When you start to #REDUCE, one of the simple steps is to bring your own reusable bags for grocery shopping which leaves you with barely any bags to use for garbage. In that case, what would be recommended in place of plastic bags?
Well, it depends on the household dynamics and what you’d be willing to do.
Most use no bags at all in their bins and compost food waste. Trash is emptied directly into the big tote for collection and washed afterwards.
At Recycle Brevard we receive a lot of donations in plastic bags, so we tend to reuse those and recycle the excess of bags at the grocery stores. If you receive bags from others, you could do that, too.
Other things you may want to try:
- If you have a pet, you may flush pet waste straight into the toilet (Non-plastic Alternatives to Pet Waste Bags) and save pet food bags (and other packaging) for when you need to dispose of messier things.
- If you have a home office, paper goes in the recycle bin and office waste straight in the trash. You may have a bin for reusable items or items you may want to donate, and those should not need a liner.
- In the kitchen, having separate bins help - neither your compost or recycle bin needs a liner and you may choose to also skip the liner for other trash or use non-plastic liners (paper or other bags that are part of packaging you receive) if you have them.
- In the bathroom, flush toilet paper and place other product packaging directly in the appropriate bin. Reduce the disposables you use, like razors and hygiene products (e.g Mooncups) whenever you can and that will take care of the need for a trash can and liner.
- If you still want a trash bag, you may choose alternative bags (like biodegradable, plant-based or recycled bags) instead of traditional plastic bags to make less of an impact. You may also choose to use reusable bags in your bins around the house (like Planet Wise's 5-gallon or 13-gallon or Blue Avocado bags) or in your 64-gallon tote (like Green Ease). You just wash the bags and reuse them!
- If you collect for TerraCycle, you may have a box for all programs you participate in. When the box is full, just drop it off at our facility and we will take care of it for you.
We hope this helps!
Reduce, Reuse and Recycle, Brevard!
