Tag Archives: reduce

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Top 10 Holiday Waste Reduction Tips

Believe it or not, our wrapping paper, decorations, shipping materials, etc. turns into 25 million tons of solid waste—and paper is just the beginning. Many communities all over the US post lists of holiday waste reduction tips online, so we decided to highlight the best of what we’ve seen:

Catalog Choice Top 10 Tips for Holiday Waste Reduction

    Photo: Reuters/HO/Rent a Green Box

  1. Reuse foam peanuts. Most packaging materials for shipping can be used more than once.
  2. Compost your leftover food. It’s easy and makes for a great fertilizer!
  3. Wrap creatively. Use comics, old maps, sheet music, fabric/wallpaper scraps. And use fun tins and food boxes you crush and recycle for gift containers.
  4. Make festive recycling bins. They’re a great addition for your holiday party and a great activity for kids.
  5. Give the gift of time or talent. Take someone to a play, concert or movie. Make your own gift certificates. Offer your talents like photography or financial planning.
  6. Help your friends go green. Give planet-conscious gifts like compost bins, can crushers, water timers, programmable thermostats, rain barrels, bird feeders, light timers or bat house.
  7. Buy outdoor light strands that are wired in parallel. If one bulb goes bad, the others still work, so you won’t be throwing away entire “bad” strands.
  8. Keep it simple. One thoughtful gift is better than six wrapped packages of unwanted gifts.
  9. Don’t wrap oversized gifts. Hide them and give clues. Make gift-giving into a treasure hunt.
  10. Plan previously-loved or homemade gift exchanges. Books, a restored piece of furniture or a rebuilt bike can be cherished for many years and by many people.

‘Tis the season to opt out of even more unwanted paper mail! We encourage you to try at least one of these fun tips as you celebrate the spirit of the season—and don’t forget to keep opting out of paper mail all year long at www.catalogchoice.org.

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25 Wasteful Things You Can Live Without

By Planet Green


We produce a lot of waste. In 2008 alone, Americans generated 250 million tons of trash, and though about a third of that was recycled, a lot went into landfills or was incinerated. Our culture is centered around disposability, and only we have the power to change that.

Take stock of the disposable, overly-packaged, and single-use products that you use, and then look for reusable alternatives. Not sure where to start? Here are more than two dozen items that many people use . . . and can easily live without.

25 Wasteful Things You Can Live Without:

  1. Tin foil — Use an oven-safe pot or dish with a lid.
  2. Plastic wrap — Instead, use a container with a lid.
  3. Disposable cleaning cloths, dusters, etc. — Use a microfiber cloth that can be washed.
  4. Paper towels — Use a tea towel, instead.
  5. Disposable pens — Buy a good pen that only needs the ink well changed.
  6. Plastic cutlery — Use the metal stuff.
  7. Paper plates — Washing dishes may be an effort, but it’s worth it.
  8. Paper or plastic single-use grocery bags — Get a few reusable bags.
  9. Packaged fruits and vegetables — Produce does not need to be packaged.
  10. Individually wrapped snacks — Snacks travel better anyway in a hard container.
  11. Disposable razors — Invest in a razor that only needs the blades changed.

  12. Juice boxes — Put juice in a reusable container (not plastic).
  13. Electric pencil sharpeners — Use the hand-crank version of days gone by.
  14. Disposable diapers — Cloth diapers aren’t that much more difficult to use.
  15. Disposable cloths — Fabric cloths can be washed regularly to avoid bacterial or viral build-up.
  16. Plastic cups — Stick to reusable cups.
  17. Bottled water — Install a water filter on your tap or pick up a water jug with a filter.
  18. Non-rechargeable batteries — Make the investment for rechargeable batteries and you’ll save money in the long run.
  19. Electric can openers — Use a little muscle.
  20. Single-serving pudding or yogurt cups — Buy a large container of yogurt or make your own pudding, and send it in a reusable container.
  21. Antibacterial wipes — If you must, use a gel hand sanitizer.
  22. Disposable table cloths — Spills are a reality of life; just clean them up as they happen.
  23. Facial tissues — Unless you have a bad cold, a handkerchief will work just fine.
  24. Paper billing — Switch to e-billing for your bank statement, credit card bill, utility bill, etc.
  25. Plasticized sticky notes — Use the original paper sticky notes; they can be recycled when you’re done with them.
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15 Ways to Reduce Food Packaging

posted by Terri Hall-Jackson

It is now a common sight to see shoppers carrying their own reusable shopping bags to the grocery store. That is fantastic, and such an easy eco-friendly action for most of us to take. Still, there’s a ton of material we continue to schlep home when shopping — the cellophane, unrecyclable bags, plastic, and cardboard used in the packaging of many common items. Much of this packaging is unnecessary, but manufacturers know that flashy packaging translates into increased sales.

As of 1994, the European Union requires manufacturing companies to take back and recycle at least 60 percent of their packaging waste, including that used for food items, thus taking the burden off of the consumer and local communities. No such incentive for reducing packaging exists for manufacturers in the U.S. or Canada.

