8 simple ways to Reduce waste
Landfills are filling up faster than ever. They are expected to reach full capacity in the next 20-30 years, and at that point, we’ll run out of space! The theme for World Environment Day (WED) in 2024 is “Land Restoration, Desertification and Drought Resilience“. The slogan for the event is “Our Land, Our Future. We are #GenerationRestoration”. So this #EnvironmentDay let’s pledge to reduce our waste and find ways how to do it. In all the R’s the very first and my favourite is to Reduce. Let’s find ways to reduce in our daily lives.
One of the most important things you can do for the future is to reduce waste in your household. It’s really easy to accumulate a lot of trash without realizing it. How many times have you thrown away an old rug because it was starting to get worn out and replaced it with a new one? Trash that was just recently disposed of could be going into landfills for decades or even centuries before decomposing.
Reduce
- Reduce, to use less. Think about what you use and buy. Could you use less? Reduce the amount of energy you use to heat your facility by getting an energy audit (a lot times for free) and save MONEY in the process.
- Keep asking the question, “What is the minimum amount necessary?” Why would you wrap a pallet with 100 feet of stretch wrap if 80 feet will do the job?
- Get to know the rules of recycling.
- Ditch the plastic bags.
- Make a meal plan.
- Start relying on reusable containers.
- Start composting.
- Learn to repair rather than discard.
- Cancel unnecessary mail.
- Stop using disposable plates.
The average household throws away about 2 kgs of trash every day, which adds up to more than 1200 kgs per year! But there are plenty of ways you can start reducing your household’s waste today by doing simple things like recycling and composting.
Get to know the rules of recycling.
Recycling can be difficult if you don’t know the rules. First, find out which materials are accepted by your local recycling program. You’ll also want to find out what recycling facilities are available in your area. You might even want to contact a few of them and see how they compare with each other.
Next, make sure you have the right supplies for recycling. You’ll need a sturdy container that is easy to carry and can hold all of your recyclables. Make sure it’s not too big or too small for the amount you need to recycle at one time. Some people like to use bins or bags and place those inside their house for when they have enough recyclable items to fill up the container so it’s ready for pick-up day.
The first step to reducing waste in your home is to start with recycling. Recycling can help you save time and money while also reducing the amount of trash going into your local landfill.
Don’t just recycle paper products, however. You should also look at what other materials you can recycle in your home. For example, if you have a pile of plastic waste, you might try recycling some of it instead. These five simple tips will help make your home more eco-friendly and reduce the amount of waste you produce:
- Recycle paper products
- Reduce food waste
- Recycle plastic
- Use reusable items when possible
- Reduce or eliminate unnecessary purchases
Ditch the plastic bags
Plastic bags are a major source of waste because they’re used to carry so many things. They’re typically only used once or twice before being tossed in the trash. But if you ditch the plastic bags, you’ll be saving money and will reduce the amount of waste your household produces.
You can use reusable grocery bags that can withstand a lot more than just shopping. You can also opt for cloth produce bags at the grocery store, or invest in a set of multiple reusable cotton totes. There are even stainless steel lunch boxes now to carry your food with you on the go!
Make a meal plan
Do you ever find that you purchase too much food? This happens to a lot of people and in turn can create waste. To avoid this, create a meal plan for the week and stick to it.Start relying on reusable containers
One way to go green is to start using reusable containers. Plastic water bottles are a great example of wasteful items that you can replace with reusable containers. You can put these bottles in the dishwasher and reuse them as many times as you want before washing them. You’ll find that by relying on reusable containers, you’ll reduce your plastic waste tremendously.Start composting
A lot of people are surprised to know that you can compost kitchen waste, like vegetable peels or fruit peelings. These items go in a compost pile and when they decompose, they give off natural fertilizer for your garden. If you want to reduce the amount of food scraps going into your garbage, start composting!Learn to repair rather than discard
The first way you can reduce waste in your home is to learn how to repair rather than discard it. When something breaks, fix it. Not only will this save you money, but it will also help the environment because there will be less waste being shipped off to landfills on a daily basis.
Cancel unnecessary mail
One of the simplest ways to reduce waste in your home is to cancel unnecessary mail. There are many options available to you when it comes to canceling mail, but one of the most popular is online. For example, if you want to cancel a magazine subscription, all you have to do is log onto their website and click unsubscribe. Canceling these subscriptions can be easy and save you some money in the process as well. You should also take a look at other things that might be on your mailing list that you don’t need or want. This way, you can save even more time by only receiving mail from companies that offer products or services you want or need. You might even find that there are some magazines or other subscriptions that you were paying for that are no longer necessary since they’ve expired. If this happens, take a look at what else is on your mailing list and cull those as well.
Stop using disposable things
Choose steel, over disposable. Carry your own steel bottle instead of disposable bottles. carry a napkin instead of using tissue paper. One of the first ways to reduce waste in your home is by getting rid of disposable plates. When you have a party, instead of using paper plates or plastic forks and spoons, use real dishes and silverware. The same goes for items like cotton balls. Instead of throwing them away after one use, wash them and reuse them.
Waste management is the process of treating solid wastes and offers a variety of solutions for recycling items that don’t belong to trash. It is about how garbage can be used as a valuable resource. Waste management is something that each and every household and business owner in the world needs.
From My Green Bag
To add on, read and join the Sustainability with Prachi series and listen to interviews with Eco-conscious people who are trying their bit towards conscious and sustainable living practices only on Green Tatwa Talks. There is so much to learn and explore from all of them I have interacted with, Do listen and drop in your views in the comments. Check here to learn more about all the Eco-Friendly dates.
join me for more such ways and tips and become part of my Conscious and sustainable living journey. Keep visiting my blog to make yourself eco-friendly, aware of conscious and sustainable choices be more concerned for our environment, and alter your lifestyle. Read my verse on save the ozone layer.
Being Eco-Friendly is not a choice, make it a habit.
Without a doubt, sustainability is easier than you think. You don’t have to jump in by changing everything, start small to make the changes more eco-friendly, sustainable and a part of your daily life.
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