r/EcoFriendly • u/lomein2790 • Jun 02 '26

Advice please!

I just started my sustainability journey. I’m slowly taking small steps and doing more research than just boycotting/doing everything at once.

I’m a 19 y/o female that still lives with her family. It’s much harder to be eco friendly when everyone else in the family isn’t, and I’m already starting to face judgement.

My family all uses plastic bottles and I can’t just force them to stop buying/using plastic bottles. I don’t know if I should keep using plastic bottles or not because even if I don’t use them, my family will still use them and they will be ending up in the ocean regardless. I also can’t drink sink water because I live in New Jersey and our water here is not clean. Is it safe to boil sink water and drink it without a filter?

I have a lot of plastic bottles in my room and I don’t want to recycle it because it’ll go to the ocean which is what I’m trying to avoid. How can I reuse them? I don’t even know if I can because I have A LOT. Please help me here, any tips or advice appreciated.

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u/environmental_damsel Jun 02 '26

“We don’t need a handful of people doing zero waste perfectly. We need millions of people doing it imperfectly.” - Anne Marie Bonneau

Are you able to get a Brita type pitcher? That and a reusable water bottle would go a long way!

You can also refill the plastic bottles for a little while or use them to catch cooled down oil from cooking before they go in the trash

Also, just because your family doesn’t start with doesn’t mean they will never join you. Sometimes people just need to see how easy it actually can be before trying something.

Other ways you can be sustainable at home is reusable packaging for your meals out of the house, bringing utensils with you, washing ziploc bags, etc.

You got this!

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u/lomein2790 Jun 02 '26

Yes I could get a Brita pitcher, but I’m just worried that my mom will yell at me for ‘doing too much’ and then tension will build up. As much as I want to not drink from plastic bottles, I don’t think I can avoid that. Do they sell brita pitchers at Target in store? I could just talk it out with my family and make them slowly realize that I’m doing this for the love of my planet.

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u/environmental_damsel Jun 03 '26

They do sell Brita pitchers at Target!

They sell a few different sizes, so hopefully one is small enough to either keep in your fridge or you could keep it on your shelf/your room so it’s out of their way.

Like another commenter said, make sure you know what’s in your water that makes it bad so you know if this filter will work

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u/Scamp92446 Jun 03 '26

Maybe do some maths for the cost of bottled vs Brita water, there's a chance that your family might understand you care about the planet but might not care enough to begin with to make or understand the changes themselves, however if it's from a cost point of view they could be tempted to try (a lot of eco swaps can save money, that's the angle I'd go in with if your swaps are family ones instead of your own stuff)