"U.S. consumers spend nearly $1 billion a year on antibacterial products that aren't necessary" according to Mother Nature Network. In our increasingly germa-phobic society (where people go around carrying Purell on their key chains), we are pounded by advertisement for disposable products promising a cleaner, thus healthier life: Tissues, bottled water, antibacterial wipes and the latest… Kleenex's Disposable Hand Towel (!?). For such products to make it on the market in 2010, proving that some manufacturers are either clueless about their role/impact on the environment or simply ignoring it...
Outside the Box
Now that you have evaluated your waste all the way down to the dark bottom of your medicine box, let's take a look outside the box, outside the house... From some readers' comments, I take it that the title of this blog might lead some to believe that a "zero waste home" advocate cares only about his or her own trash can:Anonymous, for example, wrote: "With all due respect, I feel strongly that we all have the responsibility to look outside of our homes as well at all of the places we can make a greater impact, by working together, by writing letters to our elected officials, by working with colleagues...
What about meds?
People who visit our house feel like they've hit the jackpot when they see our "pharmacy" container: "Ah, ah! Do I spot packaging over here?" they ask teasing.Medications have been hard to eliminate of course, but we've found ways to reduce our packaging here too. In the process, we went thru some trial and error. One of them was finding natural medication in bulk at Good Earth, where you fill your jar and pay by the ounce for decongestant, flu relief or echinacea. Besides the fact that these were really expensive, they did not even work! Well, at least not as well as the regular drugstore stuff.Since...
