Partly cloudy skies early will give way to cloudy skies late. Low 57F. Winds WNW at 10 to 15 mph..

Partly cloudy skies early will give way to cloudy skies late. Low 57F. Winds WNW at 10 to 15 mph.

ATKINSON — As mentioned in my article from May where I introduced you to zero-waste living, we’re going to explore the ways you can make a difference in your own household a little at a time. Let’s start by discussing the bathroom. Most people use lots of plastic in the bathroom, we have to admit, there’s way too much plastic packaging on the whole! You probably use liquid shampoo and conditioner, plastic toothbrushes, disposable razors and possibly liquid body wash. Here, we’re going to discuss alternatives and where to find them.

Let’s start with the shower. Instead of using liquid shampoo, try using a shampoo bar. There are more and more shampoo bars hitting the market all the time. If you like to shop at brick and mortar stores, they’re available at Target and sometimes Wal-mart. I really like the “Love, Beauty and Planet” brand “Murumuru Butter & Rose” shampoo bar, available at Target and online. Most shampoo bars I’ve tried say they last for fifty washes — that’s hogwash! I wash my hair daily and they usually last me several months! If you use liquid hair conditioner, there are conditioning bars available as well, in fact stores like Lush, specialize in bars for shampoo and conditioner and you can have them cut off any size chunk you want! If you like to shop online, I would suggest doing a search for “zero-waste shampoo and conditioner”. You’ll find many options for shampoo and conditioner bars as well as companies that offer refillable shampoo and conditioner services. Yes, that’s right, if you want to help the environment but continue using liquid shampoo and conditioner, you can join a membership service where you get a reusable bottle filled with your product which you can send back when you’re done and get a new one! There are also refill stations in eco-friendly shops in NH and MA — just do a search for “eco-friendly refill stations”. Check out the website “Common Good”, they not only offer products, but they have a limited listing of refill stations: https://www.commongoodandco.com. If you’re using liquid body wash, consider making the switch to bar soap, but be aware of palm oil, which comes by many different names. Palm oil is in a plethora of products and its use contributes to deforestation and climate change. Check out this very informative article for more information: https://www.wwf.org.uk/updates/8-things-know-about-palm-oil. Personally, I use 100% olive oil soap which doesn’t contain palm oil. If you’re using disposable plastic razors, consider making the switch to the more sustainable old fashioned razor with replacement blades or an electric shaver. Doing a search online for eco-friendly razors will give you many ideas and places to buy them.

Moving on to other bathroom goods. It’s time to think about what you want to achieve, do you want to go plastic free or do you want to recycle, perhaps you’ll choose to do both. You can make the switch to toothpaste and mouthwash tablets to eliminate the plastic waste altogether; or you can choose to stay with regular toothpaste and mouthwash and recycle the containers by entering into the free Tom’s of Maine recycling program via the Terracycle website: www.terracycle.com/en-US. Terracycle offers many recycling programs. There are also more sustainable types of tooth floss, and you can even replace plastic toothbrushes with bamboo and then send those in to be recycled via the above mentioned program.

What about personal care products? Well, did you know there are deodorants in cardboard tubes? I get mine at Target, but there are others if you search online. If you choose to stay with a plastic packaged deodorant, guess what — that can also be recycled through the Tom’s of Maine program via Terracycle! There’s also a myriad of eco-friendly feminine hygiene products out there. Just do an internet search and you’ll learn that they are very sanitary if you care for them properly. Since disposable anything isn’t eco-friendly, it’s important to think about femine hygiene when we’re discussing how we impact the planet. Check out websites like: https://periodaisle.com or https://wearedame.com for products with less disposable parts.

Lastly, let’s tackle cleaning. You can make your own hand soap and bathroom cleaners with tablets or concentrates and reuse your own containers so there’s no tossing out a plastic bottle when they’re empty. These items are offered by many companies such as Blueland (www.blueland.com), Tirtyl (store on Amazon), and Ethique (https://ethique.com), just to name a few.

Starting your zero-waste journey by converting one room at a time is an easier way to go than trying to do everything at once. Future articles will cover more rooms in your house. Stay tuned for more (hopefully) good advice.

(Editor’s note: Monique is a graduate of the NH Coverts Project and former teacher naturalist at MA Audubon Society. Her biggest passion is wildlife and the environment. She loves sharing her knowledge with others and hopes to inspire change.)

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