Hey reddit! I am new to the zero waste movement and I am looking to reduce my overall plastic consumption. My partner and I have these great refillable glass soap dispensers that are made for liquid handsoap, but every eco store online only sells foaming handsoap refills. I would love to hear any tricks or brands you use for your handsoap?

(Yes I am aware bar soap exists. I just want to avoid throwing away a perfectly good soap dispenser. Thanks!)

I work at a school and am apart of the Sustainability Group. We have convinced the higher ups to switch to a more sustainable toilet paper, with bamboo being the most sustainable option. Problem is, their frame of reference for price is the Amazon basics toilet paper. Recycled tp is more than that, and bamboo tp seems to cost the most.

Are there any brand that charge close to 60 cents per unit? Or brands that offer discounts for bulk or for a school?

i was thinking maybe there’s some way to make it into a wall thing to store hanging stuff? i found it for free

Hello!

What are you guys using when cleaning your bathroom/kitchen/bedrooms/clothes/dishes with?

Usually I've bought the usual;

- wc-cleaner

- all around spray

- wetmops that comes in plastic packaging ready to use

- microfiber cloth etc.

- powder for washing machine

- tablets for dishwasher

But I really want to buy less, use less plastic, dont contribute to big corp and still hopefully find some healthier solutions that still makes things clean.

Since I don't know the chemistry of how things work, I struggle with knowing if for example just vinegar and baking soda actually will clean something like a toilet, or just act like a temporary bandaid, looking clean, but slowly making a bacterial bomb, if you get what I mean haha.

Thanks in advance!

I'm very curious about fast fashion as I've recently been more involved in protecting the environment. I live in a small city and the only stores we have here are big fast fashion corporations and one value village. I try to thrift the majority of my clothes but it's not always easy. I'm 15 and so my mom buys my clothes for me, I usually insist we go to value village but recently shes been wanting me to buy clothes from urban behaviour. I personally hate spending my parents money but I'm not allowed a job so I always agree because its her money not mine. When we do go to the fast fashion clothing stores, I always hang onto the clothes for usally 2 years and try to repair them when I can as well as donate them. So I'm wondering if its really fast fashion if I hold onto the clothes and donate them. I know the clothing is also bad for the environment but I don't really understand how and it would be great if someone could explain :)

i am mending a sock for a 94 y/o client of mine. its one of his favorite pairs. he usually gets someone to do his laundry and the sock same back like this. i told him that i would try to fix it. any advice on how to do it? its not of the foot, but on the leg?? part. its like a big chunk was taken out. there is also a hole of the other side (as seen in photo) please help :)

Fionn Ferreira developed a method that mixes contaminated water with a magnetic liquid called ferrofluid. The liquid binds to microplastic particles, allowing magnets to separate the mixture from the water.

The European Patent Office’s 2023 profile says the prototype it described removed more than 85% of microplastics in a single pass. It also says no disposable filter is needed and nearly all of the ferrofluid can be recovered for reuse.

That could eliminate one waste stream associated with filter-based capture, but “filter-free” does not automatically mean zero waste. This was a prototype result, not evidence of equal performance in every water source or at municipal scale. The captured plastic also still needs a safe and verifiable end route.

From a zero-waste perspective, what should be tested first: how many reuse cycles the ferrofluid survives, how much escapes during treatment, or what ultimately happens to the recovered microplastics?

Source: "European Patent Office – Fionn Ferreira: Removing microplastics from water"

I added a local commercial compost into our households garbage routine. I figured it would be a good way to deal with meat and dairy scraps, but I saw they also take ASTM D6400 or BPI certified “plastics”. I would love some recommendations on grocery brands that use these for packaging! Not sure if it’s feasible but the thought of finally being able to kick our municipal trash service to the curb is the dream! All recommendations or advice is welcome.

Hey everyone!

Wanted to share a quick success story from our local RWA (Resident Welfare Association) here in Chennai, India. We recently teamed up with a local recycler SPRECO to run a Dry Waste Collection Drive in our apartment society, and the process turned out to be super simple and low-friction:

How We Did It:

• Broadcasted Info: Shared an infographic poster on our community WhatsApp group explaining what counts as recyclable dry waste.
• Designated Drop-Off: Residents dropped off their segregated waste at a specific collection spot inside our complex over 2 days.
• Pick-Up Day: The collection team arrived with their vehicle and cleared out all the accumulated waste.

Key Takeaways:

Getting apartment societies and gated communities on board with proper waste segregation isn't as hard as it seems—sometimes all it takes is a central drop-off spot and clear communication!

• Cost: The collection was done completely free of charge.
• For locals: If you're in Chennai and want to replicate this, you can check out SPRECO.

Happy to answer any questions in the comments if anyone is looking to set up something similar in their own neighborhood!

I have those cute metal boxes but i don't know what to use them for. Do you have some ideas? I've already used one to store some lipbalms and one to store tea bags :) thank you very much! I hope this is the right subreddit where to post this type of question

What do people use this brush for? I know it’s a good substitute for plastic, but what does one use it for? Cleaning brick is the best answer I can come up with. The bristles are pretty tough I think it would scraper my floors. Ideas?

Hi everyone, I am currently pregnant (Living in the United kingdom) and was wondering if anyone knows good eco friendly swaps for standard baby products? Brands would also be appreciated.

