Image: Public Domain, Pixabay

Now that I’m switching so many of my products from commercial ones to natural ones, I’m facing an interesting predicament. What do I do with all the partially-used products that I don’t want anymore? We’re holding on to a few things until we’re sure that we like the natural versions, but there is an ever-growing collection of things in our bathroom cabinet that we have no use for anymore. I don’t like the idea of just throwing it all out, but I’m not sure that there’s a better option.

I was talking to my neighbor who has a wife and several kids about my transition, and they might be willing to take some of the products. As a guy, J’s not picky about what he uses, the females he’s not so sure about. They’re not wealthy, so it might save them money. I feel a bit bad about it though. Here I am making all these natural choices and maybe giving all the chemical-laden stuff to someone else to use. I suppose I shouldn’t feel so bad though. They know about my natural switches and why I’m getting rid of things and they’ve shown no interest in switching too. If they still want to use the commercial products, it is their choice to make. It doesn’t set quite right though. It’s like deciding that smoking’s bad for you and then giving all your cigarettes to someone else.

I suppose I could throw it all away, but then I feel bad about all those chemicals going to the landfill or down the sink and polluting the water supply. I know that our waste water is treated and all, but it’s still not an optimal solution. Even the fact that I can recycle several of the containers if they’re empty doesn’t really make me feel much better. I never really thought about any of this stuff when I was actively using the commercial products, but now that I’m going more natural, it’s right there in the front of my mind.

Despite the disposal problem, there are some things that make me feel good. First and foremost is the fact that I won’t be absorbing all those horrible chemicals into my body anymore, or exposing myself, my family and my pets to them. I’ll also be putting fewer toxins into the environment from what washed down the drain, gets in the air or is left inside the containers. I’ll be adding less to the landfills because I’ll be reusing lots of containers and recycling the packaging my ingredients come in. Since most of my ingredients can be bought in bulk, that’s also less packaging waste. I’m also setting a good example for my readers and for others by switching to more natural products and telling people about it.

I have read that shampoo can be used up as sink/shower cleanser, but it seems the standard low-eco-damage choice is to dump products down the toilet where they will get treated and then recycle the containers. That doesn’t help with hair spray, deodorant or air freshener though. Hopefully I can come up with a disposal solution that doesn’t make me lose too much sleep. I don’t want to ignore the problem, but I do take some consolation in knowing that it won’t be something I’ll have to face too often in the future. We don’t use a whole lot of products and we’ve already switched many of them. There isn’t much left that we’ll have to worry about replacing and getting rid of.

Briana Blair

Briana Blair is an author and artisan. She has published more then 30 books and thousands of articles across multiple sites. After practicing Paganism and witchcraft for 25 years, she's now on a journey as an atheist and skeptic. She's eclectic, unpredictable, and always evolving. Facebook - Twitter