Written by Isobel Clark

How are you getting on with your Zero Waste Week? We are sharing some tips to reduce waste in the bathroom. Just having a look in most bathroom cupboards will reveal a whole plethora of plastics that will end up in the landfill! Here at Spruce, we want to do our part to offer easy swaps that can help you make a transition into a more sustainable and lower waste lifestyle. Here are some easy swaps that you could make your bathroom more sustainable: 

Skip single-use Swabs for reusable ones

Have you seen that National Geographic photo of the tiny sea horse wrapped around a plastic swab? It is etched in our memory for life. That image was a sad depiction of the real-life impact that plastic waste in oceans has on marine life. By switching to a reusable cotton swab, you could potentially be saving hundreds of cotton swabs from ending up in our oceans each year. LastSwab is a reusable, sustainable alternative to cotton swabs. It helps combat the billions of single-use cotton swabs produced every day. As they rightly point out, just switching over from plastic to paper and cotton-based swab is not the answer. Both paper and cotton take a lot of farming resources, and the carbon footprint of product and transportation is not a significant improvement. 

Keep your teeth and the planet happy with Low Waste Dental Care 

In the UK 260 million toothbrushes are sent to landfill every year, as well as 300 million empty tubes of toothpaste. Toothpaste tubes are notoriously difficult to recycle, and often contaminate recycling systems as they are made from mixed materials that are hard to recycle. Making the switch from standard toothpaste to water-based toothpaste tablets. Thankfully there are many options on the market today. Try Parla, Georganics or Brushd). Wooden, biodegradable toothbrushes could save millions of toothbrushes from entering landfills each year, without too much effort on your part! 

Low-waste Shampoo and Conditioner Swaps

If you go to a supermarket or pharmacy and head to haircare aisles, you’ll see bottles upon bottles of shampoo and conditioner, all packaged in needless plastic. Not all hope is lost though, as shampoo and conditioner bars are making a comeback. You can find a shampoo or conditioner bar to match almost any hair care needs without having to sacrifice on sustainable values. Try Lush, Kind2 bars or Ksoni shampoo in a can! 

Makeup Wipes are making way for fatbergs

Skip the makeup remember and wet wipes that clog up our drains and contribute to gigantic fatbergs below ground. Making the switch to reusable facecloths and face pads saves thousands of non-recyclable wipes and remover pads entering our ecosystems, and it's easy on your wallet too! Try Face Halo reusable wipes. 

Reusable Razors for a cleaner planet 

In general, the average razor is only used 6-9 times before being thrown away - with two billion razors ending up in landfill every year. Investing in a reusable razor is a much more sustainable and economical choice. 

Spruce Refillable Bathroom Cleaner for sparkly clean conscience 

We know that pretty much all bathroom cleaners come in single-use plastic bottles. Switch to Spruce cleaners that are single-use plastic-free and conveniently refillable. WRAP says that if everyone in the UK recycled one bathroom cleaner bottle, enough energy could be saved to hoover around 82,460 bottles. Imagine how much energy could be saved if no one used plastic bottles at all!

You get the vibe. Reuse and refills are the new recycle. Recycling is so 2019. 

Got your bathroom all sorted? Check out how you can make easy plastic-free swaps in your kitchen.