If you’re hoping to achieve a zero waste bathroom, I applaud you. The bathroom is one of the most wasteful rooms of the house! There’s so many products we use in the bathroom on a daily basis – from lotion, to q-tips, to hair spray. The worst yet is most of it is disposable or plastic (which has a low recycle rate). We need to do all we can to reduce the waste in our lives, and I get that can be hard. So trust me, I’m not about to start plastic shaming. But whatever swaps you can make, please do! Doing the best you can is enough – let no one tell you otherwise. Also, please be mindful sometimes the best thing to do is just stop purchasing so much and thinking like a minimalist. Here are my top 5 picks for a zero waste bathroom.
This post contains affiliate links. This means if you choose to purchase one of these items I will make a very small commission at no extra charge to you. Please see my disclosure policy for more information.
My Top 5 Picks For a Zero Waste Bathroom
How can I be zero waste in the bathroom?
You can achieve zero waste in the bathroom by analyzing what plastic is lurking inside it. This room tends to produce a lot of waste, between water waste (aka long showers), to shampoo bottles, to plastic loofahs. Getting sustainable alternatives that you can easily refill, compost, or recycle is the goal.
How do you stop plastic in the bathroom?
First, you use up what you have. It’s counterproductive to just toss something because it’s plastic – use it up, recycle or upcycle it, then find a more sustainable alternative. It doesn’t have to be overnight, so be kind to yourself. Make a goal to make at least one swap a month, or however many swaps fit your budget.
Also, before you buy anything else for the bathroom always stop to ask yourself “do I really need this item?” If you can’t picture yourself using it more than once, maybe you shouldn’t get it. Also, if it’s not essential, just a luxury, you may want to reconsider as well. For example, please don’t buy 12 cans of Febreeze when you can just make your own zero waste air freshener at home!
Here are some zero waste bathroom DIYs:
My go-to eco friendly bathroom swaps
These swaps are my all time favorites because not only are each of these products made sustainably, they’re also high quality and always deliver. Most of these I own myself, whereas one of them I’m eyeing and want to try out soon. So none of these are anything I wouldn’t use myself.
All of these items are made from sustainably sourced ingredients and materials, plus they’re shipped plastic-free. None of them are from Amazon but zero waste online shops I love and support whole heartedly.
1. Shampoo and conditioner bars
FYI, in the United States alone, 550 million empty shampoo bottles are thrown away each year. With only 9% of plastic being recycled, there’s not a very good chance these shampoo bottles get recycled either.
For this reason, I cannot recommend switching to shampoo and conditioner bars enough.
EcoRoots sells the best zero waste shampoo bars and no one can convince me otherwise. I have tried so many different shampoo bars – ones from Lush and Package Free shop – and none compare to these. I did a whole review on their shampoo and conditioner bars, that’s how much I adore them.
These bars help eliminate the need for plastic shampoo and conditioner bottles, and they’re so much fun to use. EcoRoots sells several different scents – I’ve tried a few of them out and liked them all, but I really want to try their lavender bar next.
2. Safety razor
The Environmental Protection Agency once estimated that 2 billion razors and refill blades get tossed out in the U.S. each year. How is that acceptable?
Instead of contributing to this statistic, I decided to invest in a reusable safety razor and I don’t regret it. In fact, I’ve gotten the smoothest shave from it – all without any huge effort.
There is a little bit of a learning curve to using safety razors. I thought I’d cut myself more, but honestly, I cut myself less than when I used conventional blades. You just need to use a very light hand when handling safety razors – they are sharp, so less is truly more. That just means less work for you!
I really love EcoRoot’s safety razor. It comes with a few blades already, but you can always purchase some extras. The rose gold color is so dang pretty and it always gives me the best shave. There’s even shaving soap that goes with it, if that intrigues you.
If it’s easier, there’s a really cool shaving kit for women that has all these essentials in it already. Very handy if you’re new to all this!
3. Organic cotton rounds
If you wear makeup and cleanse your face at night, you’re probably familiar with disposable wipes and cotton rounds. Problem with these is they’re not sustainably source – and while cotton is compostable, wipes sure aren’t.
I’ve since switched over to reusable organic cotton rounds and feel so much happier I did. It’s such a money saver and the only thing I have to do is remember to wash them – I usually wait until I’ve used the last one before I do so tho. I hand wash them in the bathroom sink with some castile soap – so easy.
At the end of their life, you can simply compost these. They’re made from organic cotton and bamboo fabrics. You can use them from cleansing your face, to applying toner too – anything you need.
4. Bamboo toothbrush
Did you know over 4.7 million toothbrushes that will never biodegrade are dumped in our landfills and oceans every year? Um, yeah, not cool.
I’ve switched over to a bamboo toothbrush and I’m never going back. Depending on the brand, you can only compost the handle – that means you have to snap off the head at the end of its life and dispose of that.
If you use Brush With Bamboo, like I do, you’ll be happy to know they use 100% castor bean oil bristles that are USDA certified biobased. It’s the first fully vegan option out there that’s also fully plant based!
Pair it with some zero waste toothpaste and mouthwash, then you’re ready to go!
5. Vegan soap bars
Each year, over 1 billion plastic bottles of body wash are emptied and enter the garbage and recycling.
It’s better off avoiding body wash bottles altogether, because there’s no guarantee they’ll actually get recycled. Try using a vegan soap bar instead – that’s what I do. EcoRoots sells some pretty incredible smelling ones that comes in minimal packaging too – it comes in a linen fabric bag that can be composted.
There’s no preservatives or artificial dyes in this bar. Also it’s paraben-free, plastic-free & palm-oil free.
Not sure what to put the bar of soap on? Try out this cute bamboo soap holder. It says it’s for dish soap but honestly, it works great for shampoo and conditioner bars too!
What are your favorite zero waste bathroom picks? Let me know in the comments!
For more info, be sure to check out my fav bathroom swaps – they’re more than just 5 here.
Enjoyed this post? Be sure to share it! If you like my content, sign up for my newsletter to get notified every time I write a new blog post. To support me even further, please consider buying me a cup of tea to help support my blog.
