All the little things add up. Few things are more true than these words when it comes to environmental safety. Green energy, recycling, reducing carbon emissions, these are all part of our major recent changes in environmental awareness. Still, there is more we can do to improve ourselves, and it may start with how we treat some unexpected items.
Below you’ll find a list of everyday items that you might be unnecessarily throwing away, or that you shouldn’t be using at all.
Are Tea Bags Bad for the Environment?
There are a lot of problems for not only your tea bags, but more important the boxes they come in. A copious amount of paper is being used, but it’s bleached, and has likely been contaminated by the spices and tea leaves inside. They are essentially unsalvageable. Around 30% of tea bags aren’t even compostable. A heat-resistant polypropylene plastic, which can cause damage if introduced into the soil, is found in those 30%.
Granted, tea bags aren’t exactly world ending in their own right. That statistic does mean that the majority of tea bags are able to be composted in some fashion. The bags are a luxury item though, as there are safer alternatives like using a tea strainer, which only needs to be washed out between uses. Buying loose cut tea can even cut down on your overall costs because it allows you to measure out and ration the tea more accurately to reflect your personal taste.
Can K Cups Hurt the Environment?
Introduced in 2004, k cups have exploded in popularity. As of 2015, one in every three American homes have a single-serving, pod-based coffee maker. Thing is, the plastic cups can’t be recycled. Many people don’t realize this since many other plastics are able to be recycled, so why can’t these be?. The reason for this is because of the recycling process. Before they are able to be broken down, the materials must meet a certain criteria. You can’t mix use mixed materials in the recycling process, which is why you at home have to separate your plastics, glasses, and papers from each other. Should these items be processed together they would result in a defective product that is unable to be used, and thusly must be thrown away.
The problems with K cups is that, firstly they aren’t typically cleaned out, secondly they don’t yield enough materials to merit putting them through the process, and thirdly while the cups are plastic, the seals are either paper or metal, which must be tossed out if not separated. This is why almost all pod cups, not just K cups, find themselves tossed into a landfill. Remember reading that one in three American households have a machine that uses these? Now think about how many people live in a house that might use the coffee maker, or how many cups a person might make in a day. While we may never know just how many cups are in landfills, you should keep in mind that the main company sold around 9.8 billion single packs back in 2014. When you consider how old these things are you’ll realize that this results in a scarily high number. That’s enough to wrap around the Equator of the Earth almost 12 times.
Until the company finishes their work on making a more eco-friendly design, our environment may be better off if you get something like a French Press instead.
Can Microbeads be Recycled?
Microbeads are the small pellets that you find in some bottles of body wash or lotion. The idea was that they helped exfoliate your skin as you washed yourself, cleaning you far more efficiently than traditional soaps, and all you had to do was wash them off you when you were done. It was a great idea, except for the fact that the beads were made from plastic.
It may not seem like it, but those tiny little pellets can cause some serious damage to the environment, entirely because of how small they are. The drains always led the beads back to a water source. Water filtration plants can’t do much to prevent that, because they’re too small to be properly filtered. When the beads are out in the water, fish who mistake these beads for food will end up dying, because the beads will get stuck in their bodies. Michigan recorded that in Lake Erie there were about 1.7 million bead particles were present, and New York said over 19 tons of the beads were being washed into the waterways.
In 2015 the Obama Administration passed a bill outlawing the use of these in soaps, lotions, creams and toothpastes, so the point on this is admittedly a little moot. Chances are though that many homes still have these products with the beads in them, and are still using them. If you still have these products in your home then it’d be good for you to reconsider what you’re doing with them.
Are Disposable Cleaning Cloths Safe For the Environment?
Anything from disinfecting wipes to electronic cleaning rags can be considered a disposable cleaning cloth. Though many believe that they are made in a similar way to paper towels, they are, in fact, a completely synthetic material. Not only does this prevent them from being recycled, but it also means that they are far less biodegradable than other cleaning cloths. They sit in landfills for far longer than other non-synthetic rags, which also risks slipping into our waterways.
Thankfully microfiber may be the solution to this problem. Many companies have been using this material instead of other synthetics, meaning that you can wash and reuse these cloths multiple times before having to throw them away. This can also save you money, as you won’t have to purchase anywhere near as money cloths.
