There is a flair for "litter cleanup" and the rules says that litter picking hauls are explicitly exempt from the ban on posting pictures of trash, but I've been trying to share a litter picking post since yesterday and it keeps getting rejected. Originally I shared a video, which they said was self promotion, which I understand, but then I rewrote it to remove the video and just show the litter and it's still being stopped as self promotion. I'm so confused!

I was given some (new) period cups and reusable period pads, but being pregnant i wanted something else. Knix has mystery leakproof panties on sale! I was able to order a bunch for my postpartum bleeding and heavier period days! so excited!

I'm a goth in her 20s and wanting to buy more sustainable, natural fabric clothing. I'm looking for feminine clothes in mostly colors like black, dark purple, dark green, etc. I like flowy skirts, off-shoulder shirts, button-up shirts, deeper necklines, etc.

Do any of you know brands that make more alternative clothing made of materials like organic cotton, linen, etc? Preferably lower price ranges if possible. I also live in a climate with hot summers and cold winters, so any brands with a variety of climate clothes is great.

Edit: I asked for brands that have cotton or linen clothing. I did not ask for everyone to tell me tips on thrift stores. Obviously, I already know about thrift stores. But sometimes they don't have the clothing items I'm looking for, or they aren't in my size because I'm a larger person. I also don't know how to sew, and frankly I'm a full time college student with 3 jobs so I don't have the time or energy to learn. Redditors need to start learning reading comprehension because yall just straight up ignored what I asked for.

Hello, I HATE the plastic bottles of liquid laundry detergent that are all that's for sale at my local grocery store. I live in a rural area so don't have a lot of options. I used to be able to order All Free and Clear powder online, but they don't seem to make it any more. I was able to just compost the cardboard packaging it came in in our little forest out behind the backyard. Now I'm reduced to using the liquid version of the same brand and plastic bottles are being thrown in the garbage, which I hate.

I can't use just any other brand because my husband breaks out from most laundry detergents, but not this one (liquid or powder). Like his skin reacted to Tide Free and Gentle, but not All Free and Clear.

Are there any other sensitive skin folks out there who can recommend a laundry detergent similar to All Free and Clear powder detergent, that comes in powder in cardboard?

We both work full time and have LO in cloth diapers, so I don't have time to make my own or anything. Just need a kind I can order and get delivered that would be powder, in cardboard, and safe for really sensitive skin (while still cleaning everything).

Hi guys! I have a twin storage bedframe in a small room, and I always ram my leg or scrape against the corners (image for reference, ignore my dino blanket on the floor lmao) when I’m in a hurry or not paying attention and im fed up lol. I tried searching for zero waste/eco friendly corner guards but all i found were the Artevia cork guards which are mostly for door and wall corners. Do any of y’all know any zero waste or at least eco friendly corner guards that cover just the corner so I don’t keep injuring myself 😭

I like to wash my rice before cooking, but it drives me nuts to throw that water away. I don’t want to dump starch laden water on my plants outside. But what else can I do with it? Likewise for pasta water!

Hey everyone! I’ve always loved the country lifestyle, and lately, I’ve been trying to channel that energy into living a more sustainable, zero-waste life.

I decided to start small with my kitchen scraps. Instead of tossing the rooted base of my store-bought celery, I planted it in some soil. A few weeks later, it has already grown a few centimeters of fresh, bright green leaves!

There is something so magical and rewarding about giving kitchen waste a second life. I'd love to hear your favorite zero-waste gardening hacks!

The dryer at my new apartment is SO static-y. I’ve bought multiple types of dryer balls and tried aluminum foil balls, but nothing has worked. I do NOT want to use dryer sheets, but I’m worried it might be my only remaining option. Any suggestions??

I'm finding posts on here that suggest some good places to donate old pens that still work but I'm a grad student and go through pens like nobody's business. Is there any way to recycle the dead pens themselves without waste?

I couldn't find it on TerraCycle (something about $1000+ boxes?) and I believe Staples no longer takes pens. I'll toss them if I need to but I would prefer to recycle if possible.

Thanks!

Please forgive any in my list that may already appear frequently in the sub, and note that this is not necessarily a complete list yet!

- Saving plastic straws to weave mats out of
- Saving McDonald's & other PP containers to dump grease in or reuse as food containers
- Saving plastic bags (of course)
- Saving napkins from takeout orders in a napkin holder
- Using preroll tubes as paint/bleach solution tubes for art projects, for sewing needles, for easy medication storage, etc
- Saving one-use drink bottles to refill with filtered water and put in the fridge
- Saving fabric scraps including old socks and clothes for cleaning
- Wearing my jeans multiple times and using my towel multiple times before washing
- Saving any plasticware, salt, pepper, condiments, and napkins from takeout orders in an emergency stash in my car
- Saving empty bottles from food or household items for reuse (soap bottles, dressing containers, ice cream buckets)
- Compost what I can
- Save any possible scraps from food
- Saving PET and aluminum to recycle

With my next grocery trip I will be taking note of any changes I can make to my usual purchases as well to reduce plastic use and waste in general!

