10 Disposable Things You Never Have to Buy Again

10 Disposable Things You Never Have to Buy Again
Ditch these 10 disposable items to help cut the clutter

by Collin Dunn

One of our favorite green philosophies goes something like, "Less stuff = more good." While that seems simple enough, cutting back on the amount of stuff you use every day can be trickier than it sounds. One of the easiest ways to do this is to cut back on the disposable stuff you buy. Here are then things that you never have to buy disposable again.

Bottled water
Indeed, there are a world of reasons to ditch bottled water, but here's the best one: The same stuff comes out of your tap at home. Tap water is one of the most rigorously regulated substances on the planet (even in New York), so, at least here in the States—and most of the rest of the developed world—tap water is the healthy, nutritious, green way to go. Not sold? Here are five reusable alternatives that'll make you forget the wet stuff ever came in disposables.

Paper towels
It might not seem like a big deal, but since we all prepare and eat food several times a day, this one really adds up; even just one roll per week is hundreds of sheets that used to be a tree (yep, even when you buy the recycled variety. By the numbers: it takes 544,000 trees to feed Americans' paper towel habit each year; throw in disposable paper napkins, and that number tops 1 million according to the National Resources Defense Council. Don't become a statistic; opt for tea towels and microfiber instead.

Wrapping paper
Though the big wrapping season has just passed, this is one worth keeping in mind all year 'round. While Sunday comics and other paper flotsam lying around the house have long been popular, we're bigger fans of the themed material over more traditional wrapping paper. Giving a kitchen gift? Wrap it in a new tea towel (made of organic cotton of course). And, of course, one can never have too many reusable tote bags. Bill Nye has some green wrapping tips to keep your giving at its greenest.

Individually-wrapped foods
To see a bunch of the million-and-one examples of individually-wrapped foods that have infiltrated our lives, just walk down an aisle at the grocery store. Seriously, does anybody really need individually-wrapped prunes? Didn't think so. From fruits and veggies—sorry Trader Joe's, we're looking at you—to "convenience packs" like Jell-O and "Go-gurt" (whatever that is), there are a multitude of foods that can easily be replaced with goodies in the bulk aisle. And, as a bonus, note that some quality bulk sections will let you bring your own reusable containers from home, so you don't have to use another ubiquitous plastic bag.


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So...Which Is It? (part 2)

(For part 1 – See November 13, 2008: Which is it? Diapers: Cloth or Disposable?)

Is it just me, or does it seem like environmental research seems to change its mind a lot? Opinions on water have swung widely in the last 20 years since the huge American shift into the bottled water crazy. So you may be asking…okay, greenies…which is it? Bottled or tap?

Well, some of these debates are a toss-up (see “So . . . Which Is It? (part 1) Diapers: Cloth or Disposable?) - but by most accounts, the great water debate isn’t one of them.

Bottled water:

o Is insanely expensive, both to produce and to buy.
o Is no purer or safer than tap water. Both are imperfect, but heavily regulated.
o Comes in plastic containers that require petroleum – and water - for their manufacture.
o Is heavy. And shipped. From other places. To a store. Where you buy it. And bring it home. To your house. Where clean drinking water comes, for free, out of the faucet. Check the carbon footprint on that one.
o Comes in plastic containers that are, yes, usually recyclable, but are also
(a) only occasionally recycled (Can you stand it!?) and
(b) so plentiful they end up cluttering landfills and floating in oceans.
The ones that do get recycled, well, great – but it takes energy to collect, transport, and convert recyclables. Couldn’t we just skip the bottles in the first place?


So, my opinion:

1) If you’re in the desert and stop at a gas station and you don’t have your special SIGG eco-thermos or access to a water fountain, yes, for Pete’s sake, and by all means, get a bottle of water and recycle the bottle when you’re done. But if you’re at work, at home, or on the town? Just go tap. No bottle making, filling, capping, shipping, docking, unloading, stocking, choosing, buying, toting home, disposing, recycling, and refabricating. Just water. So easy.

2) If you must, MUST have bottled water, you simply cannot abide by tap, consider getting larger sizes. The smaller the size, the more we need and the more we throw away.

Bottom’s up!

Molly