Plastic Is So Last Season

Hopefully there are some Eco-conscious college students out there like me. Recently, I've been feeling convicted because of all the plastic I have been using. I said I would never buy plastic water bottles, but in college it's so hard not to. I am even using paper bowls and plastic utensils. I NEED to make a life style change! I have been recycling when I use these items, but I feel like not buying them will same money and the earth. I have been researching ways to fix these bad habits and I would like to share my discoveries.

10 Ways for College Students To Use Less Plastic

1. Use stainless steel water bottles and stop buying plastic water bottles. Also if you already have several water bottles lying around just fill them up with water again and stick them back in your fridge! No one can tell they are reused, use them again once or twice, then RECYCLE! Then you can cleanly make the switch to stainless steel.
2. This next point actually covers many. Buy dishes! ...not plastic ones...It may cost money at first but it will save you money in the long run. This includes plates, bowels, cups, and utensils.
3. Buy glass jars and use them as Tupperware. You can store candy, rice, beans, grains, sauces. You can also drink out of them. Heating plastic causes it to release harmful BPA that contaminated your food with chemicals. You can save salsa glasses, pickle jars, spaghetti sauce jars, and mason jars are easy to find at thrift stores.
4. Use reusable shopping bags. Plastic shopping bags are incredibly wasteful and totally unnecessary. The solution? Bring your own bags with you, especially to the grocery store. Also, use old plastic bags for trash bags.
5. Quit using to go coffee cups. I'm a college students, I know how important coffee is, but see if your favorite coffee place will fill your to-go mug. While the company’s plastic to-go cups are recyclable, they still require energy to be produced, energy to be broken down, and are often thrown in the trash anyway when someone can’t easily find a recycle bin. So, it is best to bring your own reusable mug wherever you go.
6. Make your own cleaning products. You might have seen some of these ideas on Pinterest. You can reuse the plastic cleaning bottles you already have, or keep the product in a jar. These include: a cleaning spray, detergent, teeth whitener. 
7. Stop using plastic straws. McDonald's alone still passes out about 60 million straws per day. They are all used one time and tossed into the trash. That huge number, combined with all of the other fountain drink serving restaurants, adds up to an immense amount of plastic waste just in the form of straws each day. 
8. Buy box soap instead of body wash. Bar soap is less expensive per wash, and it comes packaged in less plastic. 
9. Find recycling bins! If there are none make them! I made some for my dorm room with old ramen noodle boxes. (You can paint and decorate them too)
10. GO THRIFTING! It's the best kind of recycling. Plus, things aren't packaged in plastic. 

Ps- Upcycling is the new green.