An eco-friendly bathroom is more than a fleet of bamboo countertop organizers. These are great if you genuinely need to re-furnish, but they don't tackle the reason why bathrooms are inherently one of the least-sustainable rooms in the house: disposable products.
You know how quickly that bathroom trash can fills up. Between toothbrushes, Q-tips, razors, and more, our morning and nighttime routines are built around items that are used for a few seconds, thrown away, and left to wreak havoc in landfills for literal centuries or join the 8 million metric tons(opens in a new tab) of plastic dumped into the ocean every year.
We can't bank on recycling
Most relatively-aware people will remember to recycle a cardboard box or soup can. Sure. But compared to the kitchen, the bathroom poses additional recycling roadblocks that arguably make it one of the biggest offenders in the house — one problem simply being the physical location of most home's recycling bins which are typically *wipes sweat off forehead* multiple steps away from the bathroom.
But even if regular people were more dependably diligent about making sure bathroom empties made it to the recycling, it's unlikely that most of that plastic would actually be recycled after it's out of the consumer's hands. Only around 5% of plastic actually gets recycled at the waste facility level(opens in a new tab), and the types of plastic commonly found in bathroom products complicate the process even further.
Of course PET, one of the cheapest and easiest materials to make, is also one of the biggest pains to recycle. This is especially true when the different numbers (like PET 1 through 6) are mixed together to make up different parts of a bottle or container yet can't be recycled together — or at all, depending on the rules in your area. Unfortunately, the mere presence of the triangular arrow graphic on a bottle is often an empty promise. And in a world where single-use plastic has been made ubiquitous by the companies we have no choice but to buy from, even the most actively sustainable people aren't immune to excessive packaging or soap hand pumps that can't be recycled.
But we do have opportunities to be thoughtful about our bathroom habits beyond switching to organic cotton towels. There are a ton of zero-waste and low-waste swaps you can make that replace the single-use items you already use.
1. Chewable toothpaste(opens in a new tab)
Colgate-Palmolive and Proctor and Gamble have made the list of the world's biggest plastic polluters(opens in a new tab) for a few years now. They also happen to be the companies that own Colgate and Crest. Switching to environmentally friendly toothpaste, like these chewable tablets from Bite, is a big way to cut off support for such companies. Don't worry — they foam like regular toothpaste, taste perfectly minty, and come in a refillable glass jar. Grab a one-month supply for $12 or start a customizable subscription.
Writer's note: I have been using Bite toothpaste tablets for almost three years now and they are one of my all-time favorite discoveries. Letting a crusty, non-recyclable tube sit on my counter? Couldn't be me.
2. Bamboo toilet paper(opens in a new tab)
Though regular TP breaks down pretty quickly post-use, its real environmental cost was already cemented during production. Despite the Charmin bears' best efforts to convince everyone that less is more, our demand causes the cutting and pulping of 27,000 trees in a single day(opens in a new tab) and 37 gallons of water(opens in a new tab) for a single roll.
Bamboo is a champion carbon sequester and can grow up to three feet in a day (without a shit ton of water or pesticides speeding up the process). Reel isn't the only company that utilizes bamboo fibers to wipe, but it may just be the softest and most durable 3-ply bamboo TP on the market.
Writer's note: I've gotten compliments from multiple guests about how nice my Reel toilet paper is. Because it's white like regular toilet paper, they're wow-ed when I say it's bamboo.
3. A reusable cotton swab(opens in a new tab)
As many as 1.5 billion cotton swabs(opens in a new tab) (all but guaranteed to be single-use) are produced every day — and though we only use them for a few seconds, even the ones that don't have plastic handles end up littering landfills and oceans, much like straws. Switching to LastSwab, a reusable silicone swab, can save you from tossing up to 1,000 Q-tips. Its cute, colorful case also nixes the need for a container to hold a handful of swabs.
Writer's note: My audiologist friends say we shouldn't really be cleaning our ears at all, but it feels... so... good. My LastSwab is even more satisfying than a regular cotton Q-tip.