Do Disposable Razors Harm the Environment?
Over 2 million disposable razors find their way into the trash each year, alongside their packaging. The razors aren’t made from salvageable materials either, so you can’t recycle them. The blades themselves are made from a very cheap steel, which is then molded to fit permanently onto a plastic handle. Since it’s too dangerous to extract the blades from the plastic the razors end up in the landfill, where they take a very long time to break down. They can take anywhere between 50 to 500 years to fully break down, depending on what materials were used to make the blade.
Thankfully there are reusable razors available, and plenty of them. Straight razors are made with a durable material that lasts about three times longer than disposable ones, and electric razors are known to have long lasting and reliable blade heads. If you’re in a position where you absolutely require a disposable blade, consider Recycline Blades by Preserve, a company that has managed to use completely recyclable materials that won’t end up in the landfills.
Are Menstrual Products Dangerous For the Environment?
Menstrual products are easily amongst the most overlooked items with regards to their environmental impact. Over half of the U.S. population requires these products. That’s around 160 million women who use these products just in the states, which equates to something close to 12 billion sanitation pads and 7 billion tampons. All of these kinds of products are designed to be single use, and therefore go straight to landfills.
Products that don’t contain dioxin or rayon, for example the Diva cup, are able to be washed and used again. There are similar, external options as well which can be washed and reused, like Glad Rags. These products are currently quite pricey, costing as much as three times that of a box of tampons, and will still need replacement over time. At this point in time, they are our only alternative to disposable products.
Are Produce Bags Dangerous to the Environment?
Produce bags are located in every grocery store in the country, all along the produce aisles. Yes, many companies have started using compostable bags, however there’s still a copious amount of the regular kind. Don’t forget, plastic bags can’t be easily recycled. Produce bags also pose such dangers, as they will often litter the ground and get stuck in machinery. Very rarely is a recycling plant able to deal with this problem, so the bags are normally thrown into the landfill.
The best options we all have are to either shop at a store that uses compostable bags (which are indicated on the side of the bag), or to simply bring your own bags that you can wash and reuse with each shopping trip. Unfortunately these aren’t the most efficient options, as many stores will use regular bags, and it can be difficult to bring enough bags to tote about and fill your groceries into. Still, by just using a couple of reusable bags with each trip you’ll be able to significantly cut out on the amount of plastic put into landfills every year.
Can You Recycle Disposable Cutlery?
Because it’s made from polystyrene 1, which is a main ingredient in styrofoam, only about 6% of plastic cutlery is able to be recycled. The cost is why plastic cutlery is so popular. With $10 you can get 1,000 plastic forks, but it can cost $30 to $40 for compostable forks. It can be stressful trying to budget for the environmentally friendlier option, especially for restaurant or business owners who don’t have much profit. This doesn’t include chopsticks, found in most Asian themed restaurants, which require about 4 million trees each year to be cut down in order to produce 57 billion pairs of chopsticks.
There are more options for those who wish to stay eco-friendly, but the restaurant does not offer matching cutlery, they just may require some self-sacrifice. If you’re eating in then you can ask the restaurant owner if they have silverware instead of plastic. You’re more likely to find silverware at a sit-down restaurant, but it won’t hurt to ask. If you’re ordering take-out, request that they don’t place plastic cutlery in your order. Assuming you’ll be heading home to eat, you can use your own silverware instead. If you’re eating at work or away from home then you may need to have some silverware you bring with you. We can reduce the amount of trash added to our landfills each day if we can cut down on the amount of plastic cutlery.
Can You Recycle Batteries?
Many people simply throw away old batteries, especially the small ones, such as AA and AAA. Even if you try to recycle them, all batteries will find their way to the landfill. The reason is that batters are filled with toxins, like nickel and cadmium, which can harm both the environment and humans. The outside metals and plastics take upwards of 100 years to decompose, but the chemicals inside have an indefinite decay time, meaning that they more than likely never break down completely. Water sources that are close by can easily be contaminated, which poses a serious health risk to surrounding communities.
The best thing we can do to avoid batteries in landfills is to either deposit them at a local utility store, such as Staples or Office Depot, or to simply buy rechargeable batteries. Rechargeable batteries are more cost efficient, and they significantly reduce the number of batteries that end up in landfills. It’s expensive at first, but most great investments are. However, over the course of 5 years, you are likely to save yourself over $308.
