When I recently inventoried the contents of my family’s garbage and recycling bins I found that most of what was inside these containers came from food-related packaging. For ideas on how to reduce this type of waste, I turned to one of my favorite books on this topic Zero Waste Home by Bea Johnson.

In her book, Bea describes how shopping in bulk has allowed her to eliminate most grocery-related packaging. She uses cloth bags when purchasing dry bulk items like flour, sugar, beans, and cereal. She puts loose produce in mesh bags, and she brings small jars for “wet” bulk items like peanut butter. She reuses empty bottles for liquids like olive oil, vinegar, and syrup, and large-size jars for counter deli items.

Being Realistic

While I think these, and some of the other ideas she shares, are wonderful I’ve resigned myself to the fact that I’m not going to commit to the level of organization required to shop in this way. These ideas have inspired me though to look for ways to reduce packaging while shopping that doesn’t require a significant amount of pre-planning.

I’ve stocked up on lightweight nylon bags for carrying my groceries. They can be rolled into a self-contained pocket which makes them compact enough to keep conveniently stored in places like my car, bike basket, or purse.

When I find myself bagless, which occasionally happens when I’m making an impromptu stop for a handful of items, I pass on a bag altogether and just load my items directly from the shopping cart into my car.

Bulk Items

In my more organized moments, I do make it to the store with my own containers ready to shop the bulk aisles for things like pasta, popcorn kernels, pretzels, cereal, and loose leaf tea.

More often than not, I arrive at the grocery store unequipped to shop in bulk, and find myself shopping the pre-packaged isles where I keep in mind that not all packaging is created equal.

When glass and paper products are recycled, they are made into equally recyclable glass and paper products. When plastic is recycled on the other hand is really “downcycled” to an inferior quality of plastic that cannot be recycled again. So when I do purchase pre-packaged items, I try and avoid plastic and instead opt to buy items that come in glass or cardboard.

For example, I’ll choose items like ketchup, mustard, that come in glass jars rather than plastic containers, and I’ll buy pasta that comes in a box instead of plastic wrap. I even found a brand of yogurt I like that comes in a glass container.

Personal Care Items

I’m always keeping my eye open for other plastic packaging alternatives. At the Davis Food Co-Op I found brands of dental floss and laundry detergent that are packaged in cardboard instead of plastic.

Instead of using liquid shampoo, I’ve switched to a bar shampoo, which I also found at the Co-Op.

Shopping at Rite-Aid the other day I spotted small bins filled with completely packaging-free tweezers, nail clippers, and nail files.

Snacks and Small Bits

A favorite after-school snack of my sons is a croissant. Instead of buying them pre-packaged in a rigid plastic container, I pull a few from the bakery cabinet and put them either in my own bag or a paper one provided by the store. If my son is with me, I skip the bag altogether and just hand one to him.

When we host a family-friendly get-together I no longer purchase juice boxes for the kids. Not only are they not recyclable, the little plastic straws and plastic wrappers they come in never seem to end up in the garbage. Instead as a treat for the kids, I buy juice drinks squeezes, which come in recyclable glass bottles.

Shopping for a dessert to bring to a friend’s family get-together the other day I was happy to see that some brands now offer baked cookies and pies in cardboard containers rather than the rigid plastic ones.

While we are on the topic of cookies, Whole Foods offers what I like to describe as a cookie bar where I can pick and choose from a variety of 10-15 different treats, and load them into my own container, or use one of the paper bags provided.

Reducing Waste Isn’t About Being Perfect

My family is a long way from living a packaging-free life. My daughter’s favorite yogurt only comes in a plastic container, and my son’s favorite bread only comes wrapped in multiple layers of plastic, and on occasion, despite my efforts to avoid rigid plastic plastics containers the desire to eat the baked goods contained in them override my desire to live a zero-waste lifestyle. So while I don’t see myself making my own granola bars anytime soon, I will continue to look for things my family can do to lessen our impact by reducing our waste.

Easy Ways to Help the Planet:

• Eat Less Meat: Download Food Monster, the largest plant-based recipe app on the App Store to help reduce your environmental footprint, save animals and get healthy. You can also buy a hard or soft copy of our favorite vegan cookbooks.
• Reduce Your Fast Fashion Footprint: Take initiative by standing up against fast fashion pollution and supporting sustainable and circular brands like Tiny Rescue that are raising awareness around important issues through recycled zero-waste clothing designed to be returned and remade over and over again.
• Support Independent Media: Being publicly-funded gives us a greater chance to continue providing you with high-quality content. Please consider supporting us by donating!
• Sign a Petition: Your voice matters! Help turn petitions into victories by signing the latest list of must-sign petitions to help people, animals, and the planet.
• Stay Informed: Keep up with the latest news and important stories involving animals, the environment, sustainable living, food, health, and human interest topics by subscribing to our newsletter!
• Do What You Can: Reduce waste, plant trees, eat local, travel responsibly, reuse stuff, say no to single-use plastics, recycle, vote smart, switch to cold water laundry, divest from fossil fuels, save water, shop wisely, donate if you can, grow your own food, volunteer, conserve energy, compost, and don’t forget about the microplastics and microbeads lurking in common household and personal care products!