Sustainable shopping: Avoiding plastic, reducing waste

Every hour, 2.5 million plastic bottles are thrown away in the United States. While many of us justify drinking from plastic bottles or buying our food in plastic containers by telling ourselves it's OK because it's going to be recycled, the truth is: most of our plastic waste is not.

In fact, the rate at which plastics are recycled worldwide is actually declining. But there are ways to cut back on packaging waste -- especially here in Southern California.

KCAL News Anchor Marci Gonzalez got a chance to see how some local stores are reimagining the way we shop. 

Walk through almost any supermarket or drug store and it's impossible to miss the endless amounts of plastic.

That's a major frustration for Cindy Villaseñor, a local influencer who documents her attempts to reduce waste on her Instagram page.

"There's just plastic in everything, even in teabags, there's nylon in them, so they're everywhere," said Villaseñor.

Researchers for Greenpeace found each person in America threw out an estimated 309 pounds of plastic last year. And of that, 95 percent ended up in landfills, oceans, or as small, toxic particles in the atmosphere.

Only 5 percent was actually recycled.

"Every piece of plastic that's ever been produced is still on the planet today in some form or another," said re_grocery co-founder Joseph Macrino.

Much of that plastic waste comes from food and beauty products, which inspired Joseph and Lauren Macrino to open re_grocery, a package-free store with locations in Highland Park, Studio City and Mar Vista.

"You can bring your own containers from home to refill, and you weigh it at the front and that makes sure you only pay for what's inside, so not the actual weight of the container, and then you can go around and fill up everything from grains, rice, spices, teas," said Lauren Macrino.

Since re_grocery first opened in 2020, the Macrinos estimate they've saved more than 250,000 containers from going to landfills.

"Once you see how much waste is created and that you can remove waste just easily like this with bringing your own container, it really changes the way you look at things," said Lauren.

It was that way of looking at things that also inspired Leslie Campbell to open Sustain LA in Highland Park, which was the city's very first refill station and zero-waste store.

"There's a lot that goes into product packaging to make it more appealing and beautiful, but it's very, very wasteful, so if we can offer those products here without all the packaging, that's our goal," said Leslie Campbell.

The store is stocked with plastic-free everyday essentials, including cleaning and beauty products.

"The ocean is full of plastic, and even microplastics that we can't see, and it's impacting the health of our Earth, of the marine environment, even humans," said Campbell. "And so every little bit that can be reduced rather than cleaning up. Cleaning up is also important. If we can actually stop it where it starts, that's the best impact."

This way of shopping is one of Cindy Villaseñor's go-to ways to make an impact, and inspire others to do the same.

"We can do those small steps and avoid single-use plastic and I am a true believer that we all have a ripple effect," said Villaseñor.

There are several other package-free stores across Southern California, including these listed here: 

• re grocery
• Sustain LA 
• Otherwild
• R[ECO]NTAINED
• BYO Long Beach
• prostainable
• eco now, california
• Co-opportunity Market
• The Refill Shoppe
• The Well Refill
• My Zero Waste Store 

Tips to help reduce plastic waste:

1.  Bring your own bags to stores. Store them in your vehicle so you don't forget! If you do forget, ask for paper instead of plastic bags.
2. Don't buy drinks in plastic bottles. Opt for aluminum or glass. Better yet: bring your own reusable cup/thermos to restaurants and coffee shops (coffee lids and cup lining are made of plastic and will live for more than100 years in landfills)!
3. Buy fruits/veggies from farmers markets and bring your own bags.
4. If you have to buy produce at the grocery store, bring reusable produce bags instead of using the plastic ones provided at the store.
5. Bring your own silverware to restaurants that use disposable cutlery.
6. Buy bread from bakeries that package in paper.
7. Choose wooden toys for kids over plastic. There are lots of modern, fun options online.
8. Make your own cleaning solutions; you can find easy recipes on the internet. It's cheaper, better for the environment and homemade cleaners often work even better than store-bought!
9. Buy laundry detergent in boxes, not liquid in plastic containers.
10. Buy eggs in cardboard containers instead of plastic.
11. Get your cheese and meat from the deli and place it in your own container or get it wrapped in paper.
12. Bring your own containers to restaurants to package leftovers.
13. Buy bar soap, not liquid body wash.
14. Buy and use compostable trash bags. They work great and are SO much better for the environment. You can find them at your local plastic-free store or online.
15. Buy toilet paper that is wrapped in paper, not plastic. Some options: https://us.whogivesacrap.org/ or plantpaper.us
16. Instead of using plastic baggies (Ziploc for example) for food storage, try reusable beeswax food wraps. They save you money in the long-run because you can use them again and again, plus they're better for the environment.
17. Use cloth rags for clean up around the house instead of paper towels.
18. Use cloth napkins instead of paper! Much less waste, and long-term cost savings!
19. Instead of disposable diapers, use cloth. Another option, compostable diapers like the ones made by https://dyper.com.
20. Turn plastic Amazon envelopes inside out and save them to use the next time you need to mail something.
21. Shop at plastic-free stores in your community or search "plastic free shopping" online to find websites that sell every-day items without the added packaging waste. 

In:
• Environment