4. Biodegradable floss picks(opens in a new tab)
Floss picks make the flossing process so much less annoying compared to those boxes that the dentist hands out. But throwing away so many plastic picks after 30 seconds of use isn't the move. These revolutionary picks from The Humble Co. are made with corn starch, come in paper packaging, and have double-threaded minty strands. This is also our way of insinuating that you should probably floss if you haven't recently.
5. Plant-based toothbrushes(opens in a new tab)
Throwing away a plastic toothbrush once every few months may not seem like a huge deal. But, consider for a moment that your tossed toothbrush will take up to 400 years to decompose. Now think about the fact that one billion toothbrushes are thrown out every year(opens in a new tab), making it a habit that becomes problematic real quick. Cornstarch-based toothbrushes are biodegradable, offer the same soft bristles, and feel less splinter-y than bamboo handles.
6. A reusable razor(opens in a new tab)
If you thought the stats on plastic toothbrushes were bad, just know that double the number of plastic razors (double as in two billion(opens in a new tab)) are thrown away each year. Billie's reusable razors are encased in aloe flex to minimize prickles, and only require you to switch out the metal blade. Get the starter kit (the razor, a magnetic holder for the wall, and five-blade refills) for $10, then $10 for each set of refills going forward.
7. Washable cotton round replacements(opens in a new tab)
After years of collective hating on the makeup wipe, many have moved on to cotton rounds. But their environmental impact isn't zero, either. The water wasted and pesticides used in the cotton growing process is the main offender, though the cheap bleached ones don't exactly biodegrade well.
These reusable cotton rounds by LastObject are the shape and size you're used to, but can be hand-washed with soap or thrown in the washing machine. For $14, LastRound comes with seven compostable rounds (with up to 1,750 uses in each) in a carrying case made from recycled plastic. The new LastRound Pro(opens in a new tab) rounds are black instead of white, specifically for removing heavy makeup or nail polish.
8. A silicone body scrubber(opens in a new tab)
Traditional synthetic loofahs are breeding grounds for bacteria. However, the solution of replacing them every four to six weeks sucks just as much when their plastic composition takes hundreds of years to decompose. The Boie scrubber's antimicrobial surface gets super sudsy and exfoliates skin, and can be rinsed clean. Boies are recyclable and can be sent back to the company for proper recycling.
Writer's note: Some reviews assert that the Boie is impossible to hold. The holes for your fingers may take a little getting used to, but it's certainly not so difficult that I'd stan a dirty loofah. Plus, there's also a Boie that features a loop on the back instead.
9. Oxybenzone-free sunscreen(opens in a new tab)
The sunscreen that seeps off of ocean dwellers' skin is contributing to the ongoing destruction of coral reefs. Oxybenzone(opens in a new tab), a main ingredient in traditional sunscreen, gets sucked in by the coral and seriously disrupts their ability to absorb UV light and reproduce (hence coral bleaching). An estimated 14,000 tons(opens in a new tab) of sunscreen ends up in coral reefs each year. While regular chemical sunscreens without oxybenzone do exist, mineral sunscreen is completely chemical-free. Reviewers of this spray version from Sun Bum(opens in a new tab) mention that it's the least residue-y mineral sunscreen they've tried.
10. Shampoo bars(opens in a new tab)
Even the most minimal shower routines are likely contributors to the beauty industry's shampoo bottle problem. Only a small sliver of the 552 million that are sold in the U.S. each year(opens in a new tab) actually get recycled, while the majority of those empties end up in the landfill. Switching to shampoo bars could save two bottles of liquid stuff from entering waste circulation. Award-winning options from TikTok viral brand Kitsch are customizable for your hair's needs just like bottled shampoo, including a rice water formula for hair growth or a purple toning bar for bleach upkeep.
11. Compostable bamboo bandages(opens in a new tab)
The materials used in a classic Band-Aid seem innocent. Unfortunately, most of them are made from plastic, rubber, or latex, and don't naturally break down in the environment. These alternative strips by Patch(opens in a new tab) are still single-use, but are made of 100% bamboo fiber and are 100% biodegradable down to the gauze, adhesive, and packaging. They're also hypoallergenic.
