Category: Plastic

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Plastic Art Project #3: “Belly Full of Trash”

Photo of large fish made from a green and black wake board with plastic trash pieces attached to it to make it appear as a fish with a a view of its belly, which is full of plastic trash.
“Belly Full of Trash,” copyright Marie Cullis, 2025.

About

This is my third plastic trash art project, and this one differs from my previous creations. First, it’s the largest, measuring almost 59 inches wide and 39 inches between the tips of each “fin.” It’s also the heaviest. Finally, rather than depicting a scene, this piece depicts a large fish, showing a cross-section of its stomach and revealing that it is filled with plastic waste. Given the high number of marine animals that perish due to plastic ingestion, I felt it was crucial to illustrate this issue.

When marine animals accidentally ingest plastic, they are often unable to regurgitate it or pass it through their digestive systems. As plastic accumulates, it can block digestion, causing the animal to feel full and reducing its urge to eat, which eventually leads to starvation. Sharp fragments can also injure internal organs, causing infections and internal bleeding. In 2021, Earth.org estimated that the number of marine animals affected each year exceeds 100,000. “We find about 100,000 marine animals killed by ocean plastic ingestion or entanglement each year, and this is only the tip of the iceberg. There are likely far more lying at the bottom of the ocean, who, once decomposed, will release the plastic for other animals to encounter. Approximately 1 million sea birds also die from plastic annually.”1 The actual number is likely much higher as plastic production increases every year.

Slight inset of a Photo of large fish made from a green and black wake board with plastic trash pieces attached to it to make it appear as a fish with a view of its belly, which is full of plastic trash.
Copyright Marie Cullis.

Location

I collected trash and plastic debris from Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, during the week of Memorial Day in 2024. When I collect beach trash, the type I find can vary because of the time of year or location. For instance, in the more remote parts of the Outer Banks, I found lots of microplastics, rather than whole items like cups and bottles. But on this trip, I found very few microplastics and mostly large items, including cups, water bottles, toys, and food packaging. This was likely because I was in a populated area of Hilton Head, and it was a holiday weekend.

Collected Beach Trash

Memorial Day weekend at any beach is extremely busy, and Hilton Head was no exception. Beachgoers left behind all manner of items, mostly plastic, and much of it seemed careless.

Example 1: Food Packaging and Juice pouches:

Five juice pouches, Capri Sun and KoolAid brands, some still with the straws in them, lying on a white tray.
These CapriSun and Kool-Aid juice pouches became the fins of my giant fish.
Various food packages - chip bags, candy wrappers, and other snack packaging - lying on a white tray.
Various food packages - chip bags, candy wrappers, and other snack packaging - lying on a white tray.
Various food packages - chip bags, candy wrappers, and other snack packaging - lying on a white tray.
Various food packages - chip bags, candy wrappers, and other snack packaging - lying on a white tray.
A full-sized red Lay's potato chip bag.

Of course, everyone gets hungry on the beach, and that’s okay! But we can all be responsible and properly dispose of our food waste and packaging. Bring a small trash bag, or simply place the trash inside your cooler or food bag, and put it in the trash later. It’s not an inconvenience; it’s easy, and it’s the right thing to do.

Example 2: Beverage Containers

Water bottles, plastic or Styrofoam cups, and plastic straws were everywhere! These are items we are all capable of managing and disposing of properly.

The source of several of these items was an outdoor hotel bar at Coligny Beach Park in Hilton Head, which served drinks in clear plastic cups with brown plastic straws. Even with ample trash receptacles, everyone is ultimately responsible for their own waste. But the hotel bar could also stop serving in plastic.

Various brands of water bottles on a white tray.
Clear plastic cups of different varieties, including one from Dunkin'.
Styrofoam cups and pieces on a gray table.
Crushed Coca-Cola can, red with fist image.
Crushed Coca-Cola can. Note that when these rust, they become very sharp and cause injuries, since many people walk barefoot on the beach and swim in the surf without shoes.
Various colors and sizes of straws on a gray table.
The brown straws on the left came from the outdoor hotel bar – I accidentally verified this when I bought a drink there.

Example 3: Beach Toys

While I’m not perfect, I always account for all of our beach toys at the end of the day. We keep our beach toy bag intentionally minimal, with only about 8 items, so we can enjoy the beach and easily keep track of them. Please do the same!

I found more lost or abandoned beach toys than I could use in this art project:

Various colors and sizes of toy shovels.
Various sizes and colors of sand molds, and a red toy boat.
Beach star sand molds in green and red, a broken water gun, and a blue plastic scoop.
Purple fish shaped sifter, a blue frisbee disc, and Velcro Ball game paddle.
Various beach shovels with pink or green heads; two broken.
Two small toy nets, red and white.
A group of snap-on handles from toy beach buckets.
A group of snap-on handles from toy beach buckets, which have obviously become detached. This is a very common problem, and I find these on every beach.
Various sand tools and broken parts of beach toys, in many shapes and colors.
The plastic netting that beach toys are often sold in.
The plastic netting that companies often package beach toys in. You can avoid these if you buy certain brands or buy beach toys secondhand.

I was unable to find a place to donate beach toys while on the island. There are “borrow” beach toy bins in some areas of Florida and Galveston, Texas, and beach libraries exist in the UK!

But I’ve since discovered there’s at least one on Hilton Head Island, though I’m not sure if it was there in 2024:

I didn’t use most of the whole, intact beach toys in this art project, and many are too large for my other projects. So, I may donate them or use them in another project. I definitely won’t put them in a landfill!

All Other Items:

Metal bottle caps, mostly from beer.
Metal bottlecaps
Plastic caps for drink (top) and applesauce packets in orange and yellow (bottom).
Plastic bottlecaps
Bottlecaps in a variety of colors, clear ones on right from water bottles.
So many bottlecaps
Colorful small plastic pieces in a variety of shapes.
Variety of small plastic items…
Plastic fingernails, 3 blue and one large french tip
…including fake plastic fingernails! Yuck!
Variety of plastic trash items found on the beach, some brightly colored, including a green cotton swab, a yellow stake, orange lighter, and white plastic spoons.
Plastic utensils, a Circle K lighter, SunBum lip balm, cotton swabs, cigarette buts, aluminum can tabs, a cork, stakes, travel-sized Neutrogena sunscreen, etc.
Bandaid, Qtips/cotton swabs, and cigarette butts
Band-Aid, cotton swabs, and cigarette butts
Orange plastic Circle K lighter, SunBum lip balm, and a white plastic spoon stem.
Orange plastic Circle K lighter, SunBum lip balm, and a white plastic spoon stem
Sunglasses, goggles, and goggles packaging.
Sunglasses, goggles, and goggles packaging
Plastic lids, all clear or white
Plastic lids
Various plastic and paper labels or tags
Various plastic and paper labels or tags
Examples of wipes and packing foam
Examples of wipes and packing foam
Zip ties, dental picks, hair ties, a bracelet, and various other string-type items, all made of plastics.
Zip ties, dental picks, hair ties, a bracelet, and various other string-type items, all made of plastics
Various strings but all made from nylon or polyester (plastic fabrics)
Various strings but all made from nylon or polyester (plastic fabrics)
Ribbon type items, various colors
Ribbon-type items
Pieces of clear plastic wrappers and bags
Pieces of clear plastic wrappers and bags
Pieces of black plastic
Pieces of black plastic
Various textile items, including a washcloth, a sock, and a shoe insert
Various textile items, including a washcloth, a sock, and a shoe insert
Various items including a clothing hanger, a flip flop, a child's water shoe, vape cartridges, a plastic test tube shot container, a piece of wood fence, and a random piece of plastic
Various items, including a clothing hanger, a flip flop, a child’s water shoe, vape cartridges, a plastic test tube shot container, a piece of wood fence, and a random piece of plastic
Vape cartridges, purple and white
Empty Purple Urkle THCA vape cartridges

The Board

ZAP wakeboard, lime green, green, aqua, and blue colored board with black accents, "Hell Cat" logo.

