If you look around the bathroom, you will probably see a sea of plastic. Most cosmetics are packaged in plastic and it has been said that many households don’t recycle bathroom items. If you generally forget to recycle shampoo and shower gel bottles, then that is the first very simple change to make! Rinse them out, let them dry and add them to your weekly recycling.
As many bathroom products last a while, this room may take quite some time to become plastic free but it is possible. The good thing is that it can be a very gradual change, which is easier on the pocket.
First, gather all the toiletries you already have in the house: from the bathroom, your bedroom, the downstairs toilet, your handbag. You will probably be quite surprised. I gathered up 14 lip balms! Start by using these items up. When you eventually do start running out, that is the time to look at the list below and find an alternative product. This blog post is not going anywhere so you can just come back when you need to.
The only products not to use up are those that contain microbeads – face scrubs, toothpastes, exfoliators. Microbeads were banned in January 2018 but that doesn’t mean you won’t find something lurking in the back of the cupboard. By using these up, you are releasing the micro plastics into the water system. Unfortunately, there is no easy way to dispose of them that is not in some way harmful. You can either throw the whole item in the landfill bin or put the contents in the landfill bin and the container in the recycling. Neither is great but at least there is some hope it will stay out of the water system.
So, without further ado let’s get swapping….
Same cost or cheaper
Shower gel to a bar of soap
Find yourself a couple of ceramic soap dishes and the bathroom, cloakroom and kitchen has its first simple plastic free swap. There are many markets popping up around the UK and often there is a soap stall with ‘naked’ soap. There are many options in stores such as Lush to suit all skin types. Online brands, such as Friendly Soap can be good but are pricey and adding on the cost of postage makes it extremely expensive. Alternatively, at the supermarket, some soaps come packaged in cardboard, which can then be recycled. What you don't want to do is swap a shower gel bottle that could be recycled to a plastic wrapper that can't.
Plastic 'scrubbie' to a cotton/bamboo flannel
Every time you use a scrubbie, it will shed plastic into the water system. The annoyance with micro plastics is that they are just that – microscopic! You don’t even know you are doing it. You can pick up a cotton flannel for next to nothing. Just buy each member of the family a different colour to help distinguish whose is whose!
Tissues to a hankie
Back in the day Nana used a hankie and then we got all 'convenient' and went through boxes and boxes of tissues each year. If you buy yourself a set of hankies you will very rarely need to use tissues. I still have a box in the house for emergencies but the same box has now been there for about 14 months. A very easy and good swap to make.
Make up wipes to reusable make up removing pads
Anything that is used once and then thrown away immediately gets put on my black list. These wet wipes are terrible for the environment and if they find their way into the water system just create fatburgs in our sewers. Reusable make up removing pads, made from crocheted cotton or cotton terry cloth, can be used again and again. Simply wipe off your make up and throw them in the wash.
Make up remover to coconut oil
Coconut oil can be used for a wide range of beauty treatments. Use it together with a reusable pad to remove your make up. Glass jars of the oil can be bought in most supermarkets - yes it is the same stuff you can use to cook with!
Lip balm in a tube to balm in a tin
Lip balm tubes are not currently recycled and are therefore another plastic product that will end up in landfill. There are many different companies that make a balm in a tin made with cocoa butter or coconut oils.
A Greater Cost
Plastic toothbrush to a bamboo toothbrush
A lot of people have already jumped on this easy swap. Toothbrushes last forever in the environment and cannot easily be recycled by councils. Do a bit of maths on how many you have already used in your lifetime, and then think of them all hidden underground or bobbing around in the ocean. Not such a great thought. Bamboo toothbrushes can be bought from plastic free shops, health food stores or online. If you have a family, they can come with coloured ends to determine whose is whose. Prices vary so shop around. Once you have used it for a few months, the brush can go in the compost bin (just cut as many of the bristles off as possible first).
Cotton buds to Bamboo buds
The saddening picture of a seahorse taking an ear bud back home with him just shows how our waste damages the environment of other living things. Ear buds made of bamboo and cotton can be put in the compost once used and will break down. This is another product that, at present, is almost twice the price of its plastic equivalent but hopefully in time they will become more mainstream.
Regular Toilet paper to ‘Who Gives a Crap’ recycled loo roll
I love this swap and now actually prefer Who Gives a Crap toilet paper. You order a box of 48 rolls online and they arrive wrapped in paper in a cardboard box. The more boxes you order the cheaper it becomes e.g. bulk buy five or ten boxes and the cost per box goes down. We get a group of neighbours together and bulk buy ten boxes. Some take a whole box and others share in halves. This cuts down the cost significantly.
Dental floss to compostable dental silk
I have definitely been flossing more often since finding this silk. I have chosen the Georganics silk which is much thinner than regular tape and is therefore easier to get in between your teeth. It comes in a little glass container and the floss can then be put in your compost caddy. When you have finished the reel, you can buy refills without the glass jar. Again, sadly it is a lot more expensive than a supermarket branded floss.
Toothpaste in a tube to toothpaste in a glass jar
This is an interesting one. It is definitely a sensation that takes some getting used to. We are used to our toothpaste foaming and having a strong minty taste. This natural paste doesn’t foam and has a very different consistency but it does leave your mouth feeling very clean. After using an entire jar, I am now used to it and have bought another but I don't think it would be for everyone.
