Wait, what? This isn’t a Drupal post!
No, it’s definitely not. But as the year winds down, I wanted to share a couple of other topics that are near and dear to my heart and this is a big one for me. I’m a big believer that we as a tech community have a responsibility to be good stewards to our users. One of the ways we can do that is by delivering high quality, good software. Another we is we can use our influence and resources (e.g. money) to drive change towards a more sustainable future.
I was really surprised / disturbed by an article that NPR published earlier this year: “How Big Oil Misled The Public Into Believing Plastic Would Be Recycled.“
Here's the basic problem: All used plastic can be turned into new things, but picking it up, sorting it out and melting it down is expensive. Plastic also degrades each time it is reused, meaning it can't be reused more than once or twice.
On the other hand, new plastic is cheap. It's made from oil and gas, and it's almost always less expensive and of better quality to just start fresh.
This post isn’t about specific products, and it’s not an affiliate post. None of the stuff companies I’m linking too will make me any money. I just wanted to share some of the changes I’m making in my own personal routine / life in an attempt to reduce single use materials in my day-to-day life.
By HumanKind
The bathroom / personal health routine is one of the areas I’ve personally struggled to reduce plastic consumption. EVERYTHING comes in plastic and it’s really difficult to get clean / break down enough to recycle (assuming it even does get recycled). I came across By HumanKind earlier this year and have been really pleased with their products. Not only do they ship everything in compostable recycled materials, they don’t use much (if any) plastic in the containers. I’ve tried “most” of their products and continue to use many of them daily!
Yes, I will say they are a bit expensive for what they are, but the shampoo / bodywash / conditioner bars last forever so they work out to be a really nice price point.
Soda Stream
I haven’t drank much soda these last few years (for a variety of reasons). BUT in the last year I’ve been on a big carbonated water kick. I especially like carbonated water with a bit of lemon juice! Even though products like Spindrift have nailed the flavor, they still create a lot of waste in that every time I consume the product, I have a can to deal with. Thankfully the cans aren’t plastic.
BUT this brings me to Soda Stream. Now, I personally think their soda replacement is not good at all. If you (like me) love the taste of Diet Coke, you are probably going to hate their diet soda. BUT for carbonated water? It’s perfect. I use mine every day and I have significantly cut down on the garbage / recycling I am creating by using their product. Instead of one can per serving, I go through a large bottle of lemon juice every other week or so. The C02 canisters are refilled by the company after I trade them in at my local grocery store.
Soda Stream even has a page dedicated to sustainability on their corporate site!
With one reusable bottle we can save a family up to 3000 disposable bottles every year.
If You Care
I am not the baker in the family, but I do roast a ton of veggies in the oven. And one of my biggest complaints with doing so is the mess it makes (and/or the need to use aluminum foil and/or parchment paper). Well, If you care has created a compostable parchment paper! Yes it’s still single use, but it’s not going into a landfill. They also have other products like compost bags and compostable cupcake wrappers. I’ve seen them all over my local grocery store and I try to buy their products vs. the “other” alternatives when possible.
Who Gives a Crap
OK this one can be a little uncomfortable to talk about. But toilet paper is a necessity and the natural impact of this one product is staggering. Something like 27,000 trees are consumed in one day to make toilet paper — https://blog.nationalgeographic.org/2010/04/16/toilet-paper-wipes-out-27000-trees-a-day. That is just a staggering amount.
Who Gives a Crap makes their products out of either recycled paper or bamboo (depending on which ones you get). Bamboo is much more sustainable given how quickly it grows and of course, recycling old paper to reuse as toilet paper means no new trees are being cut down to manufacture the product.
In Conclusion
I’ve spent a lot of time (and yes, money) over the last couple of years trying out ways to cut down on my own footprint. Some of them work great! Like reusable shopping bags and coffee cups (although, the pandemic isn’t helping these areas). Some not so much (for our uses, like the dryer balls). But the important thing is that I’m trying to reduce the waste coming out of our house. And I hope pointing out some companies that you can easily integrate into your daily routine in 2021 will help you too.
Photo by Steve Johnson from StockSnap