We all want to avoid plastics to protect our environment and oceans from pollution. Unfortunately, this is often easier said than done - or maybe not? We asked around in the rezemo team and summarized our top tips and products for a plastic-free everyday life for you here.
We hope you enjoy reading and using it!
1. plastic free shopping
Supermarket shelves are full of products in plastic packaging and sometimes it can be difficult to keep track and discover plastic-free alternatives. Nevertheless, there are a few simple tricks to avoid using plastic in food products:
- Buy products in paper packaging or glass containers, which you can either reuse or pass on via the deposit system.
- Use jute bags and cotton nets for loose products like (preferably regional) vegetables and fruit.
- Shop in unpackaged stores and support local and independent businesses at the same time.
Our team member Olli relies on unpackaged shops and prefers to do his weekly shopping in a branch in Stuttgart city centre. Here you are responsible for the packaging of your food yourself, as you bring your own containers. There are now many locations of unpackaged shops, not only in the large cities of Germany.
Under this link you can look up where your next unpacked shop is located:
zero waste mapJanina's tip: When buying clothes, look out for natural materials such as cotton, viscose, Tencel or Lyocell and do not buy polyester, polyamide and elastane - otherwise microplastics will end up in the sewage!
2. plastic free drinking
Meanwhile there are many offers for straw alternatives. The best one is, of course, not to use any, as Julian and Stefan say. But if you don't want to do without them, don't despair. Because there are straws made of glass, metal, bamboo or pasta. Yes, pasta!
Another tip is to take drinking containers with you when you are out and about and thus avoid disposable plastic bottles or coffee cups. "Once you get used to it, it's not as complicated as it might sound. In Germany, we are lucky to have very clean tap water - why would you buy packaged water there," says Carolin.
Whether you're on the road or relaxing at home: you love coffee? Then you've come to the right place. Use for your capsule machine our sustainable rezemo coffee capsules made from wood. They are free of aluminium and fossil plastic and therefore consist of 100% renewable raw materials. renewable raw materials. Click here for more info:
rezemoIf you have forgotten your reusable coffee mug at home, you can opt for a Recup deposit cup at many sales outlets throughout Germany. For a small deposit you can have your coffee filled into the cup and return it later at one of the sales outlets. You can find more information about this under:
Recup3. plastic free food
Our team member Jonas loves to be outdoors, for example when hiking or cycling. Eating and drinking plastic-free on the way is not always easy!
Nevertheless, you can think about it in advance and in most cases eat better and healthier by using homemade food from glass or metal cans. This way, one does not end up back at the fast food chain of trust or the supermarket with plastic packaging.
Do you want your food to stay fresh, but without plastic sheeting? Then try beeswax tissues. They are reusable and completely natural - but you should make sure that they are free of additional chemicals. They are available online and from many sustainable retailers. They are very easy to handle, can be simply wiped off with a damp cloth if they are very dirty, and can be easily refreshed with beeswax leaves after wear and tear. You can find more information about the care of beeswax cloths here:
Pandoo
4. plastic-free morning routine
Janina is the "zero waste expert" in our team. She has given us valuable tips on the plastic-free bathroom.
In order to start her plastic-free everyday life right after getting up, Janina likes to use toothbrush tablets instead of toothpaste. They are chewed like a kind of chewing gum and the resulting foam is then used to brush her teeth like a normal toothpaste. In the shower you can do without the countless plastic shampoo bottles and use solid shampoo. Or as with grandmother: reach for (shower) soap instead of shower gel! For hair removal, a bamboo razor is a good alternative to conventional plastic razors, which cause plastic waste every time the blades are changed. These razors should be used for wet shaving and prevent cuts. One last routine morning tip is to put deodorant cream in a jar or can. It has the same effect as spray deodorant, but is plastic-free.
Janina likes to be inspired by the blogger Mrs. Schubert:
Better life without plastic - blog
5. plastic free in the household
Carolin from the rezemo team also reported on her experiences. In her household, she focuses on sustainable cleaning products and recommends making sure that the cleaners are made from renewable resources and are biodegradable. Twentyless offers cleaning agents as concentrates in glass bottles, which are simply diluted with water for use. This means that as many as 20 plastic bottles can be replaced per detergent concentrate.
TwentylessAnd even when washing laundry, unnecessary plastic can be dispensed with by using biodegradable detergents in paper packaging. Carolin particularly likes Everdrop's detergent, as it can be specially adapted to the hardness of the water and is packed in compostable paper bags, which can then be used as waste bags for organic waste.
Everdrop6. plastic free - do it yourself!
If you have the time and energy to do this, the best solution to avoid packaging altogether is to make the product yourself. This can be your favourite soda, but also spreads or peeling from coffee grounds - if that doesn't sound exciting! And most of the time it is much easier than you think. Look forward to an upcoming blog post about homemade, plastic-free alternatives.
NOTE: This is a collection of ideas from our team. We do not guarantee the accuracy and completeness of the information provided or the information that linked third parties provide on their websites.