{"id":5449,"date":"2024-03-18T11:03:40","date_gmt":"2024-03-18T15:03:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pirg.org\/georgia\/articles\/want-a-simple-way-to-use-less-plastic-at-home-ditch-the-detergent-bottle\/"},"modified":"2024-03-18T11:03:40","modified_gmt":"2024-03-18T15:03:40","slug":"want-a-simple-way-to-use-less-plastic-at-home-ditch-the-detergent-bottle","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/pirg.org\/georgia\/articles\/want-a-simple-way-to-use-less-plastic-at-home-ditch-the-detergent-bottle\/","title":{"rendered":"Want a simple way to use less plastic at home? Ditch the detergent bottle"},"featured_media":51821,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":false,"_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-title":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-description":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-title":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-description":""},"campaign_tax":[170],"display_option":[],"issue_tax":[],"person_tax":[],"region_tax":[],"state":[2],"topic_tax":[145,156],"class_list":["post-5449","article","type-article","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":{"details":{"helper_taxonomies":{"topics":[145,156],"collection":false,"press_type":false,"person_type":false,"resource_type":false,"event_type":false,"campaigns":170,"department":false,"level":false,"states":[2],"act_option":false,"display_option":false,"primary":{"topic":145}},"featured_image":51821,"caption_override":"","excerpt":"If you\u2019re looking to reduce plastic waste in your life, ditching plastic laundry detergent bottles is a great place to start.","updated_on":null,"sidebar_action":[5183],"hide_hero_image":false,"sidebar_action_query_string":""},"helper_people_group":{"title":"Authors","entities":null},"page_layout":[{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_wysiwyg":{"content":"The time has come: Laundry day is upon you. You may have neglected that growing pile of clothes yesterday, but the t-shirt and socks you\u2019re wearing today have been worn one too many times. So you sling that overflowing laundry bag up-and-over your shoulder, grab a heavy plastic laundry detergent jug and get to work.<\/span>\r\n\r\nOnce that bottle is empty, the stains may be gone, but that plastic waste will be around for centuries.<\/span>\r\n\r\nWe\u2019re facing a plastic waste crisis, and we must find ways of reducing the amount of plastic we dump into our environment.<\/span>\r\n\r\nThankfully, there\u2019s an easy place to start: Ditch your plastic detergent bottles.<\/span>\r\n

Liquid laundry detergent generates a lot of plastic waste<\/h3>\r\nLaundry detergent is a necessity in any household, but it doesn\u2019t need to come in plastic bottles. Much of the plastic packaging \u2014 from a reinforced handle and spout to those flimsy plastic measuring cups \u2014 is only necessary because the jug has to be strong enough to hold over a gallon of liquid. Inside that bottle, <\/span>as much as 90%<\/span><\/a> of the liquid detergent is water.<\/span>\r\n\r\nRemove the water and you\u2019ll remove the need for heavy laundry detergent bottles to be sold in bottles in the first place.<\/span>\r\n\r\nThe \u201chow\u201d is glaringly obvious: Your washing machine adds all of the water you need.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nNot only will you reduce plastic waste, you\u2019ll also lighten the <\/span>heavy carbon footprint<\/span><\/a> that\u2019s required to transport all of that liquid and you\u2019ll reduce the fossil fuel-intensive production process of all the plastic that\u2019s used to create the bottle itself.<\/span>\r\n

Shop for reduced-waste and plastic-free laundry detergent<\/h3>\r\nChanging a routine isn\u2019t always the easiest thing to do, but making the shift from liquid detergent jugs to concentrated, liquid-free detergent is a walk in the park.<\/span>\r\n\r\nA growing number of companies today offer liquid-free detergents. Rather than selling bulky plastic jugs, companies like <\/span>Good Juju<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>Eco Roots<\/span><\/a> are selling detergent strips, powders and sheets \u2014 none of which require plastic bottles or any water.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nDetergent sheets also offer a pre-measured, mess-free design that makes your laundry routine easier than ever. Better yet, each box of strips or powder prevents plastic jugs from entering the landfill.<\/span>\r\n

Avoid purchasing laundry detergent pods<\/h3>\r\nLaundry detergent pods may seem like a good alternative to traditional liquid detergent, but we disagree. Here\u2019s why:<\/span>\r\n