Using Less Plastics at Home

If you have ever looked into your kitchen, bathroom and laundry closets and wondered why there is not any space in there, here are a few ideas on how to use less space and decrease plastics going into the waste stream.Coffee K-Cups an easy place to start. Buy a reusable pod at the grocery store, usually on the coffee aisle. In that way you can use your favorite ground coffee to make your brew and not have to ingest the toxic plasticizers that get transferred from the plastic pod into your cup with the addition of hot water, the grinds go to compost and there is no plastic waste. And prevent waste when drinking coffee or tea outside your home by bringing your own thermos cup to the get your drink at the café. This insures your beverage stays hot or cold, doesn’t create more trash, and you don’t ingest the plastic coating used on the inside of the cup that makes it waterproof.Wash your clothes with clothes detergent sheets or pods. It will also keep that huge piece of plastic out of recycle/landfill, and you don’t have to pay for and carry that heavy container that is 25 -50% water around your house, leaving a sticky mess wherever you put it down. Think of the space you will save not storing those gallon containers. Try pods from Dropps or sheets from “Hey Sunday” or “Clean People” brands.

Instead of buying soap in the plastic pump bottles to wash your hands, use a bar of soap. It costs less and does a better job because it doesn’t have all the additives in it. If you prefer pump foam hand soap, you can buy one glass pump bottle and get soap pods or pearls. Drop one in the container, fill with water, put the pump back on and you have foam hand soap. Less costly than buying a new bottle each time plus and less plastic to store and dispose of in the trash or recycle.Hair shampoo and conditioners have new eco-friendly options. High quality shampoo and conditioner bars are available on line and at specialty shops. Not only do they work well, they travel well and fit into soap container. Also, they don’t take up so much space in cabinets with partially filled bottles and the bars don’t contribute at all to the waste stream.Other personal hygiene products showing up on the shelves that will help you decrease hard to dispose of plastics include; tooth tablets and deodorant in glass containers. Before the invention of tooth pastes, people used tooth powders to clean their teeth. The powders have evolved a 

lot over the past century and now come in tablet form with many flavors and with or without fluorides. They clean as well as pastes and they have minimal additional chemicals added associated with the pastes that go into your digestive system. Empty toothpaste containers are not recyclable, and just go to landfill, while tablets have very little environmental impact.Deodorants are another example of difficult to recycle plastics with additional, sometimes harmful/harsh chemicals, used to make the product. Coming onto the market are deodorant creams available in glass jars which are much easier to recycle than any plastic. They are more natural and organic, which in most cases are much less irritating than many deodorants and have a lot less additives.An important note is that many of these innovations are small businesses and made in America. Using these products is great for the environment as well as your personal health. These examples are not specific endorsements, as they are only a small fraction of what is available, look for the products that make sense for you; local, organic, no animal testing. 

ACES is pleased to work with the following members of the Council of Aging’s Waste Ambassador Team:  Audrey Clarkson, Fran Norton and Nicki Girouard. Working at the Newburyport Senior/Community Center as contributors to the Toward Zero Waste program, they ask that everyone considers all possible alternatives to any product contained in plastic.

ACES believes we can make a BIG difference together. Team members invite you to stay updated on environmental matters by subscribing to our monthly newsletter via the “Join Our List” link on this page. Please consider joining our community of stewards who are committed to Make Every Day Earth Day by contacting acesnewburyport@gmail.com.

This educational column first appeared in The Daily News of Newburyport on February 7, 2025.