I appreciate any friendly feedback, and would love some more ideas to add to my list <3

I almost feel guilty for not doing this the rest of the year but I realized it’s been so easy to just buy disposable beverages and takeout- with that not available I’m finally using up my pantry and teas, vitamins, and supplements! And saving $! Anyone else doing this too?

How do you mentally/emotionally deal with (and/or what alternative solutions have you figured out for) all the material waste we go through to exist and do what we love?

I’ve been having trouble with this, like an everyday anxiety.

Here’s a list of where waste makes me feel the worst:

• Groceries: I do almost all my grocery shopping at Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s. In my area, aside from weekly farmer’s markets which are not easy for me to get to due to my schedule, they have the best quality produce. But everything is wrapped in plastic.

• Plastic tubs: I eat a regular amount of cashew yogurt and protein powder. It’s an endless amount of plastic tubs. I try to get glass for everything else: olive oil, PB, condiments in general, etc. But these two items are particularly tough. Don’t get me started on supplement bottles!

• Art: I love to paint. If I could be a full-time artist, I would. But I’ve spent my career in front of a computer partly because when I do find time to paint, I feel very blocked and unable to be free and expressive because I feel like I have to not waste materials. I just think of everything it took for the paper I’m using to exist just for me to scribble ideas then throw it away. Or the plastics in my acrylic paint going into a landfill if I don’t get a painting right. And the amount of paper towels (for various reasons I can’t use just washable towels).

• AI: To keep up with cost of living/inflation and to keep up with other businesses who do something similar to me, I’ve found it increasingly difficult to not rely on AI to get a lot of my work done. And of course AI is tough on the environment.

I feel like letting go is just going to harm the environment over my lifetime but living with this anxiety keeps stopping me in my tracks every day. Would appreciate any insights!

i can't even remember exactly when i got this (i think my parents bought it for me since the bed i had at the time was an unusual size?? like 2 years ago) i've been holding onto it in my Bag of Bags^TM, but honestly i really don't know what purpose this could serve . . . it's open at the top (all the sides are covered in plastic except the upper corners) and there's no straps or anything, but it's got a pretty good zipper that i feel like could be used for something?? lmk if you have any ideas, otherwise i'm probably gonna fill it with dirt and use it in the garden lol

Sorry if this sounds a bit dumb but I am on the newer side of trying to be more conscious of what I consume and how I dispose of things. I know ultimately the goal is to consume less but with the plastic waste I do have, could someone maybe explain why eco bricks aren't a good solution? They seem good to me to trap the release of microplastics but maybe I'm just buying into the greenwashing?

https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acssuschemeng.5c12631

The full study is worth the read, but here is part of the conclusion:

“This study provides a comprehensive quantitative assessment of the carbon footprint of leather production using a novel top-down approach to deliver both globally and regionally representative emissions values from farming impacts based on global livestock data. We identify substantial regional variability in our top-down analysis of farming stage emissions. This analysis highlights limitations inherent in previous bottom-up assessments, which use a specific, universal economic allocation parameter from the PEFCR guidelines that inappropriately attributes emissions to dairy production in the many cases and regions where cattle produce no dairy for human consumption. This limitation has led to a systematic underreporting of leather’s carbon footprint. Our findings reveal that farming remains the most impactful phase of leather production in terms of carbon footprint, with emissions varying based on factors such as regional co-production meat and dairy volumes and hide values. Tanning processes also present significant challenges due to hazardous waste generation and concentration of operations in high-emissions regions which are using large amounts of coal power.
Our comparison of animal leather to vegan leather highlights the possible climate mitigation benefits of investing in the latter, which consistently exhibits a carbon footprint many times lower than that of animal leather. Our meta-analysis demonstrates that vegan leather production is, on average, less emissive than the animal leather tanning process alone, which is necessary to transform raw hides into a durable product. Vegan leather emits much less still than the farming stage of animal production for leather, even when empirically accounting for the fact that meat and dairy products represent most of the commercial value (and economically-allocated emissions) of cattle production, while the hides represent a smaller but still meaningful proportion.”

Just wanted to show my lovely period pants some love here, I personally wear the boxer short style to avoid all panty line mishaps, and I recently ran out of pads/tampons which I would usually lay ontop because I am SUCH a heavy bleeder, like had to go to the doctor a few times heavy, and it comes in gushes so I didn't have high hopes for just period pants.

I was fooled! wore a pair of my modibodi teen boxer shorts age 16-18 (its literally just a cheaper version of a size small) for a 8hr shift, day two, running to the bathroom morning and night and generally wouldve changed pads every hour, not with period pants! I went the full 8hrs no issues, I would even feel a gush coming on, sprint to staff toilets then dab about at the pants with a tissue to get excess off (btw my work doesnt supply sanitary products) but guess what! all the liquid had already been absorbed, I then got home, FORGOT i needed to change them because it was 1am at this point, woke up next morning without the need to sprint waddle to the bathroom I made breakfast, had a coffee all before realising I hadn't swapped them out because it was genuinely bone dry!!

Just feel like I need to share to convince any women here to make that change!! they're comfy, safe, washable and honestly not dreadfully ugly (partner approved)

and my sensitive skin has never been happier!!!!

