Genuine question (I am new). I want to live more sustainably with the things I buy and buy less. However, I am a germaphobe when it comes to kitchen cloths and sponges that clean the dishes. I don't under stand how those little bristle brushes are considered less wasteful, whenever I see my partners it looks really really dirty and almost mouldy because it is wood and always wet so I feel like I would switch it more often. What are some solutions you have?

hello all! i have already surfed the zero waste toothpaste discussions on here but they weren’t exactly what i needed so imma ask. i need the BEST, CHEAPEST, zero-waste toothpaste that i can buy on AMAZON. i know amazon sucks but this is what i’m working with rn so i need the best option. i can’t justify spending like 20 bucks on toothpaste so affordable recs only please😭🙏

edit: more so zero waste packaging, less so zero waste ingredients

I always thought pepper sauce could be at room temp, so i have them above my fridge

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It happened before, so with these new bottles im pretty sure i kept the lid part clean and wiped away any residue with water

Thanks

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I started caring about sustainability after witnessing the severe pollution at a local beach near my home, a moment that really opened my eyes to the importance of greener practices and how some people still neglect that fact. Seeing that firsthand made me wonder about other people's journeys towards sustainability.

What got you into living sustainably? Was it a moment of realization or a gradual shift towards eco-friendly choices? Maybe it was something negative, like seeing deforestation or polluted waters, that made you change your ways? Hearing personal stories like yours would be inspiring and will offer fresh perspectives on why sustainability matters. So, what's your unique story? What experiences or reasons pushed you to embrace a more sustainable lifestyle?

This may be a very dumb question but…

I am interested in bringing in empty bottles to my local Sephora to recycle in a pact bin. Can I put litteraly any empty sephora package in the bin, or does it have to be recyclable?

I am a yerba drinker and would like to take my yerba with me to uni, since it helps me with concentration, si I am looking for a thermos, but oh boy is it an hell of a hunt.

I dont want to buy it second hand, because it is hard to clean and I wouldnt know if it doesnt contain some harmful things like lead. I also dont want this classic thermo that has plastic lock through which you pour the water, since Ill store hot water in there. So I looked for a thermos which yould have all the parts that are in contact with water in stainless steel.

The internet lead me to these nice all stainless steel thermos sold by a local zero waste brand, but since It was made of bamboo and I live in Central Europe I wondered, how could it be made locally? I couldnt find any satisfying info on their website, so I used google images to find that The exact same thermos (without the engraving) is sold by Temu and other chinese sweatshops.

So now I am quite hopeless. I am definitelly not buying the overpriced Temu thermos in the local shop, but material wise it is the best option of the ones listed. So what do I do?

(I asked my family and friends, but either they use their thermoses regularly (which are those with the plastic lock, so I cant ask where they bought nice ones) or they have these old unwashable already starting to rust in places ones from their granddad.)

TLDR: Looking for thermos that doesnt consist of plastic that would get in touch with water inside, that isnt just Temu thermos repackaged with logo of zero waste etsy brand.

I've already been taking plastic containers from peoples' blue bins to help organize and make decorations from my home. I know from every starter zero waste tip list that you should cut open your containers and get the leftovers out before recycling but NO ONE seems to do this in my town! That being the case, would it be a bad idea to take other's discarded detergent bottles, open them, put the leftovers in jars and leave them at the laundromat for others to use if they need? Would people use them or leave them alone out of fear something could be wrong with them? I would keep the detergent myself but I already don't use detergent, I use reusable laundry balls.

These, if anyone is interested: laundry balls I got forever ago on amazon

I have like, a medium sized box worth of clothes and a pair or two of shoes and I have zero idea what to do with it. They're mostly in decent - good shape, but I kind of need to refresh my wardrobe and get rid of things I don't have room for/don't wear. I don't have the time or energy to repurpose everything and my mom wants me to get rid of it soon. I just don't know where to donate my clothes and keep as much of it out of a landfill as possible. I thought the Trashie bag would be good, but it seems like everything is just greenwashed and I don't know what to do when I'm leaving for college in like, less than a month. Help!

Can you all help me with a scalable idea to do with this vinyl fabric? Factories near me generate about #2000 a week... This is a huge waste stream with no solution. It's sorted ready to go

Imagine a big piece of pork shoulder or a whole leg of lamb, or even a whole chicken. I can buy it from the butcher without any of their packaging, but what do I put it in? I suppose I could buy an absolutely colossal tupperware that would fit any joint of meat, but given that tupperwares are cuboids and animal parts are not, about 50% of the volume would be just air. And we use all the space in our chest freezer!

But whatever I use needs to be washable and I have had bad experiences trying to wash silicone bags and the like. Never got clean and/or never got dry. I'm not totally anti-plastic if it's something I can reuse endlessly, but it seems like anything squishy which would conform to the shape of the meat would be difficult to wash and anything easy to wash would take up twice as much space.

