Top 10 Ways to Reduce Waste (and go green)

In honor of Earth Day on April 22, we’d love to remind our friends and supporters of a few simple ways to go greener.

1. Bring reusable bags and containers with you when shopping, traveling, or packing lunches or leftovers. It’s simple and easy and will quickly become a habit.
2. Choose products that are returnable, reusable, or refillable rather than single-use items. Disposable water bottles might be the single most wasteful item we can think of.
3. Avoid individually wrapped items, snack packs, and single-serve containers. Buy larger containers of items or from bulk bins whenever practical (think of Whole Foods’ bulk items like nuts, or “family size” boxes of cereal). This type of shopping will save you lots of money and reduce waste. Packaging makes up 30% of the weight of an item and 50% of trash by volume. Buy juice, snacks, and other lunch items in bulk and put them in reusable containers each day. Boxed.com makes it easy to buy in bulk without the schlep to Costco.
4. Be aware of (and avoid) double-packaging. Some “bulk packages” are just individually wrapped items packaged yet again and sold as a bulk item.
5. Purchase items such as dish soap and laundry detergents in concentrated forms (and go for the less toxic versions).
6. Compost food scraps and yard waste. (We admit that we are still working on this one.)
7. Reduce the amount of unwanted mail you receive. The average resident in America receives over 30 pounds of junk mail per year.
8. 
Shop at second-hand stores. You can find great used and unused clothes at a low cost to you and the environment. When buying new, buy quality clothing that won’t wear out and can be handed down, whether to other people you know or to a thrift store.
 We’d like to mention one of our favorite brands, Patagonia. Yes, they are pricier, but they also send in your clothes to be repaired. A good resource to find long-lasting products is Buy Me Once, a website that recommends products (including clothes) that don’t wear out quickly, so you don’t have to keep replacing things.
9. Buy items made of recycled content, and use and reuse them as much as you can. For instance, use both sides of every page of a notebook before moving on to the next clean notebook. Use unneeded, paper you’ve printed on as a scratch pad–and for your kids’ drawing supplies.
10. Can we mention carpooling to go green?

Volunteering to help clean up around your town this Earth Day is also a great idea. We encourage you to see what your township or local organizations might be putting on.

Happy Earth Day!