Disposable Cameras

Yes camera’s can be complicated and expensive, but not so much as to warrant using a disposable piece of junk that doesn’t even take good pictures. A point and shoot digital camera can be had for under one hundred bucks these days, and used 35mm film cameras are so hard to sell that many people are giving them away. So you really have no excuse for using a disposable, other than wanting to waste resources and pollute more.

Swiffer

These one use cleaning products ranging from dusters to mops really have become popular with the lazy among us. While they do make cleaning a quick and fairly easy task, they do not clean better than a little elbow grease can do with a wet rag, or an old fashioned mop. Both of which not only cost 10x less, but last for hundreds, if not thousands of uses before having to be replaced.

Disposable Phones

Unless your a drug dealer or terrorist, you have no business throwing your money away and polluting the earth with  disposable cell phones. With all the plastics and toxins used in creating these, they are one of the worst items imaginable for a disposable product.

Non Rechargeable Batteries

This isn’t the 1990′s people, rechargeable batteries have come a really long way the last ten years. For as little as five dollars you can get four packs of high quality double or triple A batteries that will last for hundreds of charges. Which not only makes them better for the environment, but also means massive savings.

Plastic Wrap

That’s right, the magic plastic everyone has come to depend on is also horrible for the environment. It may make life easier, but there are other ways to preserve those leftovers, cover a pie, or secure a freshmen to a flagpole. For food uses, many companies now make alternatives that have elastic edges that can secure a plate or dish and are reusable.

Nonrefillable Pens

This is a product that makes no sense to not buy refillable versions of. The cheap reusable pens are the same price and the same quality as the throwaway ones. And it takes so little effort to change the ink cartridge that even a child could do it. So quit buying bulk packs of disposable pens, and instead buy one pen, and a pack of cartridges.

Styrofoam

We all know how bad this stuff is, we have all heard how long it takes to biodegrade, and yet we keep on using it. Even though there are environmentally friendly, toxin free and recyclable alternatives for food and packaging uses. Sadly, until more cities and states start banning it’s use, you will be hard pressed to avoid this one entirely.

Bottled Water

This multi billion dollar scam of a product has become so popular that we now extract, bottle and ship water thousands of miles just to be able to claim the water you are drinking came from a ‘pure’ source. Most of the companies selling bottled water don’t even source it from an aquifer, but instead get it from a municipal tap. The same tap you use for next to no cost on a daily basis. So just save yourself and the environment a lot of cost, and buy a water purifier, hook it up to your faucet, and enjoy the same quality and taste that the giant corporations tell you can only be had by their overpriced H2o.

Disposable  Audio Books

How anyone would ever consider buying a disposable audio book that costs anywhere from $20 to $50 dollars is beyond me. Nevertheless, they are being sold, and are without a doubt one of the most environmentally unfriendly products ever created.

Shopping Bags

This really has become a hot button issue lately with many cities having banned them, and hundreds more in disucssion about if they should. Proponents of plastic bags argue that they are a nesseciety, and that banning them will only hurt the poor. But the truth of the matter is that all it takes to no longer need them is keeping canvas bags around in your car, backpack or purse when you go shopping. They cost as little as one dollar each, and will last for years. So there really is no reason why anyone shouldnt make the switch today.

By Mark Johnson