In our household, simple and sustainable living is both a cultural and sacred imperative. We pursue this in a number of different ways including gardening, raising chickens, and focusing on clean eating. Another way that we embrace a more holistic and sustainable household, however, is by working to reduce household waste.
Look in your trashcan and I’m sure you’ll find a myriad of food scraps, packaging of various sorts, broken things, and other items. You could almost relive the last few days of your family’s life by sorting through the refuse.Barring any sentimental attachment you might have to your trash, consider what’s going to happen to it after it leaves your home. Every day, each person in America produces 4.4 pounds of trash. So if you have a household of 4, that’s 17.6 pounds of trash per day. Now, I’m not going to spend time beating you over the head with the Green Bible today. I think we can all agree that something needs to be done to deal with our trash problem sooner rather than later because there’s only so much land space on the planet for trash.
Now, if going out and lobbying Congress, getting petitions signed, or holding protests and rallies is your thing, and you want to work toward changing the system and society as a whole, more power to you! Ultimately a cultural paradigm shift will be needed in order to truly change the mindset of the masses. But for those of us who are less politically inclined, but still want to help, there are other ways that we can reduce the impact of our trash. One simple way to start is to reduce our waste production in the first place. With that in mind, here are 5 easy ways to reduce household waste:
- Replace plastic bags.
I’m willing to bet that plastic bags are one of, if not the most, plentiful things in your garbage can. But they are also one of the easiest things to replace. Instead of plastic store bags, invest a few dollars in some reusable cloth bags. Or, if you’re crafty, bags can be easily made from old t-shirts. Any plastic bags you already have, can be returned to most major grocery stores to be recycled. The plastic bags that produce is put in can also be replaced with cloth bags like these: Reusable Produce Bags - Eco Green bags for Fruits and Veggies.
Want to go one step further? Replace zipper sandwich bags with reusable sandwich bags, like these: rezip Stand-Up 1-Cup/8-ounce Leakproof Reusable Storage Bag 5-Pack (Multi-Color), or with reusable food storage containers. I prefer glass storage containers like these: GlassLock Food Storage Glass Containers Set - 20 Pieces, but plastic containers or even leftover food containers will do.
The final step is to eliminate plastic bags from food packaging. This can be much trickier, and is honestly something we’re still perfecting in our household. Whenever possible I purchase food that has no packaging, or packaging that can be recycled. Buying in bulk can be a great way to reduce waste as well. But only if it reduces the amount of packaging that the product comes in.
Other one use items that can be easily replaced? Get a reusable water bottle instead of buying bottles at the store. Don’t like the taste of tap water? You’re in good company; neither do I. The solution? Get a water dispenser and get your water from a kiosk. They’re outside most grocery stores around here. There are also water delivery services.
- Recycle.
This one seems obvious and is something that many of us already do. What I really mean is to recycle more. Growing up there were limited things that we could recycle in my hometown and I was sort of stuck in that mindset. However now days many more things can be recycled. Depending on your city, it might take a little research to determine what you’re able to recycle. But, many municipal waste facilities now have posters and flyers to make that information easily accessible. My cities is one of those. Hang up that flyer near your recycling bin to remind you to recycle. We have a trash can inside our home, next to our regular trash can, that we use solely for recyclables. This increases the likelihood that the items will actually end up in the recycling bin and not just in the trash can because it’s more accessible.
Take full advantage of whatever recycling is available in your city. This is also a great way to engage kids in the waste reduction process as well. My son loves to help with taking out the recycling to the big trash can outside and then wheel the can to the curb on garbage days. Just because your city doesn’t have a recycling program for a particular item, don’t be so sure that you can’t recycle it. Printer cartridges, small electronics, and even large electronics can be recycled at stores like Best Buy. There are programs where you can donate old cars to be used for their parts. And Vans shoe stores recycle old shoes to use the rubber to make material for playgrounds. These programs may take more effort to locate or utilize, but they do exist.
- Don’t let food scraps go to waste.
Thinking about the pungent odor of a garbage can when leftovers have been sitting inside makes me cringe. The solution? Don’t put food scraps in the garbage! But hey, they’re biodegradable and they’ll just break down in the landfill right? Not if they’re in that plastic bag. So why not avoid the stank and put those food scraps to good use? You got it, I’m talking about composting.
Composting can feel like a daunting project, but it really doesn’t have to be. There are ways to compost successfully even if you live in an apartment and can’t have a traditional compost bin. At our house, we compost in three different ways: our chickens, a worm bin, and a traditional compost pile. Talking about composting is enough information for an entire post on it’s own, so I highly recommend that you check that out here. Just know that anything that is made of natural materials (think food, grass clippings, facial tissues, shredded paper, and yes, even cotton clothing!) can be composted. This keep all that trash out of the landfill and produces a great fertilizer for your household plants, or garden.
- Donate.
Have a lot of old clothes, toys, books, or other items? Consider donating them to your local thrift store instead of throwing them away. You may think no one would want your old junk, but one man’s trash is another man’s treasure as they say. So gather all that stuff you would have thrown away into a box, and take it on down to see what you can get rid of. Alternatively, you can sell your items in a garage sale or online. And if neither of these is an option because the item is broken or something like that, at least carefully consider whether the item or its parts can be recycled and/or composted.
- Repurpose.
The final way to reduce household waste is to repurpose items that you would have otherwise thrown away. One of my favorite porcelain tea cups had the handle broken off one day, and I was really bummed. But instead of throwing it away, I repurposed it and now I use it to scoop grain out of a five gallon bucket when I’m grinding flour. I’m not suggesting that you hoard everything you’ve ever broken in case you need it one day, but if you spend a minute thinking about it you can often find a way to reuse an item, even if it doesn’t serve its original purpose any more.
In this one use, consumer world we live in, so many things are designed to be thrown out, or are accompanied by unnecessary packaging that turns into trash. It takes a conscious effort, and a little planning, but reducing that waste can be simple and easy. And ultimately it’s a choice that benefits us and the world in which we live.
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