There have been many reports of disposable face masks washing up on beaches around the world. With the heightened concern over hygiene and the transmission of COVID-19, the world has seen a spike in plastic usage. From grocery stores to take-out, there’s just a lot more plastic these days. But there are some easy ways to help reduce your usage during the pandemic.

1. Use a Reusable Face Mask

In many places around the world, a face mask is now mandatory when entering businesses. If you used a disposable face mask every time you left your house, that waste would add up really fast. If you have a piece of cloth…a cloth napkin, scarf, or bandana and hair ties or rubber bands, you can make a face mask following the steps of this video.

Otherwise, you can purchase cloth masks online. Whatever face masks you buy, make sure it’s a natural material like cotton, hemp, or bamboo so it doesn’t shed plastic microfibers. Materials like polyester and nylon are synthetic (i.e. plastic) and shed tiny plastic microfibers when washed.

2. Skip the Gloves

Being a medical device engineer, I’ve spent a lot of time in a clean room. A clean room is just what it sounds, a room that’s VERY clean. People need to wear a gown, a hair net, and gloves to avoid dirt, skin oils, and hair from contaminating the product. Long story short, I understand the correct way to do things with gloves on.

During my time watching people work with gloves outside of a clean room, I’ve noticed people do plenty of things with gloves on that they wouldn’t do with their own hands. Like touch dirty objects and then touch someone’s food. Gloves make people feel clean and safe and so they become relaxed and not as vigilant. So, given the transmission from surfaces is very low, just skip the gloves.

If you’re still not comfortable, then choose reusable. Dig out a pair of knit or leather gloves from your closet and use that instead of disposable plastic gloves.

3. Wash Hands with Bar Soap

You’ve probably been doing a lot of hand washing (and singing Happy Birthday). If you already use bar soap, awesome! If not, how many bottles of hand soap have you gone through since COVID-19 started? Switching to bar soap is an easy way to reduce the amount of plastic disposed during the pandemic.

You can even take it one step further and buy naked (package-free) bar soap. I get package-free bar soap at my local Whole Foods.

4. Make (or Bake) It Yourself

If you’re like me, your sweet tooth has grown a little during the pandemic. I’ve been indulging in chocolate, cookies, and pudding. One of the best ways to avoid extra plastic is to make or bake sweets yourself. As I mentioned in Quarantine Cooking Recipes, I’ve been making my own pudding and when I have bananas that have turned too brown to eat, I make banana bread.

I used to get fruit snacks from the bulk section but since they’ve closed down the bulk section and packaged everything in plastic, I haven’t had any fruit snacks. (I miss them so much!) To satisfy my fruity sweet tooth, I tried making candied orange peels this weekend. It’s citrus season and the peels are just going into the compost anyways, so I figured this would be a great way to use them.

And I love them! They’re a great replacement for my beloved fruit snacks until the bulk section opens up again. I followed this recipe here, but instead of 3 cups of sugar and 3 cups of water, I only used 1 cup and 1 cup. (Trying to save sugar!)

5. Choose Plastic-Free Takeout

Although I’ve been making the majority of our meals at home, I still need a break from my own cooking now and then. Unfortunately, takeout meals can come in A LOT of plastic. Plastic clamshells, plastic utensils, plastic sauce packets all in a plastic bag. Ugh.

One easy way to avoid this are to order items that come in paper or cardboard like pizza or sandwiches. We’ve been ordering New York style pizza from a local shop down the street and the kids love it!

Another tip is to let the restaurant know you don’t want utensils and extra sauce packets. For more takeout tips, read 5 Tips for Plastic-Free Takeout During COVID-19.

What do you think? Can you adopt some of these practices? What are some of the ways you’re reducing plastic waste during the pandemic? Tell me in the comments!

For related and random posts, check out:

• Plastic-Free Meal Plan
• What Plastic-Free Living and Being a Contestant on the Bachelor Have in Common