Below you’ll find a list of everyday items that you might be unnecessarily throwing away, or that you shouldn’t be using at all.
Are Tea Bags Bad for the Environment?
There are a lot of problems for not only your tea bags, but more important the boxes they come in. A copious amount of paper is being used, but it’s bleached, and has likely been contaminated by the spices and tea leaves inside. They are essentially unsalvageable. Around 30% of tea bags aren’t even compostable. A heat-resistant polypropylene plastic, which can cause damage if introduced into the soil, is found in those 30%.
Granted, tea bags aren’t exactly world ending in their own right. That statistic does mean that the majority of tea bags are able to be composted in some fashion. The bags are a luxury item though, as there are safer alternatives like using a tea strainer, which only needs to be washed out between uses. Buying loose cut tea can even cut down on your overall costs because it allows you to measure out and ration the tea more accurately to reflect your personal taste.
Can K Cups Hurt the Environment?
Introduced in 2004, k cups have exploded in popularity. As of 2015, one in every three American homes have a single-serving, pod-based coffee maker. Thing is, the plastic cups can’t be recycled. Many people don’t realize this since many other plastics are able to be recycled, so why can’t these be?. The reason for this is because of the recycling process. Before they are able to be broken down, the materials must meet a certain criteria. You can’t mix use mixed materials in the recycling process, which is why you at home have to separate your plastics, glasses, and papers from each other. Should these items be processed together they would result in a defective product that is unable to be used, and thusly must be thrown away.
The problems with K cups is that, firstly they aren’t typically cleaned out, secondly they don’t yield enough materials to merit putting them through the process, and thirdly while the cups are plastic, the seals are either paper or metal, which must be tossed out if not separated. This is why almost all pod cups, not just K cups, find themselves tossed into a landfill. Remember reading that one in three American households have a machine that uses these? Now think about how many people live in a house that might use the coffee maker, or how many cups a person might make in a day. While we may never know just how many cups are in landfills, you should keep in mind that the main company sold around 9.8 billion single packs back in 2014. When you consider how old these things are you’ll realize that this results in a scarily high number. That’s enough to wrap around the Equator of the Earth almost 12 times.
Until the company finishes their work on making a more eco-friendly design, our environment may be better off if you get something like a French Press instead.
Can Microbeads be Recycled?
Microbeads are the small pellets that you find in some bottles of body wash or lotion. The idea was that they helped exfoliate your skin as you washed yourself, cleaning you far more efficiently than traditional soaps, and all you had to do was wash them off you when you were done. It was a great idea, except for the fact that the beads were made from plastic.
It may not seem like it, but those tiny little pellets can cause some serious damage to the environment, entirely because of how small they are. The drains always led the beads back to a water source. Water filtration plants can’t do much to prevent that, because they’re too small to be properly filtered. When the beads are out in the water, fish who mistake these beads for food will end up dying, because the beads will get stuck in their bodies. Michigan recorded that in Lake Erie there were about 1.7 million bead particles were present, and New York said over 19 tons of the beads were being washed into the waterways.
In 2015 the Obama Administration passed a bill outlawing the use of these in soaps, lotions, creams and toothpastes, so the point on this is admittedly a little moot. Chances are though that many homes still have these products with the beads in them, and are still using them. If you still have these products in your home then it’d be good for you to reconsider what you’re doing with them.
Are Disposable Cleaning Cloths Safe For the Environment?
Anything from disinfecting wipes to electronic cleaning rags can be considered a disposable cleaning cloth. Though many believe that they are made in a similar way to paper towels, they are, in fact, a completely synthetic material. Not only does this prevent them from being recycled, but it also means that they are far less biodegradable than other cleaning cloths. They sit in landfills for far longer than other non-synthetic rags, which also risks slipping into our waterways.
Thankfully microfiber may be the solution to this problem. Many companies have been using this material instead of other synthetics, meaning that you can wash and reuse these cloths multiple times before having to throw them away. This can also save you money, as you won’t have to purchase anywhere near as money cloths.
Do Disposable Razors Harm the Environment?
