CONTENT: COHEN, GAILLARD, 'ZERO WASTE FACE' PHIL LIPOF (ABC NEWS) (Off-camera) Yeah, there you go. all right, doctor thanks. Turning now to a growing concern these days. Plastic waste. In many parts of our lives we've made choices to reduce it, using refillable water bottles, switching to paper straws. But, there are still some items that don't, you don't always think about, products flying under, we'll call it, the recycling radar. ABC News Chief Meteorologist, Ginger Zee, joins us now with more on all of that. Ginger, how are you? GRAPHICS: SINCE 1960 THE WASTE IN PLASTIC HAS RAPIDLY INCREASED, THE US IS NUMBER 1 IN PLASTIC WASTE GRAPHICS: MORE THAN 92 BILLION LB. THROWN OUT IN 2016, 2 TIMES CHINA'S NUMBERS, UP TO 80% OF IT WAS SINGLE USE GINGER ZEE (ABC NEWS) (Off-camera) I'm well, thank you. And you know me. My laundry detergent is plastic free. I haven't used a plastic bag or even a paper one at the grocery store in a decade. But, you go in my bathroom or my makeup bag, a lot of it is plastic. Turns out though, it is not as difficult as we think to get closer to what I call a "Zero waste face." Our world is inundated with plastic. Especially in the bathroom. Plastic. Plastic. Plastic. Plastic. Plastic. Since 1960, the use and most importantly the waste in plastic has rapidly increased and well, yeah, it's a global problem, the United States is number one in plastic waste. We threw out more than 92 billion pounds of plastic in 2016 alone, that's almost two-times China's number and up to 80% of it was single use. JULIA COHEN (CO-FOUNDER PLASTIC POLLUTION COALITION) Ninety-nine percent of plastic comes from fossil fuels and I don't think when most people when they're buying a beauty product even think about the packaging. But, a majority of personal care products come in plastic going into the oceans, going into our environment. It's a crisis. GINGER ZEE (ABC NEWS) (Off-camera) And anything smaller than a credit card really has a tough time being recycled. All of the caps, the pumps, the tubes, they clog up recycle machines, or a lot of it just isn't recycled in the first place. JULIA COHEN (CO-FOUNDER PLASTIC POLLUTION COALITION) Putting things in the bin makes us feel better, but less than 9 percent of plastic is recycled. we're not going to recycle our way out of this problem. GRAPHICS: 600 TONS SINCE 2001 GINGER ZEE (ABC NEWS) (Voiceover) And sure, there are options for plastic that doesn't recycle easily like the company TerraCycle. They've process more than 600 tons of beauty produce waste alone since they started in 2001. But companies like TerraCycle are not as accessible as curbside recycling and it doesn't eliminate the demand for new packaging. GINGER ZEE (ABC NEWS) (Off-camera) So, it really is about reducing the amount of plastic we think we need. So, I'm taking my makeup case right here to The Detox Market so that they can help me out and reduce my waste. ROMAIN GAILLARD (FOUNDER THE DETOX MARKET) We started The Detox Market like ten years ago and the idea was that beauty needed to be cleaner and more sustainable. Ten years later, we have a lot of choices. What I have seen changing is first multiplication of the number of companies that also use focus from consumers. GINGER ZEE (ABC NEWS) (Voiceover) Time for a challenge. The expert of The Detox Market finding ways to slash waste from my makeup routine. GINGER ZEE (ABC NEWS) (Off-camera) Traci, please, tell me you have swaps. TRACI BAKER (GENERAL MANAGER THE DETOX MARKET) I definitely have swaps for you. GINGER ZEE (ABC NEWS) (Off-camera) Moisturizer. TRACI BAKER (GENERAL MANAGER THE DETOX MARKET) Glass and refillable. GINGER ZEE (ABC NEWS) (Off-camera) Okay, eye shadow. TRACI BAKER (GENERAL MANAGER THE DETOX MARKET) This is 100 percent recyclable. This is made out of paper and