I took a solo beach walk one evening that week and found this board. Damaged and very dirty, it had washed up on the beach, with no one nearby. I held it up and waved it around to see if anyone claimed it, but no one did. I left it by the outdoor shower area of our rental for a couple of days, but no one picked it up.

I initially believed it was a wakeboard, used with a boat, and washed ashore. However, after researching online, I discovered it’s a ZAP skimboard that originally had raised traction pieces.2 (I removed the largest pieces before remembering to take photos, so I only have images of me removing the smaller ones.) While I could have possibly sold or donated it, the condition was questionable. The edges were chipped, the traction pieces were damaged, and the entire board had a thick layer of sticky sand that I had to scrape off with a razor blade.

Did I take someone’s skimboard? I don’t think so. I believe it was lost or abandoned, considering its condition. My alternative was to leave it for the sea to claim at high tide, or perhaps for a lifeguard to pick it up the next morning if it remained on the beach, and ultimately end up in the garbage. So I decided to use it as the background for my art project!

  • ZAP wakeboard, lime green, green, aqua, and blue colored board with black accents, "Hell Cat" logo. Razor blade scraper and black traction piece visible.
  • ZAP wakeboard, lime green, green, aqua, and blue colored board with black accents, "Hell Cat" logo. Razor blade scraper and black traction piece visible.
ZAP wakeboard, lime green, green, aqua, and blue colored board with black accents, "Hell Cat" logo.

The Process

Washing the trash

I usually rinse everything before bringing it home. But this trip, I didn’t have time. I also had so much trash that my spouse insisted I limit it to one bag only (and in all fairness, we have a small car and it was already mostly full for the trip). So, once I got home, I decided to wash it all right away – rather than letting it sit – to avoid bad smells and keep yucky trash out of my home. I had to do it in batches over a couple of days.

First, I separated a portion of the garbage bag and put it in a metal bucket to rinse off the sand. I recommend doing this to keep as much sand as possible out of your plumbing. I dumped the water on my grass; no harm done.

Metal bucket of beach trash in soapy water, all sorts of colors and textures.

Next, I washed everything with dish soap in my kitchen sink. I recommend using a laundry room sink if you have one; otherwise, the kitchen sink works fine. After washing, I laid everything out on towels to dry completely.

Tray of beach trash, all sorts of colors and textures.
Tray of beach trash, all sorts of colors and textures and shapes.
Variety beach trash drying on a burgundy kitchen towel, all sorts of colors and textures.

After everything was completely dry, I stored it in a clear, homemade trash bag until I had time to work on the project.

Large clear bag of beach trash, all sorts of colors and textures.

And yes, I reused the original white trash bag for actual trash at home!

Sorting

In the Spring of 2025, I sorted the trash pieces on two folding tables in my garage.

  • Colorful trash on top of a gray folding table.
  • Colorful trash on top of a gray folding table.
  • Colorful trash on top of a gray folding table.
  • Colorful trash on top of a gray folding table.

Creating

The idea of a fish or a whale came to me because of the shape of the board. Using Aleene’s Tacky glue and Sugru, I attached plastic pieces to the board. I used round flat pieces (one is a paper seal from a Pringles canister) to make the eye; synthetic fabrics to make a mouth; broken toy shovels as tail fins; juice pouches as fins; and water bottles, bottle caps, and other clear plastics became scales. I created the stomach outline from toy bucket straps, and the colorful and identifiable pieces went into the cross-sectional view of the stomach, as if you were viewing the fish’s stomach contents.

Photo of large fish made from a green and black wake board with plastic trash pieces attached to it to make it appear as a fish with a a view of its belly, which is full of plastic trash.
“Belly Full of Trash,” copyright Marie Cullis, 2025.
Zoomed in view of the belly full of trash on the fish.
Close up of the stomach. Copyright Marie Cullis.
Close up view of water bottle caps used as scales on the bottom of the fish.
Copyright Marie Cullis.
Fin made from juice pouches.
Fin made from juice pouches. Copyright Marie Cullis.
Tail fins made from pink and green toy beach shovels.
Tail fins made from pink and green toy beach shovels. Copyright Marie Cullis.
Zoomed in view of the belly full of trash on the fish.
Copyright Marie Cullis.
Zoomed in view of the belly full of trash on the fish.
Copyright Marie Cullis.
Zoomed in view of the belly full of trash on the fish.
Copyright Marie Cullis.
Zoomed in view of the fish's face, made from nylon fabric pieces and a Pringles can seal.
Copyright Marie Cullis.

I could have created anything with these materials, but as I mentioned earlier, raising awareness about marine life ingesting plastic was too important an issue to ignore. Through this piece, I wanted to show not only the environmental damage caused by plastic pollution but also the impact it has on marine life that suffers because of human actions. In the end, I hope it inspires others both to help combat plastic pollution and to express themselves through art. And maybe even inspire change!

Thanks for reading, and please share and subscribe!

Footnotes:

  1. Article, “How Many Marine Animals Die From Plastic Each Year?” Earth.org, November 19, 2021. ↩︎
  2. Page, “The Hellcat V2,” zapskimboards.com, March 7, 2023. ↩︎
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10 Easy Steps to Go Plastic-Free Today

The word "plastic: spelled out in large plastic colorful letters, on white background.
Photo by Merakist on Unsplash.

Here are 10 ways to go plastic-free quickly!

Some of these overlap with my “14 Ways to Go Plastic-Free with Food,” but these are the easiest overall switches you can begin with, to give you momentum and make an immediate impact. Once these have become routine, you’ll start thinking about all of the plastic in your life. Especially those single-use disposable plastics!

1. Say no to plastic bags.

Reusable bags are sold everywhere these days, and given out for free at many places, too. However, many of those are made of plastic cloth and don’t last a long time. Look for canvas bags, which last longer and can be mended easily. The best place to buy plain canvas and cloth bags is usually craft stores. You can even decorate them with permanent markers, tie-dye, regular dye, or fabric paint. (Bonus if you use materials you already have in your home or obtained secondhand.)

Pro-tip: Store your bags in your car so that they’re always with you.

Close up of a canvas bag and its handle, off white, on a white background.
Photo by Mel Poole on Unsplash.

Or, go for something easy to travel with, such as ChicoBags, which are packable bags that fold into a small pouch and have a carabiner clip to attach to a keychain, backpack, or purse. I personally own a set of these and really like them.

Blue colored ChicoBag with pouch, on white background.
Image from ChicoBags.

Worst-case scenario: If you find yourself without your reusable bags, ask the store for paper bags instead of plastic.

