50 Zero-Waste Ideas Everybody Can Use

Have you ever considered how much plastic you use every single day? A takeaway coffee cup, plastic water bottles, single-use cutlery, plastic bags for your fruits and vegetables… These are a couple examples of waste that every single one of us could easily reduce in our day-to-day lives. Now, more than ever before, people are beginning to understand the terrible impact these products have on the planet, and one thing we can’t argue about is- it’s time to make a change. This list compiled by We shows creative ways people have decided to help mother earth by reducing their waste. Let’s hope this will inspire you to be the change our planet desperately needs!

#1 Confetti Made From Fallen Leaves! Loved This Zero-Waste Decoration Idea

#2 This Guy’s Fence Is Made From Random Doors

#3 My Tour Guide’s Tool For Picking Up Littered Bottles Along The Trail

#4 Taking A Stand

#5 My Mom’s Husband Is A Pilot So He Wraps All His Gifts In Old Flight Maps

#6 We Detrashed A Lake In Texas! 4,000 Pounds Of Beer Bottles And Beer Cans. With About 30 Scuba Divers And 4 Boats. Did It In About 4 Hours

#7 Didn’t Want To Waste The Failed Films So I Turned Them Into Little Paintings

#8 My Pantry After Harvest Season Is Finally Over

#9 Turning Christmas Cards Into Tags For Next Year

#10 My Mom Is Slowly Knitting A Scarf Made Completely From Tea Bag Strings

#11 Stuffed Whales Made From Old Jeans

#12 Here Is My Old Music Used As Wrapping Paper

#13 Make A Baby Dress Out Of An Old Button-Up Shirt

#14 Had A Friend Complain About Straw Bans Saying That They’re Not Even A Real Litter/Marine Debris Issue

So I did a quick 10 minute sweep of 300ft of shoreline to prove them wrong.

#15 Got My First Sewing Machine For Christmas, Made “Unpaper” Towels To Reduce Our Paper Towel Waste. They Clasp Together So It’s Easy To Know Which Are Clean

#16 Needed An Organiser So I Made One Out Of Cardboard Instead Of Purchasing One

#17 I Hadn’t Used My Reusable Bags Because I’m Pretty Socially Anxious And Was Worried About The Cashier Being Frustrated. But Used This For The First Time Today!

#18 A Customer From Work Made A Reusable Bag From Hundreds Of Plastic Ones

#19 Small Wins: Convincing The Ice Cream Shop To Let Me Have It In My Reusable Cup Instead Of A Disposable Cup. The Guy Looked So Confused When I Asked!

#20 No More Plastic Bottles In The Shower

#21 Had A Volunteer Help Me Make These Stools Out Of Our Discarded Books For New Library Seating

#22 Turned Old Uniforms Into A Bed Cover For Our Foster Kittens. Cuts Down On Washing Too

#23 We Wrap Our Holiday Gifts In Fabric And Reuse It Every Year. No Tape Or Paper Trash And It Looks So Much Nicer Too

#24 All Of This Year’s Christmas Presents Wrapped Using White Paper From 1 Amazon Delivery Box

#25 Used Some Leftover Yarn To Make Crochet Produce Bags

Posted to Snapchat and 10 mins later I have 45 orders of them (and counting) for friends and family wanting to cut the plastic!

#26 We Enjoy Our Zero-Plastic Alternatives For Holding Home-Made Shampoo And Shower Gel. It Helps Our House Look More Rock ‘N Roll

#27 Update: ~400 T-Shirt Pieces, Now A Quilt Top

#28 My Friends Smoked A 20 Lb Turkey For Their Halloween Party. After They Carved It They Were Going To Throw The Carcass Away

I took it home with me and made 14 pints of turkey stock.

#29 I’m Never Going Back To Wrapping Paper! Used A Grocery Bag And Some String And Decided To Add An Origami Cutie To The Top

#30 I Think I’m Going To Stop Buying (New) Clothes. Made This From A $4 Shirt

#31 I Made A Holder For Reusable Chopsticks, Silverware, And Straw That Doubles As A Cloth Napkin When Unfolded

#32 I’m Going To Be Wrapping My Gifts In Furoshiki From Now On

I love the idea of each person receiving a gift in their furoshiki and then using it to wrap a gift for someone else – how far will it travel?

#33 I Made Shampoo Bars: Total Cost For A Year Supply Was About $20, And No More Plastic Bottles

#34 This Year I Made My Own Origami Pill Cases To Replace The Easily Broken Plastic Kind, And They Have Held Up Well

#35 Local Custom: Around Here People Put Out Spare Veg From Their Garden For Anyone To Help Themselves

#36 The Chairs In My Garden Are Made Out Of Shopping Trolleys

#37 My Boyfriend Uses Lip Balm Religiously. I Saved His Used Tubes For The Last Year And Today I Am Re-Using Them! I Found A Recipe For Lip Balm On Pinterest

#38 Went To A Party That Had A Big Recycling Can For Bottles, And A Small Recycling Can For Bottle Caps

#39 Might Not Look The Prettiest But My Sewing Project So Far, Making Face Cleaner Rounds And Other Cleaning Cloths From Old T-Shirts That Can’t Be Given To Charity

#40 Cat Food Bag + Leftover Bag Handles From A Workshop = Reusable Grocery Bag With A Giant Cat Face On It

#41 I Wanted To Buy Some Blueberries From The Farmers’ Market But Didn’t Want Any Packaging And Forgot A Container. Used My Empty Water Bottle Instead

#42 I Love This Idea – A Dog Poop Bag Dispenser Attached To A Lamppost Made From A Plastic Bottle By Local Scouts

#43 1 Month Of Trash And Still Trying To Reduce

#44 Cutting Up Unused Mesh Curtains To Make Reusable Mesh Groceries Bags, With The Emotional Support Of My Furry Buddy

#45 When You Just Have To Use Plastic Packaging, Don’t Be Fooled When It’s Seemingly Empty: If You Cut It Open, You’ll See There’s Still A Lot Left

#46 I Recycled My Families Old Socks

#47 I Started Making A Basket Out Of All Of The Plastic Bags I’ve Been Hoarding

#48 Zero Waste Win: It Took Some Serious Cajoling But I Convinced Superstore To Put My Deli Stuff Straight Into My Own Containers

#49 Maybe Not The Most Ground Breaking Thing Ever But The Most Used Drinking Glasses In My House Are Just Old Pasta Sauce Jars

#50 Instead Of Placing Garbage Cans Around This Beach, The City Made A Giant See-Through Fish With The Words “Goby Loves Plastic, Please Feed Him”

Kids enjoyed feeding him so much, that he’s usually full by the end of the day