Reduce Household Waste (Part 2)
Susan Gentry
Buy in Bulk
Buying in Bulk reduces household waste by cutting down on the number of trips to the store. This saves time, vehicle wear, and gas money. You’ll also create less garbage, because your products will come in bigger containers and last longer. Buying in bulk at a local warehouse club like Sams or Costco can also save you money, byt allowing you to buy at a better price point.
Conserve Water
A household waste that we don’t often consider is gray water. Gray water is anything water that goes down a drain or sewer. It often contains soaps, detergents, cleaning products, and lawn checmicals. All of these things have to be filtered out of the water at a treatment plant through expensive processes that require lots of time and money. By conserving water, you reduce the amount of gray water created at your house and lighten the load on your local tratment plant.
Volunteer to Work or Even Organize A Group Clean-Up Event or Recycle Effort In Your Community
Reducing household waste can go beyond your home address. Too often, our streets, parking lots. and wooded areas become a collection place for household waste from lots of homes. By cleaning up these areas, you not only improve the appearnace and safety of your community, but you also reduce the amount of household waste that litters and contaminates the environment.
Car Pool, Ride Share, Take a Bus, Ride A Bike, or Walk
Sharing transportation is a great way to reduce household waste. When you car pool or ride share you save emissions from multiple vehicles along with excess oil and other by-products that must be disposed of. An even more effective way to reduce waste is to make use of public transportation. The best way to help though, is to use a mode of transportation that only burns calories like biking or walking.
Reduce Your Junk Mail
Simply by removing your address from unwanted mailing lists, you can help to significantly reduce the 85 billion pieces of junk mail that are generated every year. This amounts to about 100 pounds of unwanted mail per household! Removing your name from mailing lists is simple. All you have to do is refuse unwanted mail or write, “Return to Sender” on the envelope and mail it back. In some cases, you may need to contact the sender by phone or internet and officially ask to be removed from the list. The important thing to remember is that this is America and no one can force you to receive mail.
Re-Use and Re-Purpose Items
Re-Using and re-purposing are fantastic ways to reduce household waste. Before you throw away your old containers, bottles, bags, and boxes, ask yourself, “What else could I do with these?” Social Media Websites such as Pinterest are great places to discover re-purposing ideas. Remember, the more we re-use, the less we throw away.
Buy A Hybrid Vehicle
The next time you find yourself in the market for a vehicle, consider buying a hybrid. These amazing cars and trucks create far less emissions and poluution. They also use a lot less gas, and that can be good for the environment and for your wallet.
Recycle
One of the very best ways to reduce household waste is to recycle. We’re not talking about just putting some water bottles in the orange container on trash day. We’re talking about increasing your effort to recycle whenever and whatever you can. True recycling begins when you change your mindset. Instead of seeing garbage first with a little recycling on the side, try to think of household waste as recycling in order to create a little garbage a possible.
Insulate Your Doors, Windows, Attic and Roof
There are many ways to better insulate your older home. By improving your insulation, you reduce the amount of heat and air conditioning that you need to use. This, in turn, reduces the total electricity and gas usage necessary to make your home comfortable. People often think of insulation as making a home warmer, but better insulation will do wonders to keep your home cool as well.
Conserve Electricity
Finally, you can reduce household waste by using less electricity. Consider turning off or even unplugging electronics when you not using them. You may be surprised at how much electricity you can save by doing this. You can also set your thermostat at the edge of your comfort zone. If you love your home at 70 degrees in the summer, you may find that you’re OK with it at 72. If you love your home at 70 degrees in the winter, you may find that you’re OK with it at 68′ Afew degrees over a long period of time can add up to significant savings.