Super Pro tip: Avoid plastic produce bags, too, by investing in a set of reusable produce bags.

4 reusable off white mesh cloth produce bags with different types of produce in each one, on a white table.
Photo by Karola G from Pexels.
Reusable plastic mesh produce bags with various vegetables in them, on a light wood table.
Photo by Polina Tankilevitch on Pexels.

Or, skip a bag altogether. Bananas, for example, have their own packaging – so they don’t really need a bag! Anything you must peel – onions, oranges, lemons, limes, garlic, avocados – don’t really need a bag!

2. Skip the straw.

You don’t really need a straw for most drinks, especially at sit-down restaurants. Their drinkware is sanitized through a dishwasher with a much hotter temperature than most homes.

If you do need a straw while out and about, or for a child, buy a reusable stainless steel or glass straw. These are relatively inexpensive. You can also buy paper or bamboo straws, which are still disposable, but at least not plastic.

Pro tip: I’ve started saying, “No straw, please” when I first order a beverage now, because restaurants often serve one automatically, out of the wrapper and in the drink. Once that straw is opened, it’s going to the landfill whether you use it or not – so better to request no straw at the onset.

Plastic straw in glass beverage at a bar or restaurant, wooden counter or table.
Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash.

3. Stop buying bottled water.

Most bottled water is often just municipal tap water. The plastic bottles are technically recyclable, but only about 8% or 9% of plastics are ever actually recycled. Further, those bottles can leach toxins into the water you drink.

Invest in a reusable water bottle, preferably made from metal or glass, not plastic. These are available almost everywhere, and you can get them secondhand as long as you sanitize them.

Pro tip: Invest in a water filtration system to remove unhealthy toxins from your water.

5 water bottles in various colors, sittin gon a white counter with aqua background.
My family’s various water bottles. Photo by Marie Cullis.

4. Invest in a reusable travel coffee mug.

The disposable cups at Starbucks and other coffee shops are lined with plastic and always come with a plastic lid. These cups can leach microplastics into your drink and into your body. Worse, heat makes the problem even worse because it causes more microplastics to leach from the plastic.1

Buy a reusable travel mug designed for hot beverages.. Again, these are available almost everywhere, and you can get them secondhand as long as you sanitize them.

4 travel mugs in various colors, on a white countertop with aqua wall background.
My family’s various insulated travel mugs. Photo by Marie Cullis.

5. Switch to bar soap.

Body wash, shampoo, and even conditioner that come in plastic bottles are more water than cleanser, so why not just pay for the soap only? This reduces shipping costs and reduces emissions too, since only the soap ships, not the water that normally comes in the product.

There are hundreds of soap options available online. I personally like Nourish Savannah soap, since I have sensitive skin. It has generally safe and gentle ingredients and smells lovely. Bonus: it doesn’t ship with plastic packaging.

Pro tip: Switch to shampoo bars (and conditioner bars!).

4 bars of soap with paper wraps and twine, on a wooden table with lavender sprigs in the background.
Photo by Aurélia Dubois on Unsplash.

6. Stop using fabric softener and dryer sheets.

Fabric softener and dryer sheets usually has toxic ingredients: they contain hormone-disrupting phthalates, chemicals that damage the reproductive system, and compounds that trigger asthma. Fabric softener liquid almost always comes in a plastic bottle. Most fabric dryer sheets are made of nonwoven polyester fabric, which does not biodegrade. It’s the same as plastic trash.

There are so many alternatives! Wool dryer balls have been one of my favorite replacements. And nowadays they come in adorable colors and designs!

6 wool dryer balls, penguin designs. Bag and white background.
Basket of wool dryer balls, some with colorful felted designs.

 

7. Switch to toilet paper that isn’t wrapped in plastic.

Most toilet paper is shipped and sold in non-recyclable plastic wrap. Worse, toilet paper is made from trees, the very thing we humans need to breathe! About 1 million trees are cut down daily to make traditional toilet paper.2

You can hit two targets with one arrow by buying recycled or bamboo toilet paper from companies like Who Gives A Crap (Bonus: they donate 50% of their profits to ensuring everyone worldwide has access to clean water and toilets).

Pro tip: Buy plastic-free paper towels or switch to something reusable.

Super Pro tip: Switch to reusable cloth wipes, also called family cloths.

Who Gives A Crap brand toilet paper rolls (6) and one paper towel roll, wrapped in colorful paper.
Photo by Marie Cullis.

8. Limit the number of plastic items you buy.

This might seem like a no-brainer, but it’s actually harder than we initially think. I once needed a new dustpan, but the only ones I could find locally were made of plastic. And those always break and have to be replaced! I found a metal one on Amazon, but of course, it shipped in plastic.

A black metal dustpan wrapped in clear plastic.
The black metal dustpan I bought came wrapped in plastic. Why? Photo by Marie Cullis.

But a dustpan being plastic is something I never thought about until I needed to replace it. And there are dozens of items like this in people’s homes. Plastic pens, storage bins, hairbrushes, toothbrushes, trash cans, soap dispensers, craft paint, clothing hangers, school supplies, purses, shoes, food packaging, dishes, sunglasses, toys, games, ice cube trays…the list is endless.

So, next time you need to replace something, look for a plastic-free alternative!

Pro tip: There are several stores online that sell items that are plastic-free and ship without plastic packaging.

Super Pro-tip: Is there a zero-waste store to shop in your area?

9. Invest in a set of reusable metal or glass food containers.

Use these containers for leftovers, packing lunches, and transporting food for parties. Ball jars or mason jars are perfect for these tasks, too. Don’t buy plastic ones, and especially do not reheat your food in plastic containers because the chemicals in plastics leach into food.

Pro tip: If you already own plastic containers, you can repurpose them to store other items, such as cosmetics, small game pieces, small electronics, or craft supplies.

Super Pro tip: Consider keeping a couple in your car for restaurant leftovers, instead of using the Styrofoam containers restaurants provide.

Tri-bento box or tiffin, all metal, white background.
Tri-bento box from ecolunchboxes.com.
Clear glass container with bamboo lid, Ikea, white background.
Clear glass container with bamboo lid from Ikea.
Collection of foods containers, including metal and glass rectangular ones, a small green soup thermos, a silver tiffin, and 2 Ball jars; on white countertop with aqua wall background.
Some of my family’s food storage containers, including a small soup thermos, a tiffin, Ball jars, and rectangular containers in glass and metal.

10. Buy secondhand.

Buy secondhand, anything appropriate for you. Think clothing, purses, household items, books, video games, board games, smartphones, art supplies, and even school supplies. Whenever you buy secondhand, you reduce your overall carbon footprint through reduced production, packaging, and shipping emissions. This includes lowering the amount of plastic used in both the product and its packaging.

Bonus: Secondhand items cost less, saving you money to spend on other things (like a fun trip!).

Clothing racks with shoes on top, with shoppers and other various vintage items in background.
Photo by Hugo Clément on Unsplash.

“Remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day. The same is true for your plastic-free home. It’s going to take some time to transition but with patience and persistence you can easily weed plastic out of your home and create a new lifestyle that’s dramatically leaner when it comes to plastic usage.” -Sandra Ann Harris, founder of ECOlunchbox3

Footnotes:

  1. Article, “Release of microplastics from disposable cups in daily use,” by Huier Chen et. al., Science of the Total Environment, Volume 854, January 1, 2023. ↩︎
  2. Page, “Are 1 million trees really cut down each day to make toilet paper?” Impact & Sustainability Info, whogviesacrap.com, updated February 10, 2025. ↩︎
  3. Book, Say Goodbye to Plastic: A Survival Guide for Plastic-Free Living, by Sandra Ann Harris, Hatherleigh Press, 2020. ↩︎
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Have a Spooky Halloween and Fall with Limited Waste

Fall leaves, orange and red, on a tree branch with sunset light background.
Image by Hans from Pixabay.

Fall is my favorite season. The weather cools, the air is less humid, the colors change, and it is more enjoyable to be outdoors. I love the family memories we’ve made. We’ve played in fall leaves, hunted pumpkin patches for the best pumpkins, picked apples, and enjoyed the smells and flavors of autumn. And of course, Halloween is one of our favorite holidays!

But the waste from Fall can be great. For Halloween alone, Americans will spend $13.1 billion in 2025, according to the National Retail Federation.1 With that comes a great deal of waste: Halloween costumes, candy, food, and beverages come with a lot of disposable plastic packaging. In the current economy, I think most of us need to save money, and we need to limit waste.

Zero waste is such a great concept, but not always practical. If we aspire toward limited waste, that will still make a huge difference to the environment, our homes, and our psyches.

Here are some ways you can save money, be healthier, and limit waste this Fall!

Pumpkin Spice Everything

Cup of cocoa or coffee with marshmallows and cinnamon sticks on top, sitting on a wooden board, surrounded by pumpkins, orange berries, pine cones, and green leaves.
Image by Ylanite Koppens from Pixabay.

Besides the traditional pumpkin spice coffee, there’s now pumpkin spice-flavored everything…from cereal and cookies to candles and hand soap, and even baked goods and dairy products. My son insisted I buy pumpkin spice-flavored whipped cream at the grocery store this week! I say indulge in a treat or two, but resist the urge to buy pumpkin spice everything, especially those products that come in disposable packaging (such as whipped cream in a metal can, which is not recyclable where we live). Though that and one pumpkin spice latte is all we’ve bought this season, so we’ve limited waste in this category.

You can always make your own pumpkin spice bread, coffee, or cupcakes at home. This will save money and limit waste, and maybe even be healthier. (Then the house will smell good, too.)

Also, if you get a pumpkin-spice latte or coffee, drink it at the coffee shop in a ceramic mug – or bring your own insulated travel mug!

Pumpkins & Jack O’Lanterns

Three orange pumpkin Jack O'Lanterns sitting outside surrounded by fall leaves and colors.
Image by Mayur Gadge from Pixabay.

Who doesn’t love the sight of a beautiful pumpkin? Many use them as decorations, and though expensive, this is far better than buying cheap plastic decorations that are likely to break or degrade quickly. Especially if you compost or consume the pumpkin before it starts to rot.

It’s better to pick your pumpkins at a pumpkin patch because freshly cut pumpkins last much longer than pre-picked ones from the store. Plus, picking your own pumpkins from a patch is a lot more fun!

If you’re going to carve a Jack O’Lantern, save the seeds to make a great snack! My son looks forward to this part almost more than the Jack O’Lantern part, honestly. This limits waste, and it is a super healthy snack.

Simply scoop the seeds, wash them and separate them from the pumpkin pulp, and dry them on a towel. Next, season them with extra virgin olive oil, Kosher salt, and cumin powder. Place on a baking sheet in a single layer, and roast at 275° for 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. Then eat!

Seasoned pumpkin seeds on a white plate with yellow/gold pattern around edge.
Photo by Marie Cullis.

The most important thing with a Jack O’Lantern is that you compost it once you’re ready to discard it.

Apple Picking

Pink-red apples dangling from branches with green leaves, and a blue sky background.
Image by beccazsky from Pixabay.

If you can get to an apple orchard, this is a wonderful way to celebrate fall. There is nothing more delicious and healthy than a crisp, fresh-picked apple. At most self-pick orchards, you can purchase a basket that you return with every year, instead of using plastic bags. Picking apples is healthier because the fruit is local and fresher (though not necessarily less expensive than apples from the grocery store). You’re likely also supporting a small business.

You can bake any number of apple yumminess and with limited waste, especially if you compost the apple peels and cores. Or, make apple cider vinegar from them (which I’ve done with only mixed success). That would make it zero waste!

Bonus if you go to an orchard where you pick apples and a pumpkin!

Basket of apples with flowers in a vase in background, on a wooden table.
Photo by Marie Cullis.

Fall Leaves

Red metal rake leaning against wooden bench, fall leaves piled up next to it, green grass background.
Image by Urszula from Pixabay.

This is an easy category to limit waste. If you read my article on Fall leaves disposal, then you already know that leaves should never be bagged in plastic or sent to the landfill. Fall leaves biodegrade on the ground, in the compost, or in the woods. I don’t recommend burning because they can spark and start fires, and also because the smoke is not healthy to breathe, even from a distance. Check with your local municipal entity to see how you can safely discard leaves. Please read my article for additional information.

Halloween Costumes

Phot from inside of a Spirit Halloween store, showing black shelving with costumes in plastic packaging, cement floor, orange signage.
Photo by Phillip Pessar on Flickr, Creative Commons license (CC BY 2.0).

New costumes can contain chemicals, come in plastic packaging, and are expensive. The easiest way to save money, limit plastic packaging waste, and be healthier is to buy costumes second-hand, from any store that sells used clothing. The materials will have already off-gassed, making them less toxic to you.

The next simplest method for costuming is using what you already have at home, which limits waste and saves money. Trading costumes with friends or getting them at clothing swaps/sales is also an option.

Or, you can do a combination of those.

While I have purchased a brand-new costume once, my son usually insists on piecing together his own costume (and not for environmental reasons). Last year, he wanted to be Roronoa Zoro from the One Piece anime series. He wanted a costume like this:

Person in costume of character with green hair, white shirt, green haramaki, and black pants and swords. Brown background.

Online, the costume was more than $50, packaged in plastic, and did not include the earring or swords!

At the thrift store, we bought a small women’s white shirt with an opening at the chest, and rolled up the sleeves. We then found a black and green striped shirt that I cut up and resewed into the haramaki and the tie on his arm. I also found a pair of children’s black pants in his size at the same thrift store. We used a black bandana that we already had at home for his head, since he couldn’t dye his hair green due to a theatrical performance he was in at the time. And he already owned the three play swords.

Child dressed up as Roronoa Zoro, white shirt, 3 swords, green mid piece, black pants and bandana. Parking lot background.
Photo by Marie Cullis.

The most challenging part was the three-piece earring. Since my son’s ears aren’t pierced, I decided to make something similar to what Zoro wears. I made this earring from a paper clip to form a “clip-on” earring, and attached three pieces of nose bridge strips for cloth masks (bought during Covid times) and painted them gold. I was pretty proud of this costume and thought he looked amazing!

Child's profiled face, showing black bandana and gold earring up close.
Photo by Marie Cullis.