As consumers, there are a number of items we can use or purchase in order to reduce our consumption of excess packaging:

  1. Bring a travel mug whenever you go to your favorite coffee shop. Many cafes will fill your mug at no additional charge, eliminating the need for those one-use styrofoam cups with plastic lids.
  2. Use a reusable, stainless steel drinking bottle instead of individual drink boxes or bottles.
  3. Buy fresh fruits and vegetables instead of produce in cans, frozen boxes and bags.
  4. Buy in bulk, using your own containers from home to eliminate the use of can, carton, and plastic bag packaging.
  5. Use cloth napkins instead of paper napkins.
  6. Buy big boxes of cereal instead of individually packaged cereals.
  7. Never buy individual “snack-sized” boxes or bags.
  8. When washing non-bagged greens, use a salad spinner. That way you won’t have to use paper towels to blot the greens dry.
  9. Buy quarts of yogurt instead of eight-ounce or smaller cups.
  10. Use cloth or a gold coffee filter rather than paper filters.
  11. Buy bulk cheese instead of individually wrapped slices.
  12. Make your own popsicles using reusable molds, rather than buying boxed popsicles. Be sure to use BPA-free molds.
  13. Use metal and ceramic baking pans instead of aluminum disposable pans.
  14. Use loose tea instead of one-use tea bags.
  15. DIY, green cleaning products instead of commercial cleaning products. Care2 is a great resource for recipes for these easy to prepare recipes, from window cleaner to furniture polish.

Personally, I’ve sewn together some cloth bags, the same size as the plastic bags from the grocer, and take them with me when I go shopping. They’re inside my canvas bags and I use them just like the plastic ones, only I can wash them and reuse them many, many times. The folks at the Farmer’s Market smile when they see them, the folks at the grocery store scratch their heads.

That cuts down on some of the plastic, but I’m still getting some of it when I buy things, which is annoying. When I ask about that, I’m usually told that the packaging is for sanitary or health reasons. Which points us back to buying local, fresh foods and baking our own bread and other baked goods. Lots of time, I know, but, I believe it’s worth it for us, our health, and our planet.

Do you have any tips to reduce packaging? Leave a comment below.

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Tidal Wave Of Trash Threatens World Oceans

Author: Pascal Fletcher


Reuters

MIAMI – A tidal wave of man-made trash is threatening world oceans, damaging wildlife, tourism and seafood industries and piling additional stress on seas already hit by climate change, conservationists said on Tuesday.

A report by U.S.-based Ocean Conservancy detailed what it called a “global snapshot of marine debris” based on itemized records of rubbish collected by nearly 400,000 volunteers in 104 countries and places in a single day in September 2008. Close to 7 million pounds (3.2 million kg) of trash—the weight of 18 blue whales—was collected from oceans, lakes, rivers and waterways in the 2008 cleanup, the group said in its report, A Rising Tide of Ocean Debris and What We Can Do About It.

It warned of a “tidal wave of ocean debris,” calling it a major pollution problem of the 21st century. Topping the list of the 11.4 million items of trash collected were cigarette butts, plastic bags, and food wrappers and containers. In the Philippines alone, 11,077 diapers were picked up and 19,504 fishing nets were recovered in Britain.

“Our ocean is sick, and our actions have made it so,” Vikki Spruill, president and chief executive of Ocean Conservancy, said in a statement accompanying the report. “We simply cannot continue to put our trash in the ocean. The evidence turns up every day in dead and injured marine life, littered beaches that discourage tourists, and choked ocean ecosystems,” she said. “By changing behaviors and policies, individuals, companies, and governments can help improve the health of our ocean, the Earth’s life support system.”

The full report, including a country-by-country Marine Debris Index, was published at www.oceanconservancy.org.

ANIMALS KILLED, TOURISM HURT
Detailing how refuse poisoned oceans and waterways, the report said the waste entered the food chain, injured beachgoers and weakened economies by sapping precious dollars from tourism and seafood industries. Thousands of animals, including marine mammals, sea turtles, seabirds and others, choked or were poisoned each year by eating trash, or drowned when they became entangled in bags, ropes and old fishing gear. The 2008 cleanup volunteers found 443 animals entangled or trapped by marine debris, releasing 268 alive.

“Keeping our ocean free of trash is one of the easiest ways we can help improve the ocean’s resilience as it tries to adapt to the harmful effects of climate change such as melting ice, rising sea levels, and changing ocean chemistry,” Ocean Conservancy said.

It recommended public and private partnerships to monitor and reduce marine trash and increased funding for research on the problem. A policy of “reduce, reuse, recycle” would help lower trash levels, combined with technological solutions.

“Trash doesn’t fall from the sky, it falls from our hands,” Spruill said. “Humans have created the problem of marine debris, and humans should step up and solve it.”

Ocean Conservancy said its next International Coastal Cleanup would be held around the world on September 19.

(Editing by Jim Loney and John O’Callaghan)