1 simple easy choice you can make to reduce plastic in our environment (recycling, pollution)

[Heidi60]

In the Bay area we are also charged for plastic bags so I crochet my own or use the cloth ones available at stores. There are many patterns online if you are interested.

I buy the large gallon size vinegar for laundry, and other cleaning, but it also comes in a plastic bottle so no saving there. I haven't seen Felz Napa in the stores for many years but maybe that is because I buy laundry soap at a club store.

We use the small plastic bags we still have to clean the litter boxes. Wonder what other choices are out there for that task!

[davidv]

If you want to watch a really good documentary about plastic and its effects on the environment, watch Bag It. It can be streamed on Netflix.

[GrammasCabin]

Originally Posted by KittenSparkles

Does this truly get clothes clean?

How much vinegar in the rinse cycle?

I would be open to doing it if it really works. I am trying to decrease the amount of plastic packaging I bring into my house.

This thread inspired me to do some google searching on homemade laundry detergent. Like most things, there are mixed reviews on the topic.

Absolutely! I started making my own because it costs next to nothing but I'll continue making my own because it works better than store-bought. I do add a bit of bleach now & then for dingy whites. About 1/2 cup vinegar for a full load.
If you can't find washing soda, just spread bakingsoda on a cookie sheet & bake at 400 for 20 minutes. The heat changes the chemistry & turns it into washing soda.

I don't have garbage pick-up so keeping it to a minimum is critical for me. I compost everything the chickens or dog don't eat, use paper products for fire starter and cardboard in the garden. I have 4 garbage cans I take to the dump twice a year...the only things in them are plastic and metal.

If you forget to take your own bag to the grocery store you can still request paper instead of plastic, I never let them put my things in a plastic bag. My store makes cardboard boxes available for packing groceries, then I use the cardboard for weed block in the garden. If I have a choice of product in glass or plastic, I always choose glass then find a reuse for the bottle or jar. They will always re-seal at least once, most of my jam & jelly & juices are put up in re-used jars.

[DontLookPhoto]

We should be trying to recycle or re-purpose everything.
I can envision a future where we are mining old landfill dumps for the materials that we once threw away.

[KittenSparkles]

There is a company that makes liquid laundry detergent that comes in a cardboard bottle. It has a plastic lining that they say can be recycled.

My city has banned plastic bags and I am in support of that.

When my supply of plastic bags runs out that I use for cat litter, I will probably buy biodegradable plastic bags for that purpose.

[Ultrarunner]

Originally Posted by DontLookPhoto

We should be trying to recycle or re-purpose everything.
I can envision a future where we are mining old landfill dumps for the materials that we once threw away.

^^^That is the real solution...

I simply do not support across the board bans... we do not live in a one size fits all world.

I managed apartments for years and many were low income... garbage or lack of can capacity is an on going battle. I expect in a couple of weeks to find lots of discarded made in China plastic Christmas toys tossed into the trash... just the way it is.

I've never bought any of that for the kids in my family... I would rather give them a gold coin on their first birthday or take them somewhere educational when they are older... both are things they will remember long after that toy has landed at the landfill.

At home, I have the minimum mandate waste can size of 20 gallons... it would truly last a month for me.

At some of the rentals... the garbage is over flowing each week from containers twice the size and in some areas 3 times the size.

We buy lots of things in bulk... like eco paks for cereals and whole grains from the local food mill... very little packaging and what there is we recycle or re-purpose.

Still remember visits to my Grandparents small dairy farm... one summer, I had some high school friends come for a week to stay... they were in shock and awe... in a good way.

My Grandparents didn't have a garbage can... they only bought once a month and most things were in bulk... Grandmother baked her own bread, put up preserves and used a magnificent Wedgewood stove that was wood on one side and electric on the other.

Whatever table scraps that were left went to the compost or livestock...

One year, her peaches got the peach blight and she really missed having peaches to put up...

I brought with me a case of Del Monte canned peaches not realizing they didn't own a can opener... they never bought anything in cans.

Each empty can made it to my Grandfather's workshop and was used for nails, nuts and bolts...

Oh, they did really enjoy the Del Monte peaches too

It didn't take a ban or some agency telling them to live simply... it was just a way of life.

They certainly could have bought all the canned goods or plastic package items they would want in town... they just choose not to.

They also made their own soap...

I hosted some co-workers from Germany a couple of years ago... they said America is truly a rich country judged simply by what we throw away...

[GrammasCabin]

Ultrarunner - find a copy of The Poisonwood Bible (that is if you like to read). Not only a facinating read but boy does it give a small idea of how spoiled Americans really are. I read it every winter.

Back to the laundry soap, here a link to another's take only she adds purex crystals which I've never heard of and she doesn't cook the baking soda - which makes it work so much better. I imagine the Zote brand soap works same as Fels Naptha.

DIY Laundry Detergent | How Does She...

[legacy0133]

how about Europe? they reuse their detergent bottles, so basically once you empty your liquid laundry detergent you go to the store and refill it....

[Ultrarunner]

Originally Posted by legacy0133

how about Europe? they reuse their detergent bottles, so basically once you empty your liquid laundry detergent you go to the store and refill it....

We use to do that here... especially with paint thinner, turpentine, etc.

I was told this changed because of safety and too eliminate unacceptable containers from being used along with the liability.

[plwhit]

1 simple easy choice you can make to reduce plastic in our environment

Refuse to buy bottled water.....

Don't use Saran Wrap....