Zero Waste: Reusing Packaging

My recent trip to Ioannina was much more focused on nature than the other trips I’ve taken this year, and whenever I spend a lot of time in nature I am reminded of how spectacular this planet is. We don’t appreciate the planet we live on nearly enough, and that’s how we end up with things like climate change. Spending time outdoors serves as a good reminder of the necessity to do something to protect the world we live in. There are so many small things we can all do to reduce global waste.

​On this blog, I’ve written about my efforts to cut down on plastic. Most recently, I’ve also mentioned ways to have a zero waste period. Today, I would like to talk about another aspect of zero waste that can also save us a lot of money, and that’s to reuse packaging.
It’s difficult to avoid all the packaging these days, so the least we can do is to reuse it. This helps reduce the waste that is sent to landfills and also the resources that are needed for producing more and more packaging.

As you know, I recently changed apartments. There were some things I needed to buy, but there were others that I wanted to avoid spending money on. I realized that for storing food items I could just go old school (none of this minimalism and zero waste stuff is new, we’re just going back to the basics) and reuse packaging. Instead of throwing out sauce jars, I can use them to store seeds or nuts. Instead of buying wrapping paper, I just shipped a box from a previous purchase wrapped in a paper bag.

It’s not necessary to buy food containers or wrapping paper when you already have perfectly usable options at home that you have paid for as part of a previous purchase.

Another thing that I’ve mentioned before are plastic bags. I try as much as possible to bring my own bags for grocery shopping, but whenever I forget and have to use plastic bags, I reuse them to collect the trash in the bathroom. You could even just bring them along next time you go to the supermarket if you don’t have a tote bag or anything like that.

Often, when we buy electronics or make online purchases, they will be packaged in a box. Cardboard boxes can be used for sending packages but also to grow flowers or herbs if that’s something you’re interested in doing. If you’re good at DIY, cardboard boxes are also excellent ways to store office supplies and keep your desk in order.

Other things you can reuse are plastic containers which make great lunch boxes or even margarine tubs which are excellent for freezing all the parsley you cut up fresh.
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As you can see there are several ways in which you can reuse packaging to help the environment and also save money. I’m trying to improve in this aspect of my life as I absolutely feel that we can all do our bit to reduce the waste that is sent to landfills.

Do you ever reuse packaging? Please share your tips in the comments below.