Stop Showering in Plastic!

Over the past couple of weeks we've shared some great tips to curbing the addiction to single-use plastics in our daily lives. Now it’s time to explore our plastic use in the bathroom. As a society, we’re swimming in plastics in the bathroom and most of our shower items are contained in plastics. Take a look behind your shower curtain and you’ll most likely spot plastic shampoo and conditioner bottles, plastic face and body wash bottles, or maybe a plastic loofah...the list goes on. On the upside, many of these plastic items can be recycled...if you take the time to rinse them out. But let’s go a step further and change up the shower routine to completely wipe out that pesky plastic.

How do we get plastics out of our showers for good? It’s surprisingly easy. Let’s start with shampoos and conditioners. There are so many alternative to choose from for each hair type. Bars are becoming very popular and are among one of my favorite alternatives. Another easy option is to get a glass or aluminum refillable bottle and go to your local Earth Fare to fill up on shampoo and conditioner from the bulk bottles. The same goes for your face and body washes. Again, bars are an excellent alternative and come in many different formulas for each skin type. Refillable jars for face and body washes can be filled at Earth Fare as well or West Village Market.

Lastly, that plastic loofah. If you weren’t aware these guys are a hotbed for bacteria to grow and it is recommended that they be thrown out and replaced every two to three months! An excellent alternative to the loofah is a scrub brush. You can get a hand held one or even one with a long arm for those hard to reach spots on your back. Washcloths are another great alternative to a loofah -- soap it up and scrub away. For the DIYers out there, you can grow your own loofah sponge: https://www.theartofdoingstuff.com/growing-luffa-sponges/

Links
Shampoos & Conditioners: 
https://ethiquebeauty.com/collections/hair
​https://broo.com/hair/bar-shampoo/ 
Body & Face Wash: 
https://shop.drbronner.com/castile-bar-soap
Scrub Brush: 
https://ecotools.com​​

Easier than you thought, right? Good luck and happy showering!
​
Shelby Hyatt
GreenWorks Water Quality Coordinator
​AmeriCorps Project Conserve