Looking to make a positive environmental impact in your community? Recycling is great, but it shouldn’t be the first line of defense when it comes to making sure our household waste doesn’t negatively impact the environment.
What can make the greatest impact is to reduce the amount of waste you create. The Environmental Protection Agency encourages the following waste management hierarchy: source reduction and reuse is highest on the hierarchy, followed by recycling/composting, energy recovery, and treatment and disposal.
Source Reduction & Reuse
Since the most preferred waste management strategy is source reduction and reuse, this is the best place to start when looking to make the biggest impact. There are many ways to reduce the amount of household waste you produce. Not buying brand new items when you can buy secondhand is a big way to lessen your impact.
Beyond shopping secondhand, consider repairing, reusing or repurposing items before throwing them away. When you do buy new, purchase durable, reusable goods that will last longer and not need to be replaced as often. The EPA considers nondurable goods those with a lifespan of less than three years. In 2018 alone, 50.4 million tons, or 17.3 percent of total generation, of nondurable goods were disposed of in Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) in the US. Learn more about non-durable goods and the impact they can have on the environment at Nondurable Goods: Product-Specific Data | US EPA.
For instance, using cloth napkins instead of paper napkins saves trees and keeps more waste from collecting in your home. Using refillable cups and reusable bags, tableware and containers can also significantly cut down on your home waste. You can also keep food waste to a minimum by buying only what you need, eating or sharing leftovers and composting kitchen scraps into an enriching soil amendment at home.
Find more EPA-approved waste reduction tips at Reducing Waste: What You Can Do | US EPA and Region D’s list of Recycling and Waste Reduction Tips below.
Here are some links for you to gather some information about what to do with specific waste.
