Here’s a few easy ways to reduce plastic in the bathroom:

 

Shampoo Bars

Shampoo bars are an easy yet effective way to reduce plastic waste. A couple of helpful hints to get you started:

• When you buy your first bar buy it with a tin – but only use this for transporting your bar on holiday. For general storage use a soap tray with drainage holes as this will dramatically increase the lifespan of your bar (this will help you to avoid your bar turning into a soggy mess!) www.ecobeau.co.uk have a great range of bamboo trays.
• When your bar is getting towards the end, wet it and wet your new bar and stick the two together – this will prevent your old bar from disintegrating into tiny unusable pieces and make them last loads longer! The same applies to soap and conditioner bars of course.

Conditioner Bars

Some people struggle with conditioner bars as they seemed to disappear to nothing in no time at all until they learn this really useful tip: Dissolve the bar in approx. 600ml of really hot water and decant into an old shampoo bottle once cooled – or even a water bottle if the spout is wide enough. Your conditioner will last for a long time. Conditioner is also available in glass bottles.

 

Ditch the Cotton Wool Pads and Disposable Face Wipes

This is a hard one as there are some things that seem easy to grab, such as a cotton wool pad. Whilst these aren’t plastic in themselves they are still wasteful and the wrappers are generally plastic. Try reusable face pads - www.cheekywipes.com have some great fun designs or check out what’s available on Etsy www.etsy.com/uk/search?q=reusable%20wipes

 

Bamboo Toothbrushes

If you currently use a non-electric plastic toothbrush, why not switch to a bamboo toothbrush? If everyone followed the guidelines to change their tooth brush every 3-4 months that is up to 200 million toothbrushes being thrown away each year in the UK - and that’s a lot of plastic. Currently a fully non-plastic option doesn’t appear to be available for electric toothbrushes, but there are recyclable heads, with bamboo bristles readily available, which is a step in the right direction.

 

Period Pants

Let’s talk about Periods! It’s estimated that more than 1 BILLION period products are disposed of each year in landfill – or worse still down the toilet. There are times when ease and convenience may be our main consideration but for the rest of the time there are many comfortable and effective alternatives to the standard pads and tampons. Period pants (try www.modibodi.co.uk ) are perfect for those lighter days and there are also many re-usable pad options. If Leopard print is your thing have a look at www.awastefreeworld.com !