What am I missing here?

Hi, could someone please advise me in best method to repair my climbing shoes. Thank you very much

https://imgur.com/a/x3jWUaY

I work in construction and would like to warm up food for lunch. I've seen a bunch of options from Luncheaze (cordless, battery power capability too which is nice) to Crock Pot. Basically something that I can put leftovers in and have them be warm and ready to eat by lunchtime. I have yet to find one that does not have a plastic lid though. Lots have stainless steel/ non-plastic main food containers, but wondering if anyone has good recs for ones that also have a non plastic lid, or options that might work for what I'm looking to do. Thanks

Question above

I have a 16lb bag of IAMS dry cat food that is too expired for me to feed my cat. It was sealed prior to a few weeks ago. I was wondering if there's any alternative uses for it I'm not thinking of or if I should just toss it.

I was thinking something along the lines of mixing it with soil for my potted plants, but not that as I don't think it'd be good for them. Someone I know suggested feeding it to some local birds and squirrels but I wanted to ask here first.

basically the title. moving into an apartment and will be living without roommates for the very first time, wondering what to do with food scraps since i will have no yard, patio, etc.

Our company uses the leather scraps to make keychains, wallets and other small leather goods. Reducing the wastage by 95% and the cost is also reduced significantly(For reference a good wallet costs 3-5 USD). My question is, what else can we make from leather scraps?

My late grandmother gifted each member of my family a photo mug before she passed away. It was a lovely gesture but the mugs are awkward to use. They are very small, can't go in the microwave, and can feel weird to use at work since they are covered in photos of us. However, we all love our grandma and miss her everyday so none of us have been able to part with our mugs. For the most part they just sit in the back of our cupboards. One of my siblings turned hers into a planter but the rest of us aren't sure if there is anything else we could do with them? Any suggestions would be very appreciated, thank you!

I know there used to be a charity for these but idk if it's still around, do I scrap em as aluminum? Melt it down?

I like to make handwritten notes. How do I store and organize them without putting each page into a plastic file?

https://www.reddit.com/r/ZeroWaste/comments/9vxf9z/why_isnt_their_a_single_marketplace_for_100/

I am looking for likeminded people to join me in making this happen. I am an individual from India with immense knowledge and know-hows on why we should make this work!

Whoever is in today, let's make it happen!

Let's work on reducing our carbon footprint one person at a time and make this world a better place to live!

What do y'all do with empty prescription or other pill bottles?

I take prescription pills and vitamins for multiple conditions and resultingly get several bottles a month that are decently durable and could probably be used for something else, but I'm not sure what. Any ideas would be appreciated.

Ok, so I don't use paper towels anymore. I have a bunch of squares cut out of old towels and bedsheets and flannel shirts etc. etc. But what do you use if you've fried something in a regular pan (not air fryer) and you have no paper towels to drain the food on? I hate to use one of the fabric squares because I don't think I can get a grease spot that big out of it when washing. What do you use?

Edit: Wow guys! Thanks so much. I hadn't thought of racks or paper bags. I had thought of newspaper (which is reused at my house for various things) but wasn't sure about toxicity from the ink and paper. You've definitely given me some great ideas. Thanks!!

I’m really fine with any flavor or none at all for that matter, I just prefer anise

Hey all, I’m very new to my zero waste journey. I have begun to replace a lot of plastic packaged cleaning products and home items but there are some things I’d really prefer to buy in a bulk plastic container and refill in my own bottles. My reasoning is: this is pretty much what my local refill store does for some hair care anyway and plus I really believe in using science based hair care and beauty products so I don’t want to mess with my routines. The items I would like to do this for are hair care, my Dawn Platinum dish soap, body lotion, and gel body wash, and mouthwash.

Ideally, the bigger bulk items would be ideal as that would reduce the amount of plastic waste but I’m worried about the product degrading in the packaging once opened. Is this a valid concern or am I overthinking it? I expect some items like shampoo would take an extremely long time for me to use up if I bought a gallon (probably years). Just curious.

I have a few questions about job search and need suggestions as well. I live in the USA DFW area. I have a bachelor's in civil engineering and a master's in environmental science and engineering. Both degrees graduated from outside the USA. I was in teaching and field related to environmental areas and roughly had 4 years of experience. I took a break for a few years. I started to look for jobs recently. I keep getting rejected even if I'm applying for entry-level jobs in environmental firms. Will they consider my masters, or do I need to pursue masters again here to get an internship opportunity? In that case, I'm interested in environmental health and safety; what course would you recommend? If not masters, any suggestions for certifications? How would I secure a job? I'm actively applying for volunteer positions in municipalities and local non-profits. No luck. If you have any advice or know of any suggestions , I would greatly appreciate your insights. Thank you for your time!!

I am heading college soon and have very few kitchen appliances allowed in the dorm. I will only have a BabyCakes Maker, microwave, and blender. Any meal ideas are welcome! :)