Reducing Our Consumption of Waste
- Use cloth and/or recycled plastic bags for grocery shopping. They’re sturdier, hold more and definitely help the environment by not using oil-based plastic bags. They can also be used for transporting other things too!
- Use both sides of the paper when printing
- Keep an empty box in your office next to the trash can. Toss catalogs, junk mail and office paper in the box for recycling instead of the trash can
- Reuse envelopes and reuse paper for scrap notes and lists
- Take books and magazines to your local library or share with neighbors
- Use real dishes rather than throw away plates
- Break the paper towel habit. Use more cloth hand towels in the kitchen
- Carpool or plan household trips and errands into one outing with your spouse and kids
- Stop buying plastic bottled water. Buy and use your own reusable water bottle
- If you have an item that you no longer want, but aren’t quite ready to throw away, consider taking it to one of the ten
- Get into the habit of “pre-cycling,” the practice of reducing waste by attempting to avoid buying items that produce waste in the first place.
