Get as many uses as you can out of the things that you have. There are lots of opportunities to save stuff to use again, such as holiday decorations and packing peanuts. Stock up on quality reusable items so that you can decline and avoid single-use items and therefore reduce your contribution to the waste stream. Even when you travel, bring all of your reusable items along (bags, water bottles, utensils, straws, and travel mugs).
Water Bottles - According to "National Geographic," Americans drink more bottled water than any other nation, purchasing an impressive 29 billion bottles every year. Making all the plastic for those bottles uses 17 million barrels of crude oil annually. That is equivalent to the fuel needed to keep 1 million vehicles on the road for 12 months. The recycling rate for those 29 billion bottles of water is low; only about 13 percent. Instead of buying bottled water, why not carry a reusable water bottle and refill it with tap water as needed? It’s a lot cheaper too; bottled water costs 250 to 10,000 times more than tap water.
Food and Drink Containers - Use reusable containers whenever possible. Bring containers with you when you eat out to bring home your leftovers. Bring your own travel mug when ordering either hot or cold drinks at a coffee shop to avoid the disposable cup. When packing up your leftovers from meals at home, store them in glass or other see-through containers so that you can see what is in your fridge and those leftovers won't be forgotten. Instead of plastic cling wrap, cover food with waxed cotton food wraps. The typical American school-age child generates 67 pounds of discarded school lunch packaging waste per school year. Annually, that equals more than 18,000 pounds for the average-sized elementary school. If every American child attending a public elementary school packed a waste-free lunch, 1.2 billion pounds of lunch waste would be diverted from landfills each year.
Bags - Try to remember to bring your reusable shopping bags to the store. You can also bring small containers and cotton or mesh draw-string bags to hold produce and bulk items. Some produce may not need to be bagged at all. Gift bags can also be reused again and again, or make your own cloth gift bags for easy wrapping – it can even be part of the gift! Consider these facts:
Cleaning supplies – Avoid single-use wipes and sheets for cleaning and laundry. Wipe up spills and scrub surfaces using washable cloths. Instead of disposable dryer sheets, toss wool dryer balls in with your laundry.
Water Bottles - According to "National Geographic," Americans drink more bottled water than any other nation, purchasing an impressive 29 billion bottles every year. Making all the plastic for those bottles uses 17 million barrels of crude oil annually. That is equivalent to the fuel needed to keep 1 million vehicles on the road for 12 months. The recycling rate for those 29 billion bottles of water is low; only about 13 percent. Instead of buying bottled water, why not carry a reusable water bottle and refill it with tap water as needed? It’s a lot cheaper too; bottled water costs 250 to 10,000 times more than tap water.
Food and Drink Containers - Use reusable containers whenever possible. Bring containers with you when you eat out to bring home your leftovers. Bring your own travel mug when ordering either hot or cold drinks at a coffee shop to avoid the disposable cup. When packing up your leftovers from meals at home, store them in glass or other see-through containers so that you can see what is in your fridge and those leftovers won't be forgotten. Instead of plastic cling wrap, cover food with waxed cotton food wraps. The typical American school-age child generates 67 pounds of discarded school lunch packaging waste per school year. Annually, that equals more than 18,000 pounds for the average-sized elementary school. If every American child attending a public elementary school packed a waste-free lunch, 1.2 billion pounds of lunch waste would be diverted from landfills each year.
Bags - Try to remember to bring your reusable shopping bags to the store. You can also bring small containers and cotton or mesh draw-string bags to hold produce and bulk items. Some produce may not need to be bagged at all. Gift bags can also be reused again and again, or make your own cloth gift bags for easy wrapping – it can even be part of the gift! Consider these facts:
- Approximately 380 billion plastic bags are used in the United States every year. That’s more than 1,200 bags per US resident, per year.
- Approximately 100 billion of the 380 billion are plastic shopping bags.
- An estimated 12 million barrels of oil is required to make that many plastic bags.
- Only 1 to 2% of plastic bags in the USA end up getting recycled.
- Single use plastic bags are a major source of pollution. The United Nations Environment Programme estimates that there are 46,000 pieces of plastic litter floating in every square mile of ocean.
- Even when they photo-degrade in landfill, the plastic from single-use bags never goes away, and toxic particles can enter the food chain when they are ingested by unsuspecting animals.
- Greenpeace says that at least 267 marine species are known to have suffered from getting entangled in or ingesting marine debris. Nearly 90% of that debris is plastic.
Cleaning supplies – Avoid single-use wipes and sheets for cleaning and laundry. Wipe up spills and scrub surfaces using washable cloths. Instead of disposable dryer sheets, toss wool dryer balls in with your laundry.
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