Happy Earth Day! Today, I thought I would share some of the small and easy changes I have been personally making over the last few years to contribute less waste to our planet. We have all seen the videos of the sea turtles and trash in the oceans, but have you taken any steps to help eliminate waste? Imagine the world we can create with small changes that result in less pollution and reduced waste from single-use items. Here are the 5 steps I have been taking to reduce waste on our planet. 5 Steps to Reduce Waste
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Ditch the Straws
This is probably the biggest change I have made when it comes to reducing my plastic waste. Whenever I am eating out, I tell my server I don’t need a straw. I personally don’t mind drinking off the rim of the glass at restaurants, but if you don’t like drinking off the rim of the glass, purchase reusable straws from Amazon and keep them in your bag. I have ordered reusable straws they have been perfect for this kind of situation. Here are some of my favorites.
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Ditch Plastic Water Bottles
Use a reusable water bottle and buy a water filter pitcher rather than purchasing bottled water at the store. This has been another big change I have made. When I first moved to Canton, I would purchase bottled water every time I went grocery shopping because I didn’t like the tap water here. Then I would drink about 5-7 bottles a day. Last year we made the investment in a Pur Water Filter and, luckily, my office has a water filter so I fill up my Arbonne water bottle (which is also great for tracking my water intake for the day). Using a water filter and reusable water bottle is probably one of the biggest ways to cut your waste.
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Ditch Plastic Bags
Use reusable bags for shopping rather than single-use plastic bags. I keep my canvas grocery bags in the car so I always remember to bring them with me to the store. I have several bags that I have accumulated from different places, but you can find affordable reusable bags on Amazon. If you forget your reusable bags, make sure you recycle your plastic bags. Giant Eagle has a bin out front to put your bags in for recycling.
Buy Environmentally Friendly Beauty and Skincare
Ever since I discovered Arbonne, I have made the effort to switch all of my beauty and skincare products to their cleaner products. What I love most about Arbonne is their products are not only better for your body, but they are also environmentally friendly and do not contain ingredients that are harmful to the environment. Did you know some beauty products, especially facial cleansers with the micro beads, are terrible for the environment? Arbonne’s products are botanically based and follow the European standard and beyond, banning over 2,000 harmful ingredients from their products. I don’t know about you, but this policy made me want to switch everything in my life to their products. Plus all of their packaging is 100% recyclable so you don’t have to worry about that waste either. With their global sustainability commitment and ArbonneCylcle program, a program that upcycles non-recyclable packaging, Arbonne is doing amazing things to make sure they produce and recycle their products with the Earth in mind.
There you have it! These are the 5 steps I have been following to reduce waste on our planet. Let me know in the comments below what you have been doing to reduce waste!
