Plastic produce bags, paper coffee cups, plastic straws - what do these have in common? They take energy and resources to produce, but on average are used for just a few minutes before they are disposed! 
Pledge to reduce waste by ditching the one-time-use products and go "reusable" for 30 days. Once you get in the habit of environmentally-friendly alternatives to disposable items, you may find that you can go "reusable" for a lot longer than 30 days! Here are some easy swaps:
- Instead of plastic produce bags, get some washable mesh produce bags. Also, some items don't need to be bagged separately (for example, a bunch of bananas is already neatly packaged together, no need for more packaging!).
- Instead of disposable plastic utensils, remember to bring your own (keep a set in your car, backpack, office etc.) to wash and reuse.
- Instead of plastic straws, go straw-less! Just politely say to the waiter, "glass of water, no straw please". Or, invest in a stainless steel one. Did you know each day we use 500,000,000 disposable plastic straws? They can end up contributing to plastic pollution in our waterways.
- Instead of ziploc bags, store your snacks in reusable containers.
For more ideas, check out ideas from Zero Waste Home and Earth911. And don't forget to submit your pledge to go reusable, at www.sustainablecoco.org/challenge!
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