For more Halloween costume ideas, Pinterest is a great resource. Also, Kathryn Kellogg has a great article and video on Halloween costumes you may already have in your closet, which I’ve linked in the footnotes below.2

Halloween Candy

Bowl of colorful Halloween candy from a trunk-or-treat event.
Photo by Marie Cullis.

This is a difficult waste stream to avoid, but it can be done.

If you’re giving out candy, there are lots of options! Read my article on Halloween candy wrapper waste to find ways to avoid plastic waste. The best option is to buy individually wrapped candy in bulk (like foil wrapped chocolates) or boxed candy (Junior Mints, Milk Duds, Nerds, etc).

If you’re trick-or-treating, navigating that waste stream is much more challenging. The best approach is to recycle any wrappers you can (paper, cardboard, etc.) and limit the amount of candy you bring home. You can’t control what others give out, and you’re grateful that they are spending their hard-earned money on giving free candy to hordes of children, including yours. It’s best to limit how much you collect, and if you get too much, share it with friends, family, or coworkers.

Happy Fall and Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween illustration, orange background with black silhouettes of jack o'lanterns, owls, cats, bats, and a spider.
Image by Alexa from Pixabay.

I hope this article gave you some ideas about how to save money and limit waste. Leave me a comment if you have a question or suggestion. Thanks for reading, and please subscribe. Have a lovely Fall and Halloween!

Footnotes:

  1. Page, Halloween data center, National Retail Federation, accessed October 19, 2025. ↩︎
  2. Blog post, “Ethical Halloween Costumes: Plus Six Costumes You Have in Your Closet,” by Kathryn Kellogg, goingzerowaste.com, updated January 23, 2024. ↩︎

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Plastic Art Project #2, “Mermaid’s Grotto”

Mermaid's Grotto, plastic pieces to make the collected items with the mermaid doll at center. Blue, aqua, black background.
“Mermaid’s Grotto,” by Marie Cullis, 2023. Plastic pieces collected from the beach in Duck, North Carolina. Background is acrylic paint on wood board. Copyright Marie Cullis.

About

This was my second plastic art project from beach trash my family collected. We collected the pieces in 2022 and I created this plastic ocean scene in the fall of 2023. Like my previous piece, some of the items are highly recognizable, like the goggles, plastic fork, bottle caps, dental picks, straws, and of course, a broken mermaid doll. Measures 24″ x 24″.

Picking Up Beach Trash

Sunset, orange sun casting an orange glow over the blue ocean, with an orange and pink ombre sky. Pool in foreground but darkened.
Sunset from our balcony in Duck, North Carolina, June 2022.

My family vacationed on the Outer Banks of North Carolina in 2022, traveling to many of the towns up and down the barrier islands. But we stayed in Duck, North Carolina, which is where many of our beach walks and swim days happened. As usual, we picked up trash on all of our walks. When we returned to our rental, I saved as many pieces as I could for a future art piece and washed them. These are a few of the trash piles resulting from the bags of trash we picked up and emptied:

Pile of collected trash.
Pile of collected trash.
Pile of collected trash.

I had quite a bit to sort through! We found several big pieces, but we found many more small pieces of plastic on this end of the island. Especially in the less populated areas of the beach. Those are wonderful to both get off the beach and to use in plastic art projects.

Items We Didn’t Keep

Since we had a long way to travel and a small car, I had to limit what I carted home to a single bag. So, first I decided to recycle all I could – water bottles, soda bottles, paper, and plastic from products like the Sun In and Hawaiian Tropic sunscreen. I opted to throw away very dirty pieces, socks and degraded plastic films. We left behind beach toys for the next family and kept a few too, like these diving toys:

Toy missile diving weights, orange and green.

These barnacled and very dirty snorkel goggles were super cool, but there was no way to clean them enough to travel home with. So I took multiple photos of them:

  • Barnacled and very dirty snorkle goggles, yellow frame with clear and frosted plastic parts.
  • Barnacled and very dirty snorkle goggles, yellow frame with clear and frosted plastic parts.
  • Barnacled and very dirty snorkle goggles, yellow frame with clear and frosted plastic parts.
  • Barnacled and very dirty snorkle goggles, yellow frame with clear and frosted plastic parts.
  • Barnacled and very dirty snorkle goggles, yellow frame with clear and frosted plastic parts.

Another cool item that I didn’t keep was this work or fishing glove because it had so many things stuck to it!

Fishermen's glove, yellow and black.

My Process

Plastic trash laid out on a pink kitchen towel after having been washed again. Goggles, bottle caps, straws, and many other colorful plastics.

I washed everything again when I returned home and dried it thoroughly before storing it for my art project (it was over a year before I had time to work on the art project).

Plastic mermaid doll, green hair and tail.

When I found the broken mermaid doll, I immediately knew this would be the center of my piece. Inspired by The Little Mermaid, this piece of art came together using plastic pieces that look like everyday items, as if she’d collected the items from shipwrecks. Plastic caps became cups and kitchen items. I turned candy wrappers into purses. Other plastic pieces became tools or beauty items, such as the paintbrush, flower barrette, and mini bubble wands. And of course, I had a piece of a fork – that is, a dinglehopper!

Additionally, plastic parts from fireworks became jellyfish and stars. There is a cellophane sun in the upper right corner. Water bottle caps appear as bubbles. Solo cup pieces became sea plants.

I bought a medium-sized piece of wood, a 24-inch square, at the hardware store. I painted the background with acrylic paint.

Square piece of wood, painted with aqua blues, turquoise, green, and black acrylic paint to look like under the ocean, with the center strokes vertically painted to represent a grotto.

The Final Piece

I used Tacky Glue to attach the pieces. I forgot to take photos as the project progressed, though it came together pretty quickly. In this detail, to right of the mermaid doll, you can “items” stacked on her “shelves” that look like beauty item, kitchen items, and maybe even tools. She’s also holding a “purse” and a “wand”:

Section of the art piece showing the mermaid doll and many small plastic pieces representing items she found in shipwrecks.

In the next detail, to the left of the mermaid doll, you can other items such as a paintbrush, part of a pen, a straw, caps, a Swisher Sweets tip, and a disposable razor handle. Below are a couple of “purses” I made from plastic string and wrappers we found. Above those is a plastic piece that looks like a fish!

Section of the art piece showing the mermaid doll and many small plastic pieces representing items she found in shipwrecks.

The next image, showing the bottom right corner, are larger items I used to create sort of a storage bin of items which includes nylon rope, a juice or milk bottle, straws, bottle caps, broken toys, two pairs of broken glasses, and other miscellaneous plastic parts.

Section of the art piece showing the mermaid doll and many small plastic pieces representing items she found in shipwrecks.

Below, in the left corner, I made sea plants from various plastic items including red and yellow broken Solo cups, foam, nylon rope fragments, coiled keychain, orange and black plastic pieces, and green plastic string pieces that likely came from a beach chair that was falling apart.

Section of the art piece showing long plastic pieces I used to make sea plants.

For these jellyfish, I used the plastic from exploded fireworks and plastic ribbon pieces for the tentacles, and plastic wrappers and film bundled on top to create the bodies.

Close-up of jellyfish made from plastic trash pieces on aqua blue background.

Next

Since I did not use all of the pieces from our Outer Banks trip, I’m saving those for a future art project or teaching project.

My next project is going to be created from items I collected on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, during a holiday weekend. Stay tuned for my article on that Plastic Art project!

