- Take your own container to the meat counter or deli and refuse any of their plastic. You might inspire others when they see you do this. Look for items like condiments in glass containers.
- Check out your local hardware or grocery store for reusable containers.
TIPS
LOCAL STORES
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Sustainable Exchange-San Rafael. Located at 1406 4th Street in San Rafael. They supply high-quality local & regionally-made handmade bath and beauty products, as well as products made in-store. They also sell clothing, accessories, cleaners, oils, lotions, indoor/outdoor gear, and gifts, sourced locally or from certified fair-trade organizations.
- Grocery stores like Good Earth Natural Foods and Sprouts have bulk bins that help you go plastic-free! Here's how: Bring your reusable container(s) to the store, go to customer service to get the "tare weight," fill them up with any bulk item, and take them to the checkout!
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Black Mountain Beauty- Local, organic, beauty, and household products with no plastic packaging. (shampoo bars, sunscreen, tooth powder, cleaning supplies, and more!)
LAUNDRY DETERGENT - There are many alternatives to laundry detergent in plastic bottles. However, we have learned that many of the alternatives (like eco-pods and laundry sheets) contain polyvinyl alcohol film (PVOH), a type of plastic. There is some disagreement about how harmful PVOH is in small amounts, but if you want to completely avoid plastic and/or the potential of shedding microplastics, use laundry detergent powders, such as
Meloria, which do not contain any plastic polymers and are recommended by Zero Waste Marin.
ADDITIONAL TIPS - Wash your clothes only when needed (if it’s just a stain, it can likely be rubbed out with water/soap, rather than fully washed)
- Limit washing clothes that do not touch your body (jackets), and reuse clothes that are only slightly dirty.
- Wash in cold water to reduce overall energy consumption.
- Hang-dry whenever possible.
- Add a MicroFiber filter to your washing machine.
- Use Laundry bags or balls (like Guppyfriend or Cora Ball). They capture shed fibers in the drum before the water drains and/or reduce the friction that sheds the fibers.
- Products like PlanetCare, Filtrol, and CLEANR attach to your drain hose and can filter ≥ 90% of fibers—even as small as 50 microns in size and have a higher capture rate than the bags and balls.
