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Do you ever find yourself at the French Broad River staring at piles of plastic litter wondering what you can do to stop this?  Asheville GreenWorks and our sister page, Going Plastic Free, are here to help you make this happen! Mind Your Plastic May is a month-long campaign to inform you about the grave social and environmental harms that ensue from plastic waste and equip you with the knowledge to reduce plastic in your own life.  

All month long, we will be sharing plastic reduction tips, volunteer opportunities to address plastic waste, educational materials featuring local Asheville businesses, and much more. We aim to foster knowledge and encourage mindfulness around plastic consumption and disposal for individuals and business owners. This month, we hope you will follow us on Facebook and Instagram, where you will gain valuable knowledge about how to refuse, reduce, reuse, and recycle plastics, as well as learn about local waste reduction efforts.

Join our 
Race2Reduce and commit to decreasing your plastic usage for the entire month of May. Sign up here to join the challenge and earn points to win a $25/$50/$75 gift card to Ware!

Many thanks to the businesses and restaurants who supported this effort and are working hard to reduce their own plastic waste. #goingplasticfree

Join us in our love for the planet as we
 address and defeat our global plastic addition.
Donate now for a plastic-free future
Mind Your Plastic May is meant to encourage and challenge us in our journey to live plastic free. These posts are created by GreenWorks staff. If you've found these posts helpful and encouraging, please consider making a donation to support this work. If you have any questions, please email [email protected]

Ditch the Dryer Sheets

5/18/2019

5 Comments

 
Have you ever thought about plastic reduction in your laundry room? How about those fresh-smelling dryer sheets that reduce static electricity, leaving your clothes feeling soft?  Dryer sheets are made from synthetic polyester, and the toxic chemicals contained in dryer sheet fabric softeners are what target the electrostatic charges. Dryer sheets are a sneaky single-use plastic, designed to be used once then tossed out, where they will persist in the environment forever.

Wool dryer balls are a simple swap for dryer sheets. Made of natural material, they will biodegrade after use, do not contain toxic chemicals, and can be re-used for up to 1000 loads. Wool dryer balls replace dryer sheets in function by softening clothes and reducing static cling. They speed up the drying process, which saves money, time, and energy. Because they are made of natural materials, they can be returned to the earth at the end of their life and do not need to be sent to the landfill. If you also want to recreate the fresh scent of traditional dryer sheets, apply a few drops of your favorite essential oils to the dryer balls before placing them in the load. Locally, Shecology sells dryer balls at Littlest Birds, or they can be ordered online.
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Bonus laundry room tip: Consider the microplastics! Every time you wash your synthetic polyester clothing, microscopic plastic fibers are shed from your clothing into the water. When purchasing new clothing, try to buy clothes made of natural fibers whenever possible. If you require some synthetics, wash these items as infrequently as possible to reduce the amount of microplastics you are releasing into the water.
Sincerely,
​Julia Krebs-Moberg
Asheville GreenWorks
Waste Reduction Education Coordinator
AmeriCorps Project Conserve
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5 Comments
Linda G Gustafson link
4/24/2021 05:19:45 am

I want to bring your attention the information that I found on Google regarding DRYER SHEETS. When I Googled dryer sheets and was looking for what they are made of this is what came up from your website:
Dryer sheets are made from synthetic polyester, and the toxic chemicals contained in dryer sheet fabric softeners are what target the electrostatic charges. ... Made of natural material, they will biodegrade after use, do not contain toxic chemicals, and can be re-used for up to 1000 loads.May 18, 2019
THIS LEADS PEOPLE TO THINK THAT DRYER SHEETS ARE WONDERFUL AND BIODEGRADABLE. When all along that part is regarding dryer BALLS.

Reply
Michele Gefell
4/29/2021 06:03:04 pm

Linda, I also noticed that. I'm glad you made them aware.

Reply
Washer Repair Columbus GA link
3/6/2022 10:23:09 pm

Thanks for the very useful facts!

Reply
appliance repair west islip ny link
4/30/2022 02:04:33 pm

another brilliant review for the car. I always appreciate that people give suggestions for usefull things
Blog writing is very important for creating awareness among people

Reply
Angie Ringler link
5/2/2022 05:04:48 pm

Dryer balls have been the perfect replacement for me to stop using dryer sheets. I personally do not want my clothes to have any scent, I just want them to be fresh and clean. However, I LOVE my sheets and towels to have a nice scent.

I esp love lavender scented sheets. Something so spa-like about it. I add about 3 drops of lavender essential oil to each of the three dryer balls in the dryer and ahhhh, the sheets come out smelling so good.

I do the same for towels, but use lemon or citrus essential oils, depending on my mood. Thanks for an insight article. Hopefully people are inspired to skip the toxic crap with standard dryer sheets and make the switch to dryer balls.

Actually, I have also used a damp small hand towel before I bought the dry balls. That worked well too!

Reply



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​Asheville GreenWorks is a 501(c)3 non-profit environmental organization, governed by a Board of Directors. Established in 1973, GreenWorks mission is to inspire, equip and mobilize individuals and communities to take care of the places we love to live.
  • Pollination Celebration
  • Donate
  • Hard 2 Recycle
  • Get Involved
    • Internships
    • Sponsorship
    • Volunteer
    • Wish List
    • Youth Environmental Leadership Program >
      • YELP Staff & Alumni
      • How to Apply
  • Programs
    • Bee City USA Asheville >
      • Native Pollinator Plants and Nurseries
      • Pollinator Garden Certification
      • Pollinator Gardens & Meadows Project
    • Education
    • Urban Forestry >
      • Cool Green Asheville
      • Food Tree Project
      • RRI
      • Tree Nursery
      • Treasured Trees >
        • Treasured Trees Calendar
    • Rivers & Roads >
      • Adopt-a-Street
      • Clean Streams Day
      • Cleanup Supply Stations
      • Trash Trout
    • Waste Reduction >
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    • Protect our Pollinators
    • Voice for the Trees