Shampoo/Conditioner to either a refill or a bar
Shampoo and Conditioner bars really seem to be a Marmite experience. I tried a Lush version of the two bars and used them for about four weeks (they say it takes a while for your hair to get used to the product). I really didn’t like the feel of my hair, yet others on Instagram have used exactly the same product and loved it. I think it really does depend on your hair type; how often you wash your hair and how you then style it afterwards. I do want to give bars another go but unfortunately it is rather costly to keep buying products that might not work. Many say rinsing with diluted apple cider vinegar after washing helps. So I might give that a go in the future too.
Instead, I now fill up my empty bottles at the plastic free shop ‘Nada’ in Leicester town centre. They buy in bulk and you decant it into your own bottle. It is a little more expensive than the usual supermarket bought brands but is something I am prepared to pay for. You may need to do some searching for plastic free shops or market stalls near you – they are certainly popping up everywhere.
Branded deodorant to eco-friendly deodorant (or DIY deodorant)
Although there are a few brands of deodorant in glass, many are packaged in plastic and are not recyclable. Eco-friendly stick deodorant comes in a cardboard tube or a glass jar. Both at the moment are very expensive compared to shop brands. The other alternative is to make your own. I have used the Wellness Mama recipe to make both the coconut oil and the shea butter based paste and been using it for about nine months. A bit like the toothpaste, it is a strange thing to get used to and I know it wouldn't be for everyone. My main bug bear is that in the heat it is sloppy and in the cold it is rock hard! I definitely prefer the shea butter version as it is softer to apply.
Mouthwash to mouthwash tabs
This is one swap I have yet to try as at around 4p a tab they are expensive. The tabs come in a glass jar and look like a little mint.
Bubble bath to unpackaged bath bombs
If you like a few bubbles, try and find some ‘naked’ products at shops like Lush or on market stalls. This is not something I use, so I don’t have any strong recommendations!
Potential greater cost in outlay at start
Disposable razor to a Safety Razor
This one is on my list but I have no experience of it at the moment. Plastic throwaway razors, much like toothbrushes, are never going to disappear: they will sit in landfill forever more. A safety razor allows you to change the metal blade and keep the bamboo or metal handle. Comments on Instagram give them good reviews, although they might be a little scary to use at first without the normal protecting guard of a disposable razor!
Should the metal blade seem a little daunting, there is obviously the option of investing in a razor with blades that change. This way at least you are only throwing away the razor blade. I will choose to stop there and not start a rant about how much unnecessary plastic packaging these blades are sold in! We can only hope that mounting pressure will stop these companies selling goods in this way.
Ladies only: Disposable period products to reusable pads, Mooncup or period knickers
In terms of waste this one scores very very high! A lot is said in the media about baby’s nappies and the harm they are doing for the environment but not so much is mentioned about women’s menstrual products. If you think about the amount we use on a monthly basis across our lifetime the landfill waste is huge.
Reusable pads are sold in most plastic free shops as well as in many online stores. They can range from £8 for one to a pack of three for around £15. They are usually brightly coloured and contain an absorbent layer for either light or heavy flow. Poppers are used to keep it in place and once used they can be rinsed in cold water and put through the washing machine. (Check the instructions as some state not to use fabric softener).
An alternative that hit the market quite a while ago is the Mooncup. I cannot review based on personal experience but if you look on sites such as Mumsnet, a lot of people rave about them. They are quite mainstream now and can be bought in most Boots stores (apparently) or online for around £20.
And the final option are period knickers. Similar to the reusable pad but all contained in a pair of knickers. A friend recently bought a pair from Wuka and raved about them to her 15 year old daughter who informed her with a slurred ‘whatever’ that they are old news and everyone has them! If the youth are on board then they must be ok! The knickers have a four layered gusset which eliminates odour and keeps you dry. You then give them a rinse in cold water and wash them in the machine (with no fabric softener). I cannot review personally but my friend said they were definitely a game changer for light to normal days.
As with any of the swaps it might take a few months to get used to your chosen swap so be patient. If nothing else think of the money you will be saving!
And there you have it a plastic free bathroom!
It will take a long while to make all these swaps – if that is your intention! So don’t be put off if at first it seems you are not making many changes. Any small change is a positive step in the right direction. Any change, in whatever room of the house should be about habit forming for the future rather than fad buying one off products that you will never use again.
Tomorrow, we move on to the kitchen...
Bathroom - Watch this space
Although this might look like a very comprehensive list, there are still items that after a year I have not been able to change. Face cream is the main one that I have tried and failed to swap. Those creams that are branded as eco-friendly and come in glass jars are often extremely expensive. I have tried Nivea in a tin and Jojoba oil in a glass bottle, however, both made my skin come out in more spots than I've had in the last 20 years. Again, we can only hope that manufactures start thinking not only about the product they are selling us but the packaging it comes in.
The other difficulty is make up. The packaging is very difficult to recycle and there are not many alternatives available at the moment. Things are changing though. Zao make up comes in bamboo cases and items such as the eyeshadows can be refilled, which is a good start. A friend has recommended the mascara and eye liner to me for when my current one runs out. However, the eyeshadow refills are packaged in plastic! So we are not completely there just yet.