Feel free to check out my Plastic Art Projects page for other projects that people have done. If you have a plastic trash art piece you’d like to share, please leave me a comment below! Thank you for reading, please share and subscribe!

Copyright © Marie Cullis, 2023, “Mermaid’s Grotto” art piece. All photos in this article by Marie Cullis.
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Plastic Art Project #1

Plastic trash arranged in an ocean scene, colorful plastics with an aqua and sea blue background.
Photo of “St. Augustine, Florida 2021” by Marie Cullis.

About

This was my first plastic art project from beach trash I collected. I collected the pieces in 2021 and created this plastic ocean scene in the summer of 2023. Some of the items are highly recognizable, like the toothbrush, plastic spoons, and dental pick. There’s even the rolled end of an old latex condom in there (sanitized, of course). Measures 12″ x 12″.

Picking Up Beach Trash

My family and I have always picked up trash at beaches wherever and whenever we get to visit them. In fact, on our honeymoon, my husband helped me clean up tires and other debris from St. Pete Beach in Florida. We dutifully bag up collected trash and put it in a dumpster or covered trash receptacle. We donate items like unbroken beach toys and usable clothing (after cleaning).

We spent a week at the beach in St. Augustine, Florida in October 2021, and as usual, we collected all sorts of trash and plastic pieces. This time, I cleaned and saved some of it for a future art piece.

I Didn’t Keep Every Piece

First, I separated the undesirable, donatable, recyclable, and other miscellaneous items that I didn’t intend to use in my artwork. This included items such as a glass bottle we found in the surf (since glass is fully recyclable) that had living barnacles attached to it:

We carefully removed the barnacles and put them back in the water. I couldn’t leave a glass bottle in the surf for obvious reasons, so we tried our best to save the creatures.

Other items I didn’t keep for artwork included rusty metal cans, recyclable plastic water bottles, complete beach toys (which I donated), and oversized objects. Additionally, there was a large white blanket (which we washed and donated), a crusty hat brim, and a used vape pen (which, though pretty, I threw away due to concerns about leftover chemicals):

  • Largw white blanket found on the beach sand at night.
    A large white blanket we found on a night walk.
  • A vape pen, white with a rainbow going across, HQD Cuvie Plus.
    Vape pen, pretty but possibly toxic.
  • Black baseball hat brim, covered in sticky sand.
    Baseball hat brim, covered in sticky sand.

Last, I found this unidentifiable gelatinous piece, which I then believed to be plastic but have now discovered that it may have been a washed-up tunicate, colloquially called a ‘sea pork’:1

Gelatinous but dried up unidentifiable piece.

My Process

While we were still on vacation, I rinsed everything I planned to cart home. In groups, I washed all the pieces thoroughly in dish soap and water and then laid them out to dry:

Batch of plastic trash soaking in dish soap and warm water, in a black tub.
Cleaned colorful plastic pieces drying on a black towel.

I began by painting a sea background on a square piece of wood using acrylic paint. Next, I arranged the plastic pieces, starting with the largest ones, and secured them with glue. At first, I didn’t have a clear vision, but as I experimented with the pieces—arranging and rearranging them like a puzzle—a fishing scene gradually emerged. Here’s a progression of the piece:

  • Progression of plastic trash art piece, blue and green sea background, with colorful pieces making up a fisherman, large fish at center, jellyfish, other creatures, and coral reef at bottom.
  • Progression of plastic trash art piece, blue and green sea background, with colorful pieces making up a fisherman, large fish at center, jellyfish, other creatures, and coral reef at bottom.
  • Progression of plastic trash art piece, blue and green sea background, with colorful pieces making up a fisherman, large fish at center, jellyfish, other creatures, and coral reef at bottom.
Progression of plastic trash art piece, blue and green sea background, with colorful pieces making up a fisherman, large fish at center, jellyfish, other creatures, and coral reef at bottom.
Completed art piece by Marie Cullis.

So we have a fisherperson paddling a boat, hauling ‘sea treasures’ in a net behind them, while a giant fish, a jellyfish, and other sea creatures swim below near a coral reef. Last, I took a soda bottle cap, wrote the title on it, and glued it near the top, as if it represented the sun.

Next

Since this was a small board (12″x12″), I did not use all of the trash pieces, so I’ve saved those for a future art project or teaching project!

My next project was created from items I collected in Duck, North Carolina, in the Outer Banks. Read my article on Plastic Art Project #2!

Feel free to check out my Plastic Art Projects page for other projects that people have done. If you have a plastic trash art piece you’d like to share, please leave me a comment below! Thank you for reading, please share and subscribe!

Copyright © Marie Cullis, 2023, “St. Augustine, Florida 2021” art piece. All photos in this article by Marie Cullis.

Footnote:

  1. Article, “The Secret Life of ‘Sea Pork,’ The Organ-Like Blobs on Your Beach,” by Jessica Leigh Hester, atlasobscura.com, May 15, 2019. ↩︎
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Product Review: Ethique’s Concentrates

Last updated on January 12, 2025.

Ethique products lined up in color hues, transitioning from magenta on the left to red, orange, then yellow on the right.
Ethique products.

I have struggled to find a good, plastic-free conditioner for my hair. But I think I’ve discovered one, by a company called Ethique.

Ethique, a New Zealand company, sells plastic-free shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, lotion, body wash, soap, etc. The company also uses non-toxic and sustainably sourced ingredients. Even more exciting is that their products are rated in the low to moderate range of the Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep database.1 Further, the company uses compostable packaging, cruelty-free and vegan ingredients, no palm oil, and is a Certified B Corporation!

Over the last few months, I’ve tried several of their products and now I’m reviewing them!

Conditioner Bar

Ethique conditioner bar packaging with green bar on top, next to a half lime and shredded coconut on a green background.

When I searched Ethique’s site for a conditioner bar, I noticed they also sell conditioner concentrates. The concentrates are bars dissolvable in water to make a liquid conditioner. I bought both a conditioner bar and a conditioner concentrate to try out.

The bar I bought was The Guardian, which is for dry hair. The bar was fine overall, but I have long, thick hair and always have trouble getting thorough conditioning with any conditioner bar I’ve ever tried. Next, I tried the conditioner concentrate.

Set of 7 Ethique concentrates in the original packaging, all white wiht orange, gray, or magenta colors.
The Ethique concentrate products I purchased. Photo by Marie Cullis.

 

UPDATE, July 8, 2024: Since writing this article in May 2024, Ethique discontinued its concentrated products, which is super disappointing. I emailed the company to confirm, and they were quick to respond and very nice:

“Unfortunately, we had to make the tough decision to discontinue our concentrates. When certain products don’t sell enough, we’re unable to continue making them in a sustainable cost-effective way. In saying this, like you, we love the concentrate format and offering alternative plastic-free options, so the Product Team are working hard to improve the formula so you may see concentrates again in the future!”

In any case, I’ll have to either use their conditioner bars or switch to another type of conditioner. What are you using?

 

Turning The Bar Into Liquid Conditioner

Ethique conditioner concentrate package next to a blue ball jar, on a white counter with an aqua-toned wall.
Photo by Marie Cullis.

