Easy Way To Help The Planet, Ditch Sandwich Bags
Plastic pollution is a crisis, it never biodegrades and is made from harmful chemicals. When this type of plastic ends up in a landfill or is incinerated it releases a toxic chemical, called dioxin. If it ends up in our oceans it is dangerous to wildlife that only see food. Luckily there are many alternatives to using unsustainable products.
Plastic feels almost unavoidable. My food is wrapped in plastic, my clothes have it woven into the fibers, my computer, my tea kettle, my phone, my dogs toys all have a bits of plastic. How can we avoid it if it’s everywhere. Sometimes avoiding it isn’t possible and for those times I use the plastic items until they’re completely unusable, try to fix it or re-purpose then recycle, donate or toss. When an item is fixed and used for another nine months it can reduce the related carbon, water and waste footprints 20-30%.
The average person uses 540 plastic bags every year, that’s one pound of plastic that never degrades and could be eaten by marine life.
Plastic sandwich bags are 100% avoidable. I have not bought plastic sandwich bags in years and never have felt like I needed one. The uses for these bags are usually storing dry or wet food. Storing dry food I use cloth napkins, I made scrap fabric cloth bags for sandwiches or use my mesh produce bags, they’re perfect for storing fresh popcorn. What happened to containers? Everyone got so obsessed with not doing dishes they just forgot containers and grab a plastic bag. I have so many ex peanut butter jars that I use to store everything. If I want to bring a sandwich out and about with me and don’t want to carry a container or napkins all day I use old bread bags or something like it. I can throw these away after without feeling guilty and my plastic waste is used more than what it’s purposed for.
To store wet things I use any container (those empty peanut butter, hummus or salsa containers) or I have one silicone bag for on the go. I got the silicone bag originally so I could bring salads up the ski mountain for a much cheaper lunch without a mess in my pocket or a bulky container but now I use it more often for tofu marinades. It’s perfect for marinades as the liquid is evenly distributed. I do use the silicone bag quite a bit but one is good for my two person household.
There is no need to buy fancy new things to achieve zero waste. Making cloth bags out of ripped clothes or unused material is super easy and gives purpose to things that might not have. Saving old containers might not look uniform or fancy but the more times an item is used the more healthy for the earth it becomes.
We made an app, Boycott That! Available for iOS and Android devices!
Boycott That is the app to start becoming a healthier consumer. For the wannabe zero waster, Boycott That has achievable sustainable switches for everyday items. The app is also perfect for helping to avoid companies that partake in animal cruelty and violate basic human rights.
