Make your bathroom eco-friendly

Reduce
• BULK IT UP
One way to reduce the amount of waste coming out of your bathroom is to buy in bulk whenever possible. If you're loyal to a certain brand of shampoo and conditioner, buy a larger bottle, therefore reducing your use of packaging. If you don't have room in your shower for a large bottle of shampoo, keep an old small container and refill it as needed.

Reuse
With a little creative thinking you can find uses for some of your old bathroom products. Here are some ideas:

• Use an old toothbrush to scrub the grit out of those hard to reach places or from between your bathroom tiles.

• Use reusable rather than disposable cleaning cloths. They can be tossed in the washing machine when dirty, reducing waste. A good choice is Method microfibre cloths. Four types are available -- windows and glass, granite, wood and stainless steel -- and they even "improve with usage"!

• Invest in a reusable razor. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that over 2 billion disposable razors end up in landfills every year in the United States alone.

• Transfer your old hairbrush to your camping gear bag or give it to your kids to use when playing dress-up. You can also use it as a heavy-duty scrub brush to scrub out garbage and recycling bins, or even muddy shoes.

• Refill smaller plastic bottles with hand cream for your purse or use them as travel size shampoo bottles. Wash them out thoroughly and put some Tylenol or Advil in them for those times you get a headache when you're on the go.

• An old shower curtain can be used to cover your table while your kids are testing their artistic skills. Or, use it to line the trunk of your car when transporting dirty materials, such as plants for the garden.

• Toilet paper rolls and facial tissue boxes can be used for arts and crafts or as building blocks for your kids. If you can't use them, ask some local schools or day camps if they can.

• Spray and pump bottles can be thoroughly washed out and filled with a homemade window and glass cleaner of 1/4 cup of vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon of liquid soap and 2 cups of water.

Recycle
Many of the things you use in the washroom can be recycled. If in doubt, check with your municipality or recycling centre.

• Once you are finished with shampoo, conditioner and your body wash, rinse out the containers and put them in the recycling bin.
• Make sure to recycle all empty toilet paper rolls and tissue boxes.
• Spray and pump bottles can be rinsed out and recycled.
• Recycle your empty toothpaste tubes.

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