Though the instructions didn’t quite work as well as they should, I figured it out. The instructions were to break up the bars into triangles from the forms, pour boiling water over the pieces, and stir them until they dissolved. However, I had to heat the mixture on the stove to melt it completely. Then I had a lovely, creamy conditioner! The second time I made it, I put the triangles from the bars into the boiling water and immediately removed the pan from the stove. This worked better than my first try.

It did make slightly less than the package indicated, but I think that might have been my fault, as I likely lost some of the water to evaporation when I put it on the stove.

Overall, the conditioner is thick and creamy and I enjoy using it in my hair. Though I still have to use a detangler. The one downfall is that because it is thick, it is difficult to transfer to a pump bottle. And it doesn’t pump well either. I could use a pump attachment with a ball jar, but I don’t feel safe keeping a glass jar in the shower. I have to keep it in a container we open and close each shower. Not everyone in my household is happy with this.

Ethique purple and white conditioner concentrate packaging, next to a pink flower and glass beakers with liquids.
This is the appearance of the updated Ethique Conditioner concentrate packaging.

The Shampoo Concentrate

I placed another order and purchased the shampoo concentrate and the lotion concentrate (see the next section). Two bars are supposed to make about 12 ounces of liquid shampoo.

I followed the instructions but instead of using a bowl, I boiled the water in a pan on the stove, turned off the eye, and then put the triangles into the water. This worked well, but I again must have lost some of the shampoo to evaporation as I ended up with about 10 ounces instead of 12. I used a funnel (plastic, because it’s a holdover from years ago) to put the shampoo into a reused pump bottle. It made a great liquid shampoo.

Ethique shampoo concentrate packaging, pink and cream colored.
Ethique shampoo concentrate packaging, pink and cream colored.
Cream colored shampoo concentrate bars.

The Lotion Concentrate

Ethique lotion concentrate, lavendar and white packaging. Oil and coconut in background.

Last, I made the lotion concentrate – but I forgot to take photos while I dissolved it! It takes a little while to thicken. So here’s what it looks like in a reused container:

Dark blue container with cream colored lotion in it.
Ethique lotion from concentrate. Photo by Marie Cullis.

I like the lotion so far, though it is not super scented, which is probably a good thing. It absorbs into the skin very well.

Overall Satisfaction

Though I will return to using my favorite shampoo bar – because it is far easier to buy and use – overall, I am pleased with Ethique’s products. I will continue using the conditioner and lotion concentrates because I love that they are plastic-free. It does take a few minutes to turn the concentrates to liquid, but I find the effort worth it. I hope this review helps and encourages you to try any plastic-free products! Thanks for reading, please share and subscribe!

 

This is an honest review. This article does not contain affiliate links nor was I paid to promote the products in this post.

 

Footnote:

  1. Database, EWG’s Skin Deep, accessed April 11, 2024. ↩︎
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Non-Toxic & Plastic-Free Laundry Detergents

Last updated on February 27, 2025.

Laundry basket with clothes on a coffee table, couch and sleeping cat in background, warm lighting.
Photo by Sean Freese on Flickr, Creative Commons license (CC BY 2.0 DEED).

If you read my article on replacing toxic fabric softener and dryer sheets, then it won’t surprise you that commercial laundry detergents also often contain harmful, toxic ingredients. The chemicals and fragrances are harmful to the human body as well as the environment. Additionally, many detergents come in some form of plastic container, whether it’s a bottle, plastic bag, or “pod.”

Homemade or DIY laundry detergents sound like a great alternative, but in practice, I have not found that to be the case. My conclusion is that while I cannot recommend a specific brand or set of ingredients, I can tell you what to avoid. Following are my findings.

DIY Laundry Detergents

Various ingredients in boxes and bottles with a Kirk's Castille bar of soap and a measuring cup with soap shavings.
Photo by Kim F on Flickr, Creative Commons license (CC BY-NC 2.0 DEED).

The photo above is not my own but still a familiar scene. I have tried many homemade DIY laundry detergent recipes from bloggers, authors, and environmentalists. Most homemade laundry detergents combine baking soda, washing soda, and/or borax, as well as a cleaning agent, typically grated bar soap. I even tried buying laundry bar soap that you dissolve in water and then use as a liquid detergent. But all had poor results. Our clothes either had an odor or what looked like grease stains on them. Our clothing, towels, and sheets just weren’t getting…clean.

Close-up of a laundry bar, brown with white speckles.
Laundry bar. Photo by Marie Cullis.

 

Laundry bar dissolving in a white bucket of water.
The laundry bar dissolving in a reused white bucket. Photo by Marie Cullis.

Then I discovered that soap residue can actually trap dirt and oils in textiles. Kathryn Kellogg, author of 101 Ways To Go Zero Waste, advises against DIY laundry detergents. “Most homemade laundry detergent is really laundry soap, which can clog your washing machine, void the warranty, and ruin your clothes.”1 The soap doesn’t come out because modern washing machine agitators are not as tough on clothing as older machines were. According to Kellogg, a true laundry detergent does not contain fats and oils.2

Soap Nuts

Green glass dish with decorative edge featuring orange and green flowers, soap nuts piled on the dish.
Photo by Khadija Dawn Carryl on Flickr, Creative Commons license (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 DEED).

Soapnuts, which are actually berries, are the fruit of the Sapindus Mukorossi tree, which grows in India and Nepal. The husks, or shell, of the fruit “contains plant saponin, a completely natural and gentle soap that has been used for centuries to clean skin and clothes. Saponin works as a surfactant, breaking the surface tension of the water and creating a lather that lifts dirt and grease…this is just one example of how nature offers many solutions for…plastic-free living,” wrote Sanda Ann Harris, author of Say Goodbye To Plastic: A Survival Guide for Plastic-Free Living.3 Soapnuts are compostable after use, so they create no waste.

I tried these, excitedly! I followed instructions from myplasticfreelife.com that said to boil the soapnuts into a liquid, and then use the liquid as laundry detergent.

Soapnuts boiling in a pot of water.
Soapnuts cooking in a pot. Photo by Marie Cullis.

I also tried putting them straight into the washing machine. But they didn’t work great all of the time, and I often had to rewash my clothes. Kathryn Kellogg wrote that she also does not recommend soap nuts. “Both of these items contain saponin or soap. The soap will cause buildup on fabric, preventing it from being absorbent, and the residue can cause skin irritation. Historically, people used soap to clean their clothes, but they washed their clothes by hand. The agitation process was harsh enough for the soap to wash clean. Our modern machines aren’t as rigorous so the soap clings to the fabric.”4 

Angled photo of laundry detergent bottles on a store shelf, Ajax and Fab brands most visible.
Photo by Pixel Drip on Flickr, Creative Commons license (CC BY 2.0 DEED).

Commercial Laundry Detergents

Over the years I have tried all manner of commercial laundry detergents, both powdered and liquid. Powders don’t seem to dissolve well unless I use hot water, and I wash almost everything in cold water. Liquids work better, but their quality runs the gamut. I still don’t have a single brand that I can recommend or that I even buy consistently. But I can tell you what to avoid in detergents.

Plastic Bottles

Plastic blue laundry detergent or fabric softener bottle, lying in a sand dune.
Photo by nicholasrobb1989 on Pixabay.

Almost all liquid detergents come in plastic bottles. Also, liquid laundry detergents are 60 to 90 percent water! This means we are shipping huge amounts of water in plastic jugs all across the country, which creates more carbon emissions. This seems wasteful!

