Did you know that this week is National Waste Reduction Week in Canada?

Today’s theme? Plastic Waste.

To bring awareness to such an important topic, we decided to show you 5 easy swaps you can make to reduce your plastic waste!

No. 1 – Make the switch from plastic wrap to a reusable beeswax wrap! | Nature Bee Beeswax Wraps

When it comes to making your kitchen more sustainable, ditching the plastic wrap is one of the easiest switches you can make! Beeswax wraps are a great alternative and are reusable for up to one year, come in a variety of colours & sizes, and are made from simple, natural ingredients. The best part is that when you are done with your wraps, they are 100% compostable, or can be used as a fire starter! Our favourite wraps are from Nature Bee Beeswax Wraps, a local company from Vancouver Island who source all their ingredients on the Island. Check out their awesome sustainable products at NatureBeeWraps.ca.

No. 2 – Swap out your bottled soap for a dish soap block! | Green Room

Another sustainable kitchen swap comes down to everyone’s favourite kitchen chore: washing the dishes. Just kidding, doing the dishes sucks, but our dish soap blocks make doing the dishes a lot more sustainable & aesthetically pleasing. Our formula is tough on grease, yet is gentle on your hands and is 100% biodegradable. The main ingredient in liquid dish soap is water, so by using a concentrated dish soap block you are getting more bang for your buck and you aren’t paying for an ingredient you already have at home! Our lavender and lemongrass dish soap block can be found here.

No. 3 –Replace liquid shampoo & conditioner with zero-waste bars | Green Room

If you were to look in your bathroom right now, how many products are packaged in plastic bottles? The answer is probably most of them, and that’s okay! A zero-waste bathroom can be difficult to achieve, as the market is flooded with plastic packaging. At Green Room, we are trying to change this with zero-waste or plastic-free packaging for all of our products. Our Shampoo & Conditioner bars are an easy sustainable switch and are equivalent of up to 3 bottles of their bottled counterpart. They are also travel friendly!

Our fresh shampoo & conditioner bars are great for oily, fine & blonde hair while our floral bars are perfect for dry hair, dandruff & itchy scalp.

No. 4 – Make mindful decisions when it comes to purchasing new clothing | Girlfriend Collective

One step to reducing our plastic waste, is to recycle the plastic already in circulation. And while this doesn’t necessarily reduce your personal plastic consumption, finding products that are made from recycled material is still a great way to keep plastic out of our landfills. If you are looking to purchase new apparel, check out Girlfriend Collective! They are dedicated to using as much post-consumer recycled plastic as possible in their apparel, as well as in packaging and production. Check them out for a great sustainable alternative to fast fashion!

No. 5 – Ditch the plastic water bottles & opt for refillable options! | Baltic Market

The easiest switch you can make when it comes to reducing your personal plastic waste is to ditch those single use waster bottles. Simply fill up the bottles you already own with tap water! Don’t like the taste of your tap water? Bamboo charcoal water filters are a great option for better tasting tap water. They also filter out chlorine, ammonia, toluene, chloramine, and other solids and gases. Carbonized charcoal also helps alkalize the pH of your drinking water, when it is found to be more acidic. 

One of these filters can last up to 6 months before being composted!

Happy National Waste Reduction Week! 

Rachel Nelson