Over 2 million disposable razors find their way into the trash each year, alongside their packaging. The razors aren’t made from salvageable materials either, so you can’t recycle them. The blades themselves are made from a very cheap steel, which is then molded to fit permanently onto a plastic handle. Since it’s too dangerous to extract the blades from the plastic the razors end up in the landfill, where they take a very long time to break down. They can take anywhere between 50 to 500 years to fully break down, depending on what materials were used to make the blade.
Thankfully there are reusable razors available, and plenty of them. Straight razors are made with a durable material that lasts about three times longer than disposable ones, and electric razors are known to have long lasting and reliable blade heads. If you’re in a position where you absolutely require a disposable blade, consider Recycline Blades by Preserve, a company that has managed to use completely recyclable materials that won’t end up in the landfills.
Are Menstrual Products Dangerous For the Environment?
Menstrual products are easily amongst the most overlooked items with regards to their environmental impact. Over half of the U.S. population requires these products. That’s around 160 million women who use these products just in the states, which equates to something close to 12 billion sanitation pads and 7 billion tampons. All of these kinds of products are designed to be single use, and therefore go straight to landfills.
Products that don’t contain dioxin or rayon, for example the Diva cup, are able to be washed and used again. There are similar, external options as well which can be washed and reused, like Glad Rags. These products are currently quite pricey, costing as much as three times that of a box of tampons, and will still need replacement over time. At this point in time, they are our only alternative to disposable products.
Are Produce Bags Dangerous to the Environment?
Produce bags are located in every grocery store in the country, all along the produce aisles. Yes, many companies have started using compostable bags, however there’s still a copious amount of the regular kind. Don’t forget, plastic bags can’t be easily recycled. Produce bags also pose such dangers, as they will often litter the ground and get stuck in machinery. Very rarely is a recycling plant able to deal with this problem, so the bags are normally thrown into the landfill.
The best options we all have are to either shop at a store that uses compostable bags (which are indicated on the side of the bag), or to simply bring your own bags that you can wash and reuse with each shopping trip. Unfortunately these aren’t the most efficient options, as many stores will use regular bags, and it can be difficult to bring enough bags to tote about and fill your groceries into. Still, by just using a couple of reusable bags with each trip you’ll be able to significantly cut out on the amount of plastic put into landfills every year.
Can You Recycle Disposable Cutlery?
Because it’s made from polystyrene 1, which is a main ingredient in styrofoam, only about 6% of plastic cutlery is able to be recycled. The cost is why plastic cutlery is so popular. With $10 you can get 1,000 plastic forks, but it can cost $30 to $40 for compostable forks. It can be stressful trying to budget for the environmentally friendlier option, especially for restaurant or business owners who don’t have much profit. This doesn’t include chopsticks, found in most Asian themed restaurants, which require about 4 million trees each year to be cut down in order to produce 57 billion pairs of chopsticks.
There are more options for those who wish to stay eco-friendly, but the restaurant does not offer matching cutlery, they just may require some self-sacrifice. If you’re eating in then you can ask the restaurant owner if they have silverware instead of plastic. You’re more likely to find silverware at a sit-down restaurant, but it won’t hurt to ask. If you’re ordering take-out, request that they don’t place plastic cutlery in your order. Assuming you’ll be heading home to eat, you can use your own silverware instead. If you’re eating at work or away from home then you may need to have some silverware you bring with you. We can reduce the amount of trash added to our landfills each day if we can cut down on the amount of plastic cutlery.
Can You Recycle Batteries?
Many people simply throw away old batteries, especially the small ones, such as AA and AAA. Even if you try to recycle them, all batteries will find their way to the landfill. The reason is that batters are filled with toxins, like nickel and cadmium, which can harm both the environment and humans. The outside metals and plastics take upwards of 100 years to decompose, but the chemicals inside have an indefinite decay time, meaning that they more than likely never break down completely. Water sources that are close by can easily be contaminated, which poses a serious health risk to surrounding communities.
The best thing we can do to avoid batteries in landfills is to either deposit them at a local utility store, such as Staples or Office Depot, or to simply buy rechargeable batteries. Rechargeable batteries are more cost efficient, and they significantly reduce the number of batteries that end up in landfills. It’s expensive at first, but most great investments are. However, over the course of 5 years, you are likely to save yourself over $308.
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