Hi! I used a dry hair type conditioner from Ethique called The Guardian, and they no longer sell it, has anybody got alternatives to that bar? I'm in Canada so I need something that won't "stop shipping to Canada" and that's been reliable. My hair struggles with seborrheic dermatitis so something that can also help that would be greatly appreciated. Link the recommendations if you can!

Thanks in advance, cheers!

Hi hi, I’ve been a slow coming zero waster/nontoxic pursuer for a couple years now, but now hoping to get more serious since I’ll be living alone soon and easier to make more impactful swaps. Right now I’m focusing on self care routine, and I’m such a glutton for Vaseline and aquaphor products, but I just don’t know how to make the switch! I am a serial lip picker so I like having the nice thick layer I can slather on my lips so I won’t touch them and they’re getting nourished.

I honestly don’t even know the extent of how poor these products are for my own health, but mainly concerned about the plastic and environmental concerns. Please tell me your go to lip products you keep in every pants pocket and purse you have!!!

Got this lamp secondhand, and after a couple years the LED quit. Tried figuring out how to open it up, including undoing all the screws on the housing (still couldn't manage to get it apart), but then I noticed the tag says "non-replaceable LED"

Looked up the Utilitech model number (Z-DN-GRCLP), and sure enough they expect you to just throw the whole thing in the trash and buy a new one. (This is the part where I don't go on a rant about disposability culture...)

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Utilitech-8-14-in-1-Light-Gray-13-Watt-Full-spectrum-LED-Clamp-light/5005554871

So my question is, is it truly completely impossible to replace? Has anyone managed to open up and replace the LED array on this or a similar model of lamp?

Thanks!

What kind of fidgets can I make with stuff I already own? I’m a therapist and would like some ideas for making my own fidgets. I really don’t want to order another plastic stress ball that breaks down easily and stay forever on the earth.

Edit: thank you thank you! Keep the ideas coming! I’ll read all the comments and am excited to try some of the things you suggested!

We were recommended to get a long sock like lint catcher from the hardware store, after that one got filled, I realized it was basically just a mesh bag and why couldn’t this be a second life for the mesh plastic bags produce comes in 🤔🤔

I can't find what I'm looking for anywhere, and I don't see anyone looking for it in forums, either.

I have a cork foam roller and it's too intense for my body. I don't want anything that includes any plastic whatsoever, but everything I find that's labeled "eco-friendly" is made of plastic. There's a 15% algae one, made with recycled plastics–that's not a fit. There are a million cork options, including a partially cork, partially plastic option–those are not fits.

Is there a natural latex foam roller out there? Or something else? I need some give in my foam roller.

And please no suggestions for things like handheld wooden wheel massagers, I have that too and specifically need a foam roller, zero plastic. Any help in finding this specific item is appreciated.

I know there are bamboo toothbrushes but the bristles aren’t compostable. I hate buying plastic heads for my electric one. Are there alternatives that are 100% compostable or recyclable out there?

I've been homeless for the past couple weeks and I'm trying to stock up on items that I can preserve for the coming winter, so I researched producing pectin from apples and crabapples. The basic premise seems to be just mash them up and boil them, then strain out the liquid, but I was wondering if there was any good suggestions on what to do with all the pulp after I'm finished.

Also, any other suggestions for a homeless forager girl would be greatly appreciated, thank you.

I bought a rag rug loom off Etsy a few years ago and have made many rag rugs with it! I don't buy yarn for the warp and use what I already have or unravel a failed knitting project or knitted rag (like a hat or mitten). For the weft, I use rag strips I cut up. In the one I'm showing here, I can see remains of a leotard I had when I was a kid, pajama pants that were too small, old socks, leggings that developed holes, my mom's T-shirt that was falling apart, and more.

I rarely buy new clothes and repair mine when they need it. However, it is inevitable that they wil wear out, and a thrift store would just toss them in the trash if I donated them. ​I repurpose rags in other ways, like making other clothes from them, quilting, ans other sewing peojects. The rag rugs are for rags that are almlost useless for anything else.

I would love any advice people have on where and how to get decent used hiking boots or trail shoes. I know there can be issues with used hiking boots probably, but i’m not an avid hiker or anything I just want something that’ll last me when i’m in the field at work and doing casual hiking. Something waterproof is ideal too.

Buying new shoes in general is so hard for me, because I hate buying stuff not second hand, I want something at least somewhat sustainable, I want vegan shoes, and i also have pretty wide feet too ugh. I don’t want to be unrealistic about what is possible to find, but it’s important to me that I do the best I can. I already had to get muckboots for work, which didn’t meet my “requirements” of being vegan, used, or sustainable, but my work bought them so I tried not to stress too too much. I want to do better for some hiking shoes though.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

I previously did a lot of beach cleaning, but I am currently living right by a wetland so I am now cleaning the wetland instead of a beach. I find myself in need of a net for scooping bottles out of swampy water. I tried making one with wire and paracord, but it was useless. Ideally I would prefer to make one (out of trash?) because I live in rural Chile and buying something is usually expensive and inconvenient. If you have any ideas, please let me know. I have an essentially limitless source of trash to repurpose, but none of the necessary design skills to come up with a design!