Worse, even though most laundry jugs are ‘recyclable,’ they don’t often actually get recycled. Humans have only recycled 9% of plastics ever created. Brands like Seventh Generation use 80% recycled plastic in their bottles. While they are also recyclable, there’s no guarantee the bottle will get recycled. It’s best practice to stay away from bottles if you can.

In Part 11 of my Packaging Series, you can read about brands that use different types of packaging, and even some that offer refillable options.

Toxic Ingredients

There are lots of chemicals in most commercial laundry detergents. Those scents are a combination of hundreds of chemicals, many that scientists have linked to illness and disease. Multiple studies in the last two decades have found that dozens of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were found in scented laundry products, but those ingredients weren’t listed on the product labels. They are often listed as “fragrance,” allegedly because companies want to keep proprietary trade secrets to themselves and away from the competition. We are simply pawns stuck in the middle of that.5 Worse, mixing different “fragrances,” aka chemical compositions, can create a synergistic effect, which happens when two or more create a greater health effect than the sum of the individual effect.6 

Person pouring laundry detergent into a washing machine, from a blue laundry detergent bottle.
Photo by RDNE Stock project on Pexels.

Phthalates

These are in the fragrances of detergents, so you’ll believe your clothes are clean because they smell good. They are a class of endocrine-disrupting chemicals, meaning they interfere with our hormone systems and fertility. They are associated with rashes, asthma, allergies, learning and behavioral difficulties in children, and an increased risk of cancer. These are not regulated because companies use the term “fragrance” in the ingredients list under the guise of propriety.

Surfactants

Many laundry detergents use surfactants like petroleum distillate or naphtha because they boost the cleaning power of laundry detergents. However, they can cause respiratory problems, eye and skin irritation, nervous system problems, hormone disruption, and sometimes cancer. Many are also toxic to aquatic life. Other surfactants include quaternium-15, diethanolamine, nonlphenol ethoxylate, and linear alkyl benzene sulfonates.7

Phenol is one more surfactant that can cause irritation to the skin, eyes, nose, throat, and nervous system. “Severe exposure can cause liver and/or kidney damage, skin burns, tremor, convulsions, and twitching.”8

The European Union (EU) and Canada banned Nonylphenol Ethoxylates (NPEs), but they are allowed in the U.S. These are also endocrine disruptors and may cause cancer. They can lead to extreme aquatic toxicity in the environment.

1,4-dioxane 

This is a known human carcinogen and neurotoxin that is always present in trace amounts when ethoxylated surfactants are used because 1,4-dioxane is a byproduct. “1,4-dioxane is never listed on labels because it’s not an intentionally added ingredient, but there are some easy tricks to avoid it. Ethoxylated surfactants usually follow a few naming conventions. If the ingredient ends in “-eth”, such as laureth-6 or sodium laureth sulfate (SLES), ceteareth or steareth, it’s ethoxylated.”9 Sodium lauryl sulfate is another one to steer clear of. 1,4-dioxane is also a common water contaminant.

Phosphates & EDTA

Manufacturers use Phosphates and EDTA (Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid) “to make detergents more effective in hard water, and to help prevent dirt from settling back on clothes when they’re washing.” These chemicals cause environmental damage, especially in waterways. They also cause algae blooms that damage ecosystems.10 Phosphate-free products are important to help reduce eutrophication, a process that causes algae to grow uncontrollably and cause the death of all life in bodies of water.

Others

Companies use Formaldehyde as a low-cost preservative and antibacterial agent. It can irritate the eyes and lungs and is a suspected carcinogen.11

Dyes cause allergies and rashes, almost all are endocrine disruptors, and many are carcinogens.12

Benzyl acetate is toxic to skin, the nervous system, the kidneys,13 and has been linked to pancreatic cancer.

Dichlorobenzene is a water contaminant and has a highly toxic effect on aquatic life. They are carcinogenic and toxic to the liver, kidneys, and nervous system.

Laundry Pods

Single Laundry pod, orange, white, and blue liquid detergent in a plastic sealed pod.
Photo by Erik Binggeser on Unsplash.

Laundry detergent pods are purely convenience items. They contain concentrated amounts of detergent encapsulated in a “dissolvable” pod made of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA or PVOH). PVA is a synthetic, petroleum-based polymeric plastic. When marketers say it “dissolves” in water, they mean that the plastic breaks down into smaller plastic particles, called microplastics. The microplastics are discharged as part of the wastewater, then enter our water systems, and eventually end up in our bodies.

“Dissolvable” detergent sheets

Earth Breeze Laundry eco sheets packaging, mostly green, with a sheet sticking out the top.
Tru Earth

I tried laundry detergent eco sheets because they are indeed free of huge plastic bottles. While I’ve always been leery of laundry pods because they feel like plastic, I assumed these were different. However, I discovered that these also contain PVA (polyvinyl alcohol).

Again, PVA is a plastic, and while it is designed to dissolve, that doesn’t mean it disappears. A study cited by the company Blueland “suggests that over 75% of PVA persists in our waterways and our soil after it dissolves in laundry and dishwashing machines, flows through wastewater and ultimately back into our environment.”14

In fact, in November 2022, Blueland, the Plastic Pollution Coalition, and a large group of other nonprofit organizations filed a petition with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to readdress PVA and its effects. “This petition requests that the EPA conduct requisite human and environmental health and safety testing for Polyvinyl Alcohol, also known as  PVA or PVOH as it is used in consumer-packaged goods, with particular attention to the use of PVA in laundry and dishwasher detergent pods and sheets. The petition also requests that until such testing is completed, the EPA remove polyvinyl alcohol from its Safer Choice Program in order to curb plastic pollution.”15 Unfortunately, the EPA denied those requests.16

Avoid any laundry pods or dissolvable sheets that contain polyvinyl alcohol (PVA).

White washing machine with blue clothing in, door open.
Image by taraghb from Pixabay.

Powdered Detergents

Two Meliora cardboard and metal containers, lavender laundry powder at left (white and purple lable), and oxygen brightener at right (blue and white label).
Meliora powdered detergents, shipped plastic-free! Photo by Marie Cullis.

In general, I have trouble getting our clothes clean with laundry powder in our washing machine. I’m not sure if this is because I wash everything in cold water, or if we have hard water, or just an old washing machine. So when I do wash something in warm or hot water, I use Meliora laundry powder. I also use this laundry powder for all of my handwashing. I ordered the refillable containers on my first order, and the refills arrive in a recyclable brown paper bag. These products do not contain toxic ingredients or fragrances, and the company lists all of their ingredients on the packaging and its website. I recommend this brand (I do not get paid to write that nor am I an affiliate of the company).

Protecting Your Health & the Environment

While this may all seem overcomplicated, it doesn’t have to be. Just do your best. Steering clear of toxic ingredients and avoiding plastic are the goals. Avoid using chlorine bleach and “brighteners” as these are strong chemicals that are toxic to humans and the environment. Find a solution that works for you and stick with that. Sometimes it takes a while.

Please also read my article on how to make your clothes last longer with good laundry habits!

Feel free to comment on what works for you! I’d love for you to share. Thank you for reading, and please share and subscribe!

 

Footnotes: