Plastic Free July - Bathroom

Plastic-free toothpaste
Photo by Sally Yamasaki

By Sarah Phillips

How can you be plastic free in the bathroom? 

Shampoo bottles, toothpaste, toothbrushes, combs, and brushes, liquid soap containers, body scrubbers — all plastic.

Shampoo bars photo by Sally Yamasaki

Shampoo is easy.

 

There are shampoo bars. Here is a link to shampoo bars https://www.almostzerowaste.com/eco-friendly-shampoo-and-conditioner-bars/

Be careful about shipping internationally, as that just adds to your carbon footprint. There are several US and Canadian companies. Ace Hardware and Rite Aid sell shampoo bars.

Toothpaste can contain microplastics. 

How do you know if there are microplastics in your toothpaste? If your toothpaste has little balls or specs of glitter, those are microplastics or microbeads. 

Check the label for these ingredients 

• Polyethylene (PE) 
• Polyethylene glycol, 
• Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) 
• Polyethylene terephthalate. 

Proctor and Gamble has removed microplastics from their products. It takes more work to find tooth cleaning products that do not come in a plastic tube.

Bamboo toothbrushes photo by Sally Yamasaki

Bamboo toothbrushes are widely available. Rite Aid has them available. They cost about the same as the plastic ones.

Body Scrubbers come in all shapes and sizes. The net ball, loofa, and silicone scrubbers all work. So does a washcloth.

Liquid soap comes in a plastic container. This is the easiest of all changes, just use a bar of soap. A bar of soap is easy, inexpensive and long lasting.

The bathroom is full of plastics—jars for creams and lotions, try to figure out how to replace just one,