Plastic shopping bags were banned in Oahu in 2020.
I used to put fruits and veggies in the small plastic bag and then put them in the big plastic shopping bag at grocery shopping.
Convenient and disposable things would make your life easier but those do not disappear like magic after we throw them away in a trash can. They are accumulated somewhere on the earth.
One of my favorite beach on Oahu where was ranked No.1 beach in the US, there used to be beautiful white power sand, but recently there's a lot of micro plastics all over the sand and a lot of plastic trash such as plastic baskets, toothbrushes, disposable spoons, forks, straws, plastic bottle caps, snack bags...
I read some articles that more dolphins, whales and fish found dead with their stomach full of plastic. I saw a dolphin found a nice shiny plastic bag floating around her and trying to catch it to play. It was stack to her fin and she could not take it off. I felt sad about the fact human is ruining their lives and the earth.
Thanks to the my current life living close to the nature, I started reconsidering disposable items I use everyday.
I am not perfect and have not be able get rid of all of the plastic things from my life, but I think what's important is we try to reduce the amount of disposable items we use as much as we can and whenever we can.
Here is what I am using to replace disposable plastic items.
Bring my own bags to shopping
I stopped using saran wrap and replaced it with Bee's Cotton Wrap made of organic cotton and beeswax. It's reusable and can be used for 1-2 years. I use it to wrap veggies, sandwich or cover a bowl. I cannot believe I used to use saran wrap for those purpose and throw away every time...what a wasting...
Silicon Bag
My favorite silicon bag is Stasher. I used other brand but this one is more durable and I love it! Also this bag can be used in both fridge and freezer. Now I rarely use ziploc bag.
Silicone Lid
I use it when I heat food in microwave. I bought it just $1.00 store in Japan and used it so many times!
I also saw it's sold at The Compleat Kitchen in Kahala Mall.
Stainless Straw
I bought it at Nalu Health Bar&Cafe and I love it! It does not take so much space in my bag, and this small thing also help take care of our earth. I love drinking ice coffee with this straw. It feels ice coffee is extra cold!
Coffee Cup
I bought a cup from Dean&Deluca. It keeps coffee hot or cold so it's better than plastic cup.
Water Bottle
Hydro Flask with Wide Mouth Flex Cap is perfect for hiking and beach. I also like Hydro Flip cap for my small Hydro Flask for coffee. It does not leak in my bag at all! (I used to use Starbucks tumbler but it leaked so many times...)
Donation/Resale
I started selling my clothes, shoes, bikinis and bags which are still good condition at Poshmark instead of just throwing them away, or brig them to donation.
I hope this small tips help!
If you have any other ideas, recommendations, please share it with me:)
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