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With the introduction of the zero waste alternative as a method to combat massive landfills as well as land and water pollution, this lifestyle is indisputably environmentally-friendly and easier to embrace despite what people have been saying about it. Here are many tips to consider that can help begin your journey:

(Lots of things in regular grocery stores will be packaged in plastic. However, going to bulk stores like WinCo in your area can help you refill your necessities without the waste. You can refill things ranging from food to shampoo and conditioner.)

1. Swap out plastic bags for reusable tote bags when shopping. Use cloth bags to store your fruits and vegetables and mason jars (or any other reusable containers) to store your spices!
2. Use mason jars to fill your shampoo, conditioner, and body wash at your local bulk store. However, you can always buy bar soaps and recycle the packaging that comes in it or buy soap that doesn’t come in packaging (like Lush). They are also easy to DIY!
3. Compost. Lots of food scraps you throw away, like orange peels, can be placed into a bowl in the fridge until it fills up and you are ready to bring it to your farmer’s market to turn it into nutrients for soil. You can also compost in your backyard!
4. Replace plastic water bottles with reusable water bottles. BPA persists in plastic water bottles and is not only harmful to the environment, but also to your health. Let’s not add more waste to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch which suffocates marine life. Consider investing in a stainless steel or glass water bottle.
5. Cleaning your toilet and restroom can be made easy and efficient using vinegar and castile soap. Pour some vinegar into your toilet and let soak for about 5 minutes before scrubbing. To wash your sink, use a castile soap spray.
6. Print on the blank side of a used paper. This prevents you from using new paper and helps reduce paper waste. Remember to recycle all paper and use newspapers to wrap gifts for celebrations!
7. Recycle all used electronics or sell them! All the tiny parts in your electronics are valuable and would serve as better use recycled than in a landfill. You can find big, tan electronic recycle bins in Eastvale at Roosevelt (near where the yellow school buses come and wait) and in front of Clara Barton Elementary.
8. Use old T-shirts as rags to clean. If you want sleeker-looking cleaning materials, use reusable cloth towels.
9. Use reusable food containers to store your lunch, meal preps, and snacks.
10. When ordering a frappuccino or coffee from Starbucks and other beverage franchises, ask if they can fill it in your reusable tumbler or bottle. Invest in stainless steel straws!
11. Use refillable pens, refillable mechanical pens, and refillable whiteboard markers for your homework and office. These may take a little longer to find on your Google search, but they are available!

This would conclude the list of doable zero waste alternatives you can try out immediately, but there are plenty more alternatives to consider when becoming more environmentally-friendly. There are also plenty more ways you can help the environment through your diet, such as reducing your meat intake, ESPECIALLY beef. Taking shorter showers would also help save water and using the cold setting on your laundry can help reduce the unnecessary energy used to create the warm water for washing clothes.

A quick Google search can also be sufficient on finding alternatives that were not mentioned in this list. While the zero waste lifestyle may seem overburdening, it becomes a habit and is much easier than expected. It also saves you some cash. Happy zero wasting!