Did you know that today is World Refill Day? An entire day dedicated to bringing awareness to the impact pollution has on our environment, and choices that anyone from single individuals to entire governments can do to help protect our planet. According to this article, Awareness Days has announced, “World Refill Day is a global public awareness campaign to prevent plastic pollution and help people live with less waste. Together with our planet-protecting partners, and thousands of everyday activists around the world, we’re calling on businesses, brands and governments to choose to reuse and help make single-use plastic a thing of the past.”
Credit: Refill Goodness
Swapping everything at once can seem daunting. To save you some headache, we got some advice from our good friends at Refill Goodness about simple swaps you can make today that take little effort, but make a big impact.
1. Make the switch to a reusable water bottles and fill up at bottle fill stations when possible.
We’ve been on the reusable water bottle train for a bit now, and we can’t deny our love for Hydro Flask. We’re also fans of S’well and the efforts Camelbak are taking to create a BPA option with 50% recycled material.
The real lesson to learn here though – is almost anything is an improvement over single-use water bottles. Did you know that Annapolis also offers multiple free bottle fill stations? Check out Market House, Annapolis Visitors Center, Annapolis Maritime Museum & Park, and the Pip Moyer Recreation Center.(source: Annapolis Green)
2. Bring your own bags when grocery shopping and if that’s not possible, bring back your plastic bags to participating grocery for recycling.
Did you know you could bring back your plastic bags to grocery stores? It was news to us. Reusable bags have been our jam, though and we even love these big bags for bulk trips. They’re meant for laundry, but we think they fit perfectly in trunks!
3. Carry a reusable cutlery kit (can be made from existing items at home) so it’s easier to refuse plastic straws and cutlery.
Refill Goodness’ tip that reusable cutlery can be brought from home, is such a great reminder that it’s possible to keep these changes simple. Don’t feel like you need to swap everything out right away. Less is more – even in consuming more sustainable choices.
4. Repurpose existing containers for your snacks or switch to silicone reusable bags.
We love Boon Supply and StasherBags for this tip! You can also use Mason jars (what can’t you use Mason jars for?) for this switch, too!
5. Refill your home and body care containers through a refill shop or bulk provider.
Have you guessed already that our favorite hack for this was going to be Refill Goodness? They take the overwhelm out of where to begin your sustainability journey and make it so easy to make a difference.
Refill Goodness also partners with Upcycled Inc. to collect Plastics 2 & 5 (think to-go and takeout containers) to make recycling just that much easier. You can find more helpful tips from Refill Goodness by going to their website www.RefillGoodness.com.
Graphic Credit: Refill Goodness
