The decision to cut down on plastic waste is possible even when you're living in student apartments in Tampa near the University of South Florida. In such a bustling city with stores catered to a large student population, it's reasonable to assume that plastic usage is inevitable no matter where you go. Although plastic might be used in almost everything you purchase, small businesses and larger corporations are getting better at using eco-friendly and recyclable packaging in recent years.
The only real way to considerably reduce plastic usage in your apartment near USF is to purchase more paper products and products that are made from recyclable materials that won't hurt the environment. If more people make more eco-friendly purchases, global warming and climate change outcomes could improve for the better over time.
Invest in Paper and Other Packaging Alternatives
With more alarming environmental reports encouraging people to take ethical responsibility for their plastic usage, packaging alternatives have become more common in both in-person and online marketplaces. For example, instead of plastic, some companies are using paper, biodegradable materials, and seaweed materials as packaging. Not only are these more natural, but they also help the environment and can enrich the soil when discarded and recycled near USF apartments instead of becoming landfill.
With an increase in demand for paper and other similar packaging biomaterials, it will become more accessible and less expensive to buy in the future. Even more of a reason to start using these alternatives as soon as possible.
Find A Recycling Center Near Your USF Apartment
Not everything you purchase can be made with environmentally ethical materials. Instead, making ethical choices like recycling plastic instead of just throwing it away can make a huge impact in helping the environment. To do this, finding a recycling center close to apartments near USF can be a great start.
If your specific USF apartment doesn't have recycling services or you aren't near the University of South Florida main campus that has a multitude of recycling bins, collecting plastic items, and taking them to a place made to process plastic goods and materials can help make recycling a lot less difficult.
Seek Out Businesses and Corporations That Are More Eco-Friendly
There are a lot of great products for sale in large stores and small businesses that are eco-friendly, made from sustainable materials, and help reduce plastic waste in the environment. For example, when you use a washer or dryer to clean your clothes, you might be inclined to use plastic bottles of detergent as a cleaner. Instead, companies have come out with pods that are easier to use and the packaging disintegrates in the water.
If you have a private bathroom in your USF apartment and use a lot of bathroom cleaning products, there are also paper and biodegradable packaging options available for soaps and chemicals you use with sinks and toilets as well. This applies to most products and if you do ample research, you might find that almost everything you use daily has an eco-friendly alternative.