How can you avoid single use shopping bags?
- Instead of using single-use paper or plastic bags at check-out, load your paid-for groceries back into your shopping cart.
- When you wheel the cart to your car, transfer the items into the bags in your trunk.
- Or- if you walked to the store, transfer items into your bags outside the store.
Plant a garden and learn to compost
- how to compost and why its good for the climate
- Virtual workshops in English and Spanish on how to compost at home from the UC Master Gardeners
ZERO WASTE DURING S.I.P. TIMES
Many have been discouraged about zero waste during COVID times. No carry-in shopping bags, no bulk foods, no farmer’s markets. DON’T BE. These are transformative times and the will and ingenuity of the people will make lemonade of the lemon times. There still is plenty we can do to advance the movement. Here are suggestions for your consideration:
1) RETHINK – Many can’t print documents because they don’t have their work printer. Make a plan to continue to get by without as much of the ink and paper use.
2) REPLACE MATERIALS– We can use this time away from ziplocks to form a plan to replace them. Tupperware and reused plastic bread bags work well. You will like this project MUCH more if you get recycle ALL containers and lids you don’t like (do it), and buy matching sets of the right sizes
3) REPLACE/REDUCE – Running out of precious paper towels? Never been a better time to make a kitchen drawer filled with clean folded rags and begin using them for floor and counter clean ups. You’ll need a small “hamper” box under the sink for the clean ones. Pull out and add with any laundry load. Refold, reload drawer. Old, cut-up towels work well. Save money, save paper products.
4) REFUSE – Cut down on your junk mail. Contact orgs and publishers that are plugging up your mailbox.
5) REFUSE – We can refuse to buy or take drinks in plastic bottles. Choose glass or aluminum containers.
6) REDUCE – We can’t buy in bulk, but we can buy larger packages with less individual wrappings.
7) REDUCE – We can bake our own granola bars and not have to waste the individual wrappers (wax paper wrapping works).
8) REUSE – Have too much recycling? Two tin cans can be made into an old-fashioned telephone. A rinsed bleach or milk plastic bottle can become a bird feeder or child’s watering can. A wipe bottle and some dry rice inside becomes a shaker instrument. OR…just give your kids a huge box of all the (clean, safe) recycling and a roll of masking tape and they will make a fancy castle, or Recyclops monster, or fire station.
9) REUSE – No, we can’t bring our bags into stores, but we can reuse paper bags for garbage or spread them over areas of the garden to get rid of weeds. Paper bags make an awesome kid hat – roll it up from the end to fit the head. Let them decorate it.