In the modern 21st century we have accepted plastic into our lives in almost every arena- our homes, our communities, our natural landscape, oceans, and even our bodies. As consumers our impact is undoubtedly substantial. But what if we focused on what we can do to reverse our negative imprint on the planet? If each of us were more thoughtful with our waste sorting, we could stop dumping 8 million tons of waste into the ocean each year. It's up to each of us to reduce our individual contributions to the landfill. With this intention, you may have questions that arise such as, "can I recycle this?" when you encounter non-curbside accepted plastics, such as cling wrap or a ziploc bag.
These are common plastics that cannot be recycled with curbside service:
- plastic bags
- bubble wrap
- cling wrap
- plastic mailers such as Amazon packaging
Here's what you can do to reduce your landfill contribution:
- Collect clean plastics that are not curbside recyclable. There is no doubt that there is plenty of problematic packaging that comes with buying new items. We all encounter clean plastics that are not curbside recyclable. To avoid putting them in a landfill, call your local recycling center and ask if they have a recycling program in place to recycle clean plastics. Likely they do, and if not keep the demand high by regularly requesting it of them. Another outlet for recycling non-curbside accepted plastics is your local grocery store entrance. Most have programs for recycling plastic bags and many have recently been accepting plastic cosmetic packaging and clean plastics such as cling wrap, ziplocs, and produce bags. So now instead of just sorting your recyclables by aluminum, plastic, and paper- add another receptacle for clean plastics.
Reject single-use plastics and swap it out for reusable containers that will give you multiple uses.
- Reject single-use plastics and swap it out for reusable containers that will give you multiple uses. Let's face it, is your one iced coffee worth the plastic that will live on for 480 years? Enjoy the coffee guilt free by bringing your awesome reusable cup and straw- plus most spots reward you with a discount.
- Compost! You won't need to get your trash bins serviced multiple times a month if all they collect are materials that cannot be recycled. Reduce your bill by composting your food scraps, soiled paper, and yard waste. The myth that compost decomposes regardless of whether it goes to an organic landfill is not true. In fact, when organic matter is mixed in a landfill consisting of non-organic matter, there is a lack of oxygen for the compost. This anaerobic decomposition results in methane being released into the atmosphere, which is 25 times more potent than the greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide.
At Sea Witch Botanicals, we consider the life cycle of our packaging because 480 years is too much time our packaging to exist. Our products are in reusable containers such as glass spray bottles and metal tins so that you can find a use for them long after the contents are gone. We are always actively researching ways we can avoid plastic in our product line. We recently transitioned from plastic to paper tamper-evident hygienic seals on our products. Next up are paper boxes for our incense.
We are excited to take our commitment to reduce plastic one step further by offering our Bellingham Farmers Market booth as a drop off station for clean plastics and any SWB packaging!
You can find our booth every Saturday in April-December from 10am-3pm at the BFM.
We will accept:
- Any SWB packaging you no longer need or cannot recycle such as spray nozzles and plastic hygienic seals; although, we suggest trying to get more use out of our reusable packaging.
- Any clean plastics that cannot be recycled with curbside service.*
By giving us your clean plastics you can count on us to properly recycle it because the more plastic we can confirm is properly dealt with, the lighter tread we have on the planet.