you just pop the pan out and recycle it when you are done. GINGER ZEE (ABC NEWS) (Off-camera) Lip balms. TRACI BAKER (GENERAL MANAGER THE DETOX MARKET) So, I have this super chic refillable case that you can put your lip balm in. GINGER ZEE (ABC NEWS) (Off-camera) You do that for lipstick? TRACI BAKER (GENERAL MANAGER THE DETOX MARKET) Yeah, even better, you just take the lipstick and pop it in here. GINGER ZEE (ABC NEWS) (Off-camera) There are swaps for hair too, shampoo and conditioner come in bars. And there are some brands that sell refills. And I know what you're thinking when you see all of this cha-ching. TRACI BAKER (GENERAL MANAGER THE DETOX MARKET) The initially cost is going to be a little more, because you are purchasing the cases, but after that it's going to be a lot less money. GINGER ZEE (ABC NEWS) (Voiceover) Going completely zero waste seems intimidating, I'm sure, but think of it as progress not perfection. ROMAIN GAILLARD (FOUNDER THE DETOX MARKET) It's not about being 100 percent perfect, no one is perfect. I'm not perfect. The Detox Market is not perfect. But, you can slowly make those changes and when you run out of a product, say, "Okay, maybe there's a sustainable version of this," and there is. PHIL LIPOF (ABC NEWS) (Off-camera) Yeah, and you shoot for the prefect, I think that's the deal. But, Ginger, it's pretty clear by that our recycling system is flawed. So, please boil it down for us. What's the big takeaway? What can we do to avoid throwing products that ultimately can be recycled? GINGER ZEE (ABC NEWS) (Off-camera) So, "What You Need to Know" is that we vote with our dollar. When you buy something wrapped in plastic, you are supporting fossil fuels and I think that gets missed in a lot of it. So, the plastic waste is horrible. But, remember what you are supporting and then, there's some really easy swaps. And they don't really mean you have to suffer convenience and sometimes they're even cheaper. GRAPHICS: SIMPLE SUSTAINABLE SWAPS GRAPHICS: SWITCH FROM LIQUID TO BAR SOAP GRAPHICS: SEEK OUT RECYCLABLE OR REFILLABLE PACKAGING GRAPHICS: SKIP THE MAKEUP WIPES GINGER ZEE (ABC NEWS) (Off-camera) So, here are a couple of ideas for you. You can switch from liquid soap and shampoo even and conditioner to bars and they work, like the formulas work really well. That almost has no packaging. Secondly, look for recyclable, refillable packaging and then if it has to be a package, Doctor Jen you were asking this, glass is better? Absolutely, glass recycles so easy. Aluminum recycles, so think about that and paper of course. And then finally, my favorite, skip the wipes. Why do we use these plastic wipes. It's like getting rid of cigarettes, like you buy a pack a month $5 to $10. That money goes back in your pocket. PHIL LIPOF (ABC NEWS) (Off-camera) Yeah. GINGER ZEE (ABC NEWS) (Off-camera) You use the reusable round rounds or a washcloth. DOCTOR JENNIFER ASHTON (ABC NEWS) (Off-camera) What? GINGER ZEE (ABC NEWS) (Off-camera) I know. But, but, these are the things we have gotten into the habit of doing. DOCTOR JENNIFER ASHTON (ABC NEWS) (Off-camera) Yeah. PHIL LIPOF (ABC NEWS) (Off-camera) Yeah. GINGER ZEE (ABC NEWS) (Off-camera) And it's just a little reset of the brain, you know, we're not going back to Laura Ingalls Wilder, necessarily. But, some of that stuff worked for a reason DOCTOR JENNIFER ASHTON (ABC NEWS) (Off-camera) This is amazing. Bar soap for me. GINGER ZEE (ABC NEWS) (Off-camera) You got it. Bar shampoo. Let's go. PHIL LIPOF (ABC NEWS) (Off-camera) And, and really start, start in one place and then venture out. GINGER ZEE (ABC NEWS) (Off-camera) Yeah. It's fun and, and wait until you see what you can make as an impact just in your life. Think of how many mascara tubes you have used, I mean, that of that alone.