My Thoughts on Reusable Products for College Students 

First of all, I want to acknowledge that sustainable products are not economically accessible for all. As a college student, I am on a budget, so I try to shop around for the best deals. Occasionally, I ask for reusable items for a birthday gift or a holiday gift, so other people can spend their money, and I don’t have to spend mine! Haha, kidding, although a gift is always well appreciated. But, another suggestion for more affordable sustainable products would be to DIY, repurpose, and thrift for items.

First, there are many recipes out there for natural toothpaste, deodorant, lotion, lip balm, conditioner, etc. which are less packaged than store-bought alternatives. Continuing with the do it yourself theme, one could cut up an old shirt or towel into cloth napkins. One could even watch tutorials online for how to make your own beeswax food wraps, and since you can buy the materials in bulk, you could always make and sell your homemade reusable food wraps. So, not only are you reducing your usage of single-use plastics, but you are also making some money! Next, if you buy glass jarred food you can eat the food, clean the glass jar out, and use that jar for anything you wish. It could be a container for the bulk food section at the supermarket, a convenient holder for drinks and snacks on the go, or a gift, filled up with little treats to give to a friend to spread the word on reusable products. And finally, you can find a lot of interesting items at thrift stores. At my local thrift store, they sell fabric, and if you’re good with a sewing machine, or know someone who is, you could make your own reusable napkins, dishcloths, or tote bags.

I think one of the easiest switches to start with is a reusable water bottle. They are easy to clean, relatively cheap, and can be customizable with stickers, and who doesn’t like stickers?! Metal or glass straws are another accessible, portable, and economic choice for college students who want to stay away from single-use plastic straws. Bamboo toothbrushes are great alternatives for plastic toothbrushes which pollute our land and water.

I would also like to touch on the fact that when one goes to retire their reusable products it is important to gather the correct information for disposing of said items. Oftentimes this information can be found on the package, company website, or from a reputable source. For instance, some products require to be broken down in a certain facility, others can be compostable, or recycled. And many times, individual parts of an item need different “end of life” care. Say for example you are ready to retire your bamboo toothbrush, well you can compost the bamboo handle; however, you have to take the nylon to a facility where nylon is recycled. One must acknowledge that there is a level of effort, responsibility, and accountability that one must take to ensure one’s materials are being disposed of in an environmentally friendly way.

Finally, I would like to point out that one must be careful when purchasing compostable or biodegradable bioplastic products because there is more to them than what meets the eye. First of all, bioplastic means “a type of biodegradable plastic derived from biological substances rather than from petroleum” (Lexico). These biological substances could be plants, agricultural by-products, or recycled food waste. Although this sounds good in theory, in practice it can get tricky. Many times people improperly dispose of these bioplastic products, despite their good intentions, and therefore continue to contribute to the waste problem. In order to properly dispose of bioplastics, I would consult the packaged directions that came with the product. And finally, I would like to end this article with the dangers of recycling food-soiled materials. Food waste and recycling mixed together poses problems that many are not aware of. According to the EPA website, generally “Plastic, metal and glass materials must be empty and rinsed clean of food debris before being recycled.” Therefore, food-soiled materials many times cannot be recycled in US recycling facilities. 

I hope you have gained some more knowledge on just a small amount of the great reusable products and low waste tips that are out there. If you are interested in learning more, I have provided the links to the sources I used for this article. I hope you’ve been inspired to try out some of these tips and products I have mentioned, or go out and discover your own ways to reduce your single-use plastic waste, even better!

Sources:

https://pelacase.com/pages/what-is-flaxstic

https://packagefreeshop.com/products 

https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/bioplastic

https://ecolunchboxes.com/blogs/news/when-compostable-is-sometimes-worse-than-plastic

https://www.epa.gov/recycle/frequent-questions-recycling

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20191030-why-biodegradables-wont-solve-the-plastic-crisis

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• college students