r/ZeroWaste

Basically what the title says - does anyone have any first hand experience with any good options for an electric low waste toothbrush? Ideally plastic free bristles but open to other opinions!

I keep getting ads for a boar bristle electric toothbrush with bamboo replacement heads which sounds great but at the same time I’m not trying to sacrifice the health of my teeth. Any and all recommendations are greatly appreciated!

I'm looking for simple and family friendly ways to reuse, repurpose and save money. Please tell me your favorite ways on everyday items.

.

I've somehow been receiving emails from Terra Cycle since 2012, and their CEO, Tom Szaky, is trying to run a profitable recycling company. Since the chips are stacked against plastics recycling being profitable, I don't doubt but that this company has accepted all manner of terrible choices in order to work and grow in this environment.

Today, as they send me emails inviting me to invest in their continued growth (and "get dividends"), I'm not sure whether to support them or not, either ideologically or fiscally. What would be the moral basis be for investing in a recycling company that can only be profitable due to volunteers collecting and sending in waste that we don't force big business to own from a "cradle to grave" standpoint.

At some point we need to acknowledge that it can't just be volunteers and voluntary goodness pushing in the opposite direction against a system that makes it cheaper to make new plastic than to recycle existing materials.

How else does TerraCycle stay in business?

Does anyone know of any website or companies that have refillable antiperspirant? Bonus points if it's Canadian but honestly at this point I would take any of them that ship to Canada.

I need antiperspirant not deodorant. That's the only product that helps and works for me.

Here in Canada we take the plastic from deodorant and antiperspirant so that's a plus but I would love to have a refillable container I can reuse!

Thanks in advance.

Ok so I feel sick about this and kinda shy to even post it but our team just had a very public eco friendly mailer mixup.

We sell skincare online and switched to a new mailer after our marketing lead said we needed something more sustainable. The samples were labeled compostable, and someone added a big line to the packing insert saying customers could put the mailer in their curbside recycling bin. I was the one who approved the final artwork because I thought the claims had already been checked. They had not.

The mailers were meant for industrial composting, not normal recycling, and our city does not even have a pickup program for them. So for three weeks we sent thousands of orders with an insert telling people to recycle packaging that could contaminate the film stream. A customer emailed with a photo of the insert and asked why the mailer had a compostable logo but recycling instructions. I forwarded it to our team with the words “this cannot be real” and then realized the customer was still copied. omg.

We pulled the insert, paused the next shipment, and now I have to help write a correction email that admits we got the disposal instructions wrong. I’m terrified someone thinks the whole sustainability claim was fake. Has anyone else had to fix a packaging mistake like this?

for sandwiches, i normally just put them in a reusable container, or a sturdy sandwich bag (i usually wash and reuse them until they break/are too gross). but wraps! they don't usually hold their shape unless wrapped in plastic wrap. are beeswax wraps a good alternative in this case? i tried making some years ago but i think i didn't do the best job and they didn't turn out great. should i just buy some?

(I probably picked the wrong flair but wasn’t sure which one fit best)

Hi all. I’ve been using Panoxyl for years and last year when I was switching many of my hygiene products to bar form, I was excited to find that Panoxyl came in a bar! I am finally on my last bottle of Panoxyl so I went to the store to get a bar, but was disappointed to find out the bar was in a plastic wrapper, which was then in a carton. The carton even bragged about being recyclable and biodegradable. In the same aisle, my favorite face wash (Cerave, just mentioning the brand to make the point that it’s also a major skincare brand that probably has to follow the same packaging regulations) was in bar form with the bar directly in the carton, without a wrapper.

I figured if I wanted things to change, I should email the company and tell them that I was turned off by the unnecessary plastic wrapper as well as the greenwashing on the carton.

I was already planning to stop buying Panoxyl after that, but their response solidified it:

“Thank you for thinking so highly of us. While we are not able to accept or review unsolicited product ideas, we truly appreciate your enthusiasm for our brand. Our teams are always working on future innovations, and we encourage you to keep an eye on our website for any new product updates.”

???
I was so confused. Did they even read my comment?
I don’t remember saying anything about thinking highly of them (though maybe said something along the lines of, I’ve been using your product for years but then made it clear that I wasn’t going to anymore unless they got rid of the wrapper) and wasn’t suggesting a product idea. And was adding in the word “unsolicited” really necessary?

I replied clarifying my actual complaint again and also mentioned that I will be sharing my concerns about the packaging and their reply with other environmentally conscious consumers.

Only THEN did they reply with the expected “we take your feedback seriously and will make sure your concerns are shared with the team” etc etc. Because they obviously care about me sharing my concerns with people like you. Hence this post!

Not sure how many of you guys use Panoxyl (I’m sure there are tons of better brands out there with probably more eco-friendly ingredients, I just am not very knowledgeable about the environmental impact of different ingredients so initially was going to stick with what I knew worked for me) but I just wanted to share my experience in case anyone finds it helpful.

And I realize the small amount of plastic in the wrapper is much less than the amount of plastic it takes to make the bottle (not to mention how much better it is to transport the lighter bar without all of the added water), so it’s definitely an improvement, but still completely unnecessary and disappointing so something I’ll be doing without

I clean three desktop towers every few months and always end up with several empty compressed-air cans afterward. A rechargeable electric duster sounds less wasteful when it is used regularly, but it also has a battery and electronics that will eventually need proper recycling. For people who have made the switch, how long has your unit lasted and how often do you actually use it? I'm trying to work out whether the reusable option makes sense at my usage level rather than assuming it is automatically better.

I just recently got into being more environmentally conscious and realized just how much plastic I have and use on a daily basis. I tried to look on YouTube for ways I can recycle plastic bottles and bags but I was met with a lot of videos that involve melting the plastics which I just don't feel very comfortable doing that. I also saw a lot of converting it into plant holders but I do not have plants. Is there a way I can upcycle them without melting or turning it into a plant holder? Thank you!

I have the opportunity to lead a project to help my community to be more environmentally friendly. We already have a lot of great projects going on so I'm wondering if your community is doing anything cool too.

Here's some examples of whats already going on:

- community gardens

- yard waste to free mulch

- adopt a storm drain

- pollinators gardens

- reforesting, free trees

I have the idea to plant fruit and nut trees in my neighborhood park. Its a low income area so I think this could be beneficial. In case I cant do that though, I'd love to hear some other suggestion!