washer? I also don’t think I’ve seen it since the 1970s! If I can use it in my HE and it comes in unscented, I’d buy that.

there are powder HE detergents

I use powdered HE Tide. Target carries it.

Earth Breeze makes laundry detergent sheets that come in a cardboard envelope.

Anonymous wrote:We still use some of the single use products but we stopped using the single use plastic at home for storage like Ziploc baggies. We replaced all of our storage containers with reusable silicone bags or glass storage containers with snap lock tops. We use our own mesh produce bags when going to the grocery store. We buy beans, rice etc in bulk and use our own reusable bags for that purpose. We compost most of our trash and use Veteran's Compost to pick it up. We recycle the single use yogurt, sour cream etc. We take the plastic film packaging back to the grocery store where they have the recycle bins for plastic film. (I don't know if it actually happens or it is just there to make all of us feel better).

I have a child and I try not to buy the individual packages of snacks. I buy the big box of whatever and put it in containers myself.

We put solar panels on our house.

I feel like we are doing our part.

You can also get comparable baggies.

Things we have done:
- We purchased a set of Corelle dishes for entertaining. We purchased inexpensive flatware for entertaining. All go into the dishwasher and we stop using disposable plates/bowls/cups. In fact, I recently took the last of our disposables that we had in the pantry on a scout trip where they were doing disposables for a change since there were concerns about shared dish cleaning supplies for mess kits.

- Just in case, like for sending kids meals to camps, we have some bamboo flatware that is reuseable. We use them about 3-10 times and when we finally have to discard them, they are compostable.

- The kids have transitioned to using bamboo toothbrushes

- We use a mixture of glass storage containers and silicon reuseable bags. For things that can stain, we put them in glass. I understand the one PP's concerns about ziplocs. We do have a small stash of ziplocs, but we've cut down our ziploc bag usage by about a factor of 20. And we wash and reuse most of the ziplocs that we do use, so we get multiple uses out of them before we finally do trash them.

Anonymous wrote:We bought a set of bottles from Blueland and use their tablets to make cleaning solution and hand soap. Works great!

+1

There are also a lot of bar options for toiletries - Ethique and some other brands.

It's still better for glass to go in the landfill than plastic.

Anonymous wrote:Wait—they aren’t recycling glass anymore?
I often self recycle glass—we use the yogurt ones as juice jars and use the big ones to store pasta and beans in the pantry or stock in the fridge. But there’s a limit to that, of course.

Even if it is collected curbside, the recycling plants around here don't accept glass. Many municipalities like Arlington and Fairfax don't collect it anymore. You can take glass to certain dumpsters in Fairfax to be used for road surfacing. I agree with another poster,assume everything you buy will go in the trash

This is quite tragic. A sliver of folks searching for ways to use less plastic while gigantic companies pump it out for every manner of use at unimaginable rates knowing full well that it will all end up in a pile somewhere for generations. This is one of the things that can and should be stopped at the source.

I finally stopped pretending to myself that my plastic gets recycled and starting throwing it in the trash. It is sad but also I’m hopeful that if we all stop pretending that plastics are being recycled at any meaningful rate, we can get mad and turn against the large scale production of it and toward incentivizing alternatives.

Wait—they aren’t recycling glass anymore?
I often self recycle glass—we use the yogurt ones as juice jars and use the big ones to store pasta and beans in the pantry or stock in the fridge. But there’s a limit to that, of course.

Anonymous wrote:For all the people buying stuff in glass jars, please explain why that's better? It's not recyclable anymore and goes in the trash (even if it is collected) and Javier hear equals higher shipping costs.

Heavier jars equals higher shipping cost!

For all the people buying stuff in glass jars, please explain why that's better? It's not recyclable anymore and goes in the trash (even if it is collected) and Javier hear equals higher shipping costs.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can't believe this. Regular powder detergent in a CARDBOARD BOX works just fine.

I thought you couldn’t use it on a HE washer? I also don’t think I’ve seen it since the 1970s! If I can use it in my HE and it comes in unscented, I’d buy that.

there are powder HE detergents

I use powdered HE Tide. Target carries it.