40 tips for reducing waste as a family

When you want to go zero waste, you often wonder where to begin. The transition to zero waste requires commitment — both in terms of effort and in terms of what you buy. Some changes will be a little more challenging than others. To avoid getting discouraged, we recommend focusing on the ones that seem most easily achievable first, then gradually adding more.

To help you on your eco-friendly journey, we've put together 40 easy tips for reducing waste as a family.

The zero-waste bathroom

• Use a bamboo toothbrush and bamboo hairbrush
• Replace cotton buds with reusable ear cleaners (oriculis)
• Use a safety razor (you only replace the blades)
• Use washable sanitary pads and washable panty liners
• Use washable cotton pads
• Switch to solid products (soap bars, solid shampoo bars, etc.) instead of bottled shower gels and shampoos
• Make your own cosmetic products

A plastic-free kitchen!

• Use reusable bamboo or stainless steel straws.
• Use wooden utensils rather than plastic ones
• Use waterproof bags rather than plastic zip-lock bags
• Opt for glass airtight containers rather than plastic ones
• Use beeswax wrap instead of cling film to cover your dishes
• Prefer glass containers (jars, yoghurt pots, etc.)
• Use a reusable water bottle rather than buying a plastic bottle when you're out and about
• Ditch pod coffee. Switch to a stovetop espresso maker or a cafetière.
• Use a tea infuser for your teas and herbal infusions
• Cut down on ready meals and processed food
• Use cloth napkins
• If you have a garden, compost your vegetable peelings.

More responsible consumption with children

• Buy second-hand clothes and toys (and likewise, sell or donate what you no longer need)
• Use diapers and washable wipes
• Give your children experiences rather than toys
• Choose wooden toys over plastic ones
• Avoid battery-powered toys
• Use rechargeable batteries in battery-powered toys.
• Use a snack box
• Ditch individually-portioned puree pouches. We'd suggest buying compote in jars instead and filling reusable pouches for outings.

Avoiding overconsumption when shopping

• Write a shopping list (to avoid impulse purchases)
• Use click-and-collect
• Buy in bulk
• Use reusable bags (even when shopping — there's really no need to keep accumulating paper bags).
• Don't buy bottled water if you can avoid it. Tap water is safe to drink in the vast majority of areas.

Cleaning effectively whilst respecting the environment

• Buy microfibre cloths instead of paper towels
• Choose products that can be refilled
• Better still, make your own cleaning products (multi-purpose wipes, laundry detergent, fabric softener, toilet cleaning tablets, dishwasher tablets...). It's straightforward, effective, and a brilliant way to really cut down on waste.
• Use a bagless vacuum cleaner
• Remove stains with Marseille soap

Recycle!

• Recycle paper for your children's drawings
• When you have leftovers at a restaurant, ask for a doggy bag so you can finish them at home. Even better, you can bring your own airtight container to avoid wasting food without generating extra packaging waste.
• Recycle your waste properly. It may seem obvious, but you still see too many damaged clothes thrown away in the rubbish bin when they could perfectly well be left at a textile collection point and used for insulation.

And finally...

• Don't replace things that are still perfectly usable!

Indeed, with the best of intentions, many people get rid of everything they own that isn't zero waste. But this is actually the opposite of the whole point! Use up your liquid products before switching to solid alternatives... Equally, if your plastic airtight containers are still in good condition, there's no rush to replace them!!!

We hope these tips will help you move forward on your zero-waste journey. Feel free to share your own zero-waste tips in the comments below!