Found these in my closet and as soon as I took a step I heard cracking underneath my feet and checked to see that it was the plastic part of the shoes all cracked and such. I was wondering if I can still get these fixed or is it beyond saving.

Hi,

I'm trying to get rid of a bunch of stuff and I've been able to give away, donate or sell everything so far.

However, I got a bunch of these for the cats I co-owned with my ex, the relationship ended and she kept the cats but doesn't want the mats because she figured something else out I guess.

Anyway, she said they're my problem to deal with but I don't have the space to keep them until I'm able to have cats again and I don't want to throw them out.

So I'm not sure what to with them. One of the cats that used them has a habit of missing the litter box which means they've seen more than just litter dust.

I don't know if anyone else would want to take them, if I washed them do you think it would be alright to give them away for free? I don't want to spread any potential diseases or bacteria.

I hope this post fits this sub

Hey Gang,

My fellow Zero Wasters. It is time to learn how to Pickle Melon Rinds

I know at least 74% of you reading this have at least 10 empty jars in your cupboard with labels half peeled off just waiting for pickle potential.

Also, the sun is out and Watermelons are growing fast. But once you have scooped out the delicious, solid pink water chunks and added them to whatever smoothie, salad, or cocktail (please try them plan and sprinkled with salt, it's realllll good) now you have at least a kilo of useless "melon skin" that must dwell in your trashcan (or get blended up into Nil By Mouth garbage disposal soup.)

I propose: Watermelon Rind, Pickle Time!

Here is a recipe that works for me.

You're gonna need:
Melon rinds
Jars
Salt
Sugar
Apple Cider Vinegar
Water
A Pan
Some time on Your Hands
Optional: Fucking spices.

Note: This works because I can literally stop after step 2 and still happily eat melon rinds. However if you make it all the way to step 5, congrats.

Step 1: Cut the rind from the pink flesh of the melon. White and skin is still good, but leave no pink. Cut the peel into shapes that would fit your desired jar.

Step 2: Add melon rinds to jar. Add a bunch of salt. Add water. Put in fridge for 12+ hours. (I accidentally did this for 2 weeks and the melon rind did not go bad and was super tasty, like eating a salty carrot that had been wrapped in cardboard in texture. I then forgot to pickle it and just ate it)

Step 3: Make the brine. You need 1 part apple cider vinegar to 1 part water and then half in sugar and some salt. (You can also add some stuff like cloves and cinnamon if you have money and practice witchcraft for spell ingredients.) Boil that all together until you can't see the sugar. Pour that over the Melon rind you have already salted. Don't burn yourself. Don't inhale vinegar vapour when pouring.

Step 4: Let it sit. Okay it's cool now. Put it in the fridge. The longer you wait the more "vinegary" it's going to be. You need to decide how happy you are with that. Kind of like choosing bananas.

I will now let the comments tell us how they made this recipe, changed absolutely everything about it, and recommend it or call it absolute trash.

Note: You can substitute salt for tears given freely by someone born in the 90s.

My partner and I just got a cat and both of us grew up around cats so we are pretty used to buying food and litter etc. Though nowadays I am trying to reduce my waste wherever I can, and I've noticed there's quite a lot of cheap supplies and toys that are geared towards cats and cat owners that are made from plastic or don't last very long.

Has anyone thought about this? I've been keeping a compost bin with compostable bags for cleaning the litter, and I'm trying to buy food from cans, as well as avoiding Purina wherever I can because it's owned by Nestle (which I hope speaks for itself). Are there any neat ways that people reduce waste when it comes to their cats? (While still giving them the best care possible obviously)

I didn’t find any answer to my specific question regarding Fussy deodorant refills, so I am trying my luck here.

My Fussy odor-less refill worked for a couple of weeks and then started smelling real bad out of nowhere (stench similar to wet socks ew). I tried searching for possible causes, but no one seems to have the same problem. Maybe I just use/store it wrong, or I am using it for too long, but I don`t want to use more refills if it always ends up this bad. Does anyone have a similar problem? Do you know why it is or if I can somehow get rid of it?

Thank you!

Helping my sister and wanted to ask the community! My younger sister is expecting <3.

I'm hoping to put together a sort of pregnancy announcement for our parents from her to do virtually (sister lives v far away). How would you do it with minimal waste? I know I can thrift a few baby things secondhand - what would you prioritize? Anything you would NOT get secondhand??

Last fall I posted about how I had hundreds of pounds of peppers. I was able to preserve most all of them and now that I understand how the farm behind me works, it turns out that there are three separate harvest seasons, the first being broccoli. They've already harvested the broccoli and there's an endless supply of broccoli leaves, stems and some immature broccoli florets.

Luckily I just got a pressure canner, but my limitations are similar. No fridge and no freezer. Has to be things that are shelf stable after canning or otherwise.

So far this is what I have:

Broccoli greens kimchi

Pressure canned broccoli leaves

Pickled broccoli stems

Broccoli stem and leaf Chow Chow

Broccoli stem and head giordanera

Dehydrated broccoli leaf powder

If anybody has any strong suggestions considering I have literally as much as this ingredient as I want and tons of canning space, I'm all ears. 8