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Soooo I've wondered off and on about this for a while, and it was brought to mind again with a recent purchase.

 

How much environmental waste do we cause/contribute to, and what can we do to be responsible?

 

Some things just can't be helped, I know that, but I do try to be as responsible as possible. I recently purchased a bulk package of wet wipes for use with the toilet (biodegradable, unscented, etc.) and was somewhat surprised by the terrible, wasteful packaging. The plastic envelope (for lack of a better term) is much too large for the contents, the opening is hard plastic with a snap lid (not necessary) and there is a hole at the top with a suction cup included, presumably for hanging handily near the toilet -- completely NOT needed!  Cripes.

 

I know we can't really help so much with the medical supplies, but are there some things, even little things, people have found which help cut our footprint even a little? My heart sinks just a little every time I purchase another package of pads.... But with the fistula, nothing else works.

 

Just wondering.

 

Gin

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I've had the habit of picking up some of the individual wipes that we, women, use when providing a urine sample. (My husband didn't know why we needed to use them, lol.) They are in a small packet around the size of a condom.  I carry a few of them when leaving home. I just ordered 100 of them from Amazon.com for $5.  I would think guys would like to carry them too, as they can carry them unnoticed in their pockets

 

For at home use I buy refills for hard cases and have been using environmentally ones called "Natty" brand that are made by Nature Babycare. They claim to be ECO sensitive wipes that are fragrance free, chlorine free and biodegradable with ECO packaging based on natural material.  I think I got them at Walgreens and since they do not say they are flushable I don't flush them. I recycle things like the plastic containers that some brands come in.

 

My husband doesn't want us to use the kitchen sink garbage disposal so we use a garbage composter for all the food waste, like banana peels and apple cores, that isn't meat related and he uses it in the garden.  I remember when people reused their aluminum foil.  I think that was because they lived through World War II and rationing etc.

 

The biggest issue I had was using disposable diapers when my kids were born.  Our first born was a red headed girl and her skin was super sensitive.  I couldn't use the regular ones, even with liners, so I did my share of polluting the environment. By the time her brother came along I didn't even try regular diapers.  Nowadays I think 99% of baby diapers are disposable.  I made that percentage up as I didn't do a proper survey

 

 

 

 

TE Marie

I know what you mean. I've always been environmentally conscious, so I was particularly appalled when I had my ostomy, as to the amount of waste I was personally responsible for. Even now with my pouch, I am aware that I probably use 3-4x as much toilet paper as the average individual. I try to be  as environmentally responsible as I possibly can be, by purchasing environmentally friendlier brands of toilet paper, and limiting my TP use to as little as possible for me (I do admit to "finishing off my BMs" in the shower in the mornings - I know many of us do this! It limits TP as well as reducing irritation on my bottom). I fortunately live in an area where their we are part of a pilot project for composting most organic items including pantyliners (I use long liners daily for negligible leakage), so that does offset some of this, I know.  But I also know that there is only so much we can do as far as our bathroom habits go, so I try to offset this by making other positive choices anywhere else I can: recycling (ALWAYS! I even take things home from work that our office building doesn't recycle), choosing products with less packaging or at the very least products with packing that can be recycled, using cleaning products with less harsh chemicals, reusing when possible (I do reuse aluminum foil and freezer bags whenever possible), buying local produce, etc. The good thing is that none of these things are major lifestyle changes nor do they even require significant effort. Sadly, not enough people take these things into consideration. I can't believe how often I see tin cans in the garbage at work, or paper in the waste rather than the shredder for recycling. *sigh*

 

Spooky
Last edited by Spooky

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