How to Reduce Waste
Content Updated October 13, 2007
First of all, trash costs you money. You pay for it when you buy products with excess packaging. You pay for it when you throw out products you could have repaired. You pay for it when the garbage hauler takes it away from the curb. Reduce your waste, and save money.
Let's not forget where to put all that trash. We stick it in landfills, but it just keeps building up, and we run out of room. We burry it, but it's still there. The land we burry it in can be used for little more than a park (and not necessarily one you want to hang out in) because it contaminates the soil and water and creates methane gas which is vented from pipes (and smells oh so lovely, like the earth just farted). We burn it, but then it just pollutes the air, and we're still stuck with ash that ends up in a landfill and pollutes our soil and water. We float it out into the ocean on barges, but it just ends up killing animals, polluting the water, killing the fish in the water or ending up in the fish we eat (so it ends up in us), and in some cases that barge just gets to float around from country to country, state to state, looking for a place to end up.
One thing I see people do when they try to get more eco-friendly is throw out all of the things in their home that aren't eco-friendly. This doesn't make any sense, people! In your attempt to be eco-friendly, you've just increased our trash pollution. You need to use what you have, then reuse it, (and reuse it again and again if you can), then recycle it. Just don't buy any un-eco-friendly products from now on.
Refuse
Do not buy these products and do not patronize any company that uses them (so if your fast food place is using Styrofoam to package it's food, don't eat there).
- Avoid buying plastic items, items with plastic parts, or items in plastic packaging whenever possible (it isn't biodegradable).
- Never buy a disposable product when a reusable product is available (such as disposable plates, cups, eating utensils, cameras, razors (but razor heads are ok), cleaning wipes, coffee filters, batteries, bottles, kitchen gadgets, paint brushes, breast pads, lighters, and so forth).
- Never buy anything made with or packaged in Styrofoam
- Avoid buying anything that can't be recycled or anything packaged in something that can't be recycled.
Reduce
- Use light bulbs with a long life.
- Use a water filter instead of buying bottled water.
- Buy loose bulk foods (the ones that come in bins) instead of packaged foods, and use your own reusable containers instead of the store's disposable bags. (Make sure you have the store digitally weigh your container before you fill them, so you don't get charged for the weight of your container in addition to the food.) If it's not available, try buying packaged bulk food (such as at a warehouse store where they sell the giant bag o' macaroni noodles and huge blocks of cheese, not the year's supply of 50 macaroni and cheese boxes). When you get home, split the bulk items into smaller containers (recyclable containers, like glass, are even better), and you won't have to try to handle a huge container of food.
- Buy quality products that last longer instead of cheaper products that will wear out quickly and cost you more over the long run.
- Get your name off of direct marketing lists to reduce the amount of junk mail you get. Call your utility companies, credit card companies, banks, and any other institution you do business with and ask them to take you off their mailing lists (or get on their email list instead) and not to sell your information to other companies. Go to http://www.dmaconsumers.org/dmasponsorship.html for more information on how to get off of mailing lists for companies you aren't affiliated with.
- Buy concentrated products (like concentrated juice, concentrated laundry detergent, and so forth), which come in smaller containers, instead of buying un-concentrated items, which come in larger containers.
- Repair or upgrade items instead of throwing them out.
- Use pencils or re-useable pens instead of disposable pens.
- Rent or borrow items instead of buying them.
- Use email or phone calls instead of sending letters, faxes, or reports when possible.
- Use the feature on your printer or copier that reduces the size of the document so you can print two pages on one side of a sheet of paper (you usually can still read it just fine).
- When printing things from the Internet (such as order confirmations), print them to PDF files by using a PDF printer driver instead of printing them out on actual paper. You can just delete them when you don't need the document anymore.
- Only buy products that have multiple uses rather than many products to do the same thing as that one item.
- Give practical gifts rather than items that will just end up as clutter, which will eventually be thrown out. Gifts of your own time or services (such as memberships, classes, and theater tickets) are even better.
Reuse
- Use reusable shopping bags instead of the paper of plastic the stores offer.
- Use cloth diapers.
- Use cloth napkins.
- Use cloth towels (such as tea towels or bar towels) instead of paper towels.
- Use rechargeable batteries.
- Leave grass clipping on the lawn instead of throwing them in the trash (they act as a natural fertilizer, but you may want to get a mulching mower to make sure they are fairly small clippings).
- Buy products made from recycled materials whenever possible (especially products like paper, which you use frequently).
- Buy products that have been refurbished (they cost less, often come with warranties, and keep the product from ending up in a landfill).
- Make a compost bin in your backyard and compost your organic vegetation (like yard clippings and potato peels) to create compost soil, which can be used to fertilize your plants and enrich your soil.
- Use various waste products to create new items (a frame made from old wood, a belt made from bottle caps, a blanket made from old clothes, a rug made from old rags, decorative stationary from junkmail).
- Never write or print on just one side of a paper. If you have paper that is used only on one side, use the other side for scratch paper, notes, or printing out pages for your household organizer notebook.
- Turn old Christmas trees into mulch or buy an artificial Christmas tree made out of recycled material.
Recycle
- Find out what recycling centers and services there are in your area and use them.
- Unless your carrier offers too haul away all of your recyclable items in one bin, use multiple trash cans (or paper bags) to sort your recyclables as you throw them out.
- Donate, donate, donate to thrift stores and charitable organizations rather than throwing out items that can be used again.
- Recycle as much as possible, including electronic items (like computers and televisions), used or unused building and decorating materials (like tile, wood, blinds, and carpet), motor oil, and cell phones. You may have to search a bit to find an organization to take these items, but it's worth it. Visit http://www.earth911.org to find out information about recycling services in your area.
Respond
- Write, email, or call companies that use excess packaging or products that aren't biodegradable and tell them that you want them to use more eco-friendly products and that you won't patronize their company until they do.
- Write, email, or call your government officials (senators, representatives, state legislatures, governors, city counsel, school board) and let them know that you want them to take a more environmentally responsible approach to everyday activities in addition to enacting laws and regulations that protect our environment.
- Teach others about the importance of reducing waste. Speak at a school (such as your child's class). Talk to your friends. Get your family involved (especially your children).
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