Now is the perfect time to give up making waste!

Now is a great time to work towards being a zero-waste household; some folks are celebrating Lent and Earth Month is approaching!  Zero-waste means moving toward eliminating trash and creating a circular economy by minimizing the amount you send to a landfill.

The basics: arm yourself with reusable water bottles, reusable shopping bags and grocery totes, reusable to-go containers, cloth napkins, kitchen towels and a compost collection container for your kitchen counter.

Getting Started:

Reducing your waste can seem daunting.  There’s so much you can do, it’s often hard to know where to begin.  But now that you have the right tools, try choosing 3 or more of these easy ways to start reducing your waste today!  If you want to go further, check out the resources at the end for more in-depth tips.

• Swap disposables (paper towels, napkins, plastic utensils, paper plates, etc.) for their reusable counterparts (cloth rags, silverware, ceramic mugs, cloth napkins, glassware, etc.).
• Buy in bulk and bring your own reusable container.  It saves you money and reduces waste–Score!
• Shop at farmer’s markets and buy items without packaging or with recyclable packaging (like paper egg containers or cardboard boxes).
• Take personal care items like deodorant containers and toothpaste tubes to Upcycle Treasure Box for specialty recycling.
• When ordering online, request ‘no Styrofoam’ in the special shipping instructions.  If it comes with Styrofoam anyway, some places like FedEx, UPS or Leftovers, Inc. can reuse Styrofoam packing peanuts.
• Search our database to find places that will accept other unwanted items for reuse or recycling to minimize landfill waste.
• Opt out of junk mail, cancel phone book deliveries and go paperless with all of your bills.
• Keep a zero-waste toolkit in your car containing: cloth shopping bags, washable to-go containers, non-plastic straws (like these cool stainless steel ones), a cloth towel for spills and a spare reusable water bottle so you’re ready when on-the-go!
• When dining out, choose a Green Dining Alliance certified restaurant (and eat your leftovers if you have any).  That way you’re supporting restaurants that minimize their waste too!
• Have your whole family take the ‘No Straw Please’ pledge.
• Educate your friends and family about your zero waste efforts so they can try it too.
• Collecting kitchen scraps for compost has never been easier!  Perennial City Composting and Love Your Mother Compost both offer a monthly subscription service to pick up your compostables.

For more great waste reduction tips, check out:

Zero Waste Home 

EPA.gov