Making eco-friendly changes in your day to day life really doesn’t need to be difficult and it can start with using a little less plastic. While a completely zero waste lifestyle may seem unobtainable for the average consumer, there are plenty of super simple zero waste swaps to be made in all areas of our lives. In today’s post, I’m talking you through 5 simple zero waste bathroom swaps you’ll wish you made years ago. You’ll never look back!
1. Shampoo and Conditioner
In the last five years, solid shampoo bars have stopped around 30 million plastic shampoo bottles from ending up in a landfill. Not only that, but on average they last up to three times longer than liquid shampoos (in my case it’s more like four to five times longer) and they do wonderful things to your hair. My top picks are the Seanik shampoo bar and Sugar Daddy-o conditioner bar from Lush. I dare you not to fall in love with them!
2. Cotton Rounds
Making the switch from disposable face wipes to coconut oil was a major breakthrough for me. But, while I was saving hundreds of face wipes from the landfill each year, I was still using disposable cotton rounds to remove my eye makeup. What a waste of money and resources when there are reusable alternatives on the market! Now I can simply pop my cotton rounds in the washing machine and use them again and again. No excess packaging and no waste!
3. Skincare
I’m a skincare junkie and it’s not unusual to find my bathroom counter lined with lotions and potions. The good news is, there are plenty of zero waste alternatives to your favourite cleansers, serums and exfoliators. Lush has an extensive ‘naked’ skincare range that’s completely package-free. Their Fresh Pharmacy cleanser has been a favourite of mine for years. Alternatively, you could always try your hand at some DIY skincare treats. Recently I’ve been using a mixture of coconut oil and sugar as an exfoliator and my skin has honestly never been softer!
4. Handsoap
One of the easiest zero waste bathroom swaps you can make is replacing your liquid soap with a good, old-fashioned bar of soap. Bars of soap usually come in biodegradable cardboard packaging and I find they last significantly longer.
5. Toothbrushes
5. 50 million pounds of plastic toothbrushes are dumped into US landfills every year! Now, no one is suggesting we should stop brushing our teeth, but switching to a bamboo toothbrush is great zero waste alternative to using traditional plastic toothbrushes.
Making everyday plastic-free swaps doesn’t need to be a challenge. In fact, a lot of the zero waste alternatives I’ve started using turned out to be better than their overly-packaged counterparts. Are there any zero waste bathroom swaps you’ve been loving lately? Let me know!
