The average American creates about 4.4 pounds of trash every day. That’s a lot. But if you multiply that by the number of people in your household, you might be surprised by how much garbage your family is throwing away daily.
For example, let’s say you have a family of four. That’s 17.6 pounds of garbage. On top of that, for each pound of waste thrown out in your home, experts estimate that 7 pounds of trash is produced upstream via manufacturing and production. The total? 123.2 pounds.
You can make small changes to avoid your household trash can. These changes will add up over time. Here are a few examples of ways to reduce waste in your apartments or flats in Calicut.
Recycle Items
There are many items in your home that you can recycle. You can recycle plastic bottles, soft drink cans, paper, and cardboard. But there are also other items that you can recycle to avoid putting them in the landfill.
Before you start throwing recyclables away, check this list of ordinary household items that you can recycle:
Batteries
If batteries are not recycled, they release toxic materials that pollute the environment. Many post offices and libraries have drop-off points for recycling batteries.
Printer Ink Cartridges
It would be best not to put printer ink cartridges in the trash. Business supply stores like Best Buy and Staples have recycling programs that give you discounts on new cartridges when you turn in an old one.
Light Bulbs
CFL bulbs contain a small amount of mercury. This means they should not be thrown away in the trash or recycled in your regular bin. You can take them to a store like Home Depot or IKEA to have them disposed of safely.
Junk Mail
It is easy to take junk mail from the mailbox and throw it away. But remember to recycle the paper whenever possible.
Disposable Cups
You can recycle paper and plastic cups by rinsing them out and letting them dry. Make sure to put them in the recycling bin, so they don’t get wet and become soggy.
Reduce how much you use
Now that you know which recyclables to keep out of the trash, the next step is reducing the amount of waste you produce. The easiest way to do this is by buying and consuming less.
Bea Johnson, the author of Zero Waste Home, recommends the 5 R’s guidelines: refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle and rot. She explains that these should be adopted in order.
“Refuse what you do not need,” Bea says. “Consuming is not just buying items; it also means accepting things that you don’t need like a free pen from a conference or a business card.”
The second R is to reduce and embrace a simpler lifestyle. You don’t need to have a lot of things to be happy. Having less stuff can make your life easier. You don’t have to clean, store or fix as many things when you have less. And when you don’t need something anymore, someone else can use it instead because you gave it to them.
Recycling is for items that you can’t refuse, reduce or reuse. The last R stands for rot. This means composting food scraps and other things that would normally be thrown away.
If you are in a hurry in disposing your garbage then you could have the service from dumpster rental companies. We suggest you to talk to the dumpster rental experts like the precision disposal of south Florida. They offer their dumpster rental services in Melbourne FL, Jupiter, Stuart and Vero Beach.
Reduce packaging waste
Two main types of trash come from the kitchen: food waste and packaging. Grocery shopping can create a lot of trash, especially if you double-bag items.
Reduce Kitchen Waste with the following tips:
– Use reusable grocery bag
– Choose reusable products instead of single-use item
– It is better to use real silverware, plates, and glassware instead of disposable versions
Be organized to avoid wasting clothing.
The average American throws out 81 pounds of clothing in a year. This isn’t nice for the environment because they end up in landfills when clothes are thrown away. You can help reduce this by donating clothes to local organizations that reuse them.
Say goodbye to disposable products
A bathroom is a place where a lot of waste accumulates. That is why many bathrooms have trash cans.
Here are a few tips to reduce bathroom waste.
– Use a double-edged razor instead of disposable razors. A double-edged razor lasts much longer.
– Replace packaged body and face soap with eco-friendly substitutes.
– Bamboo toothbrushes are a better choice for the environment than plastic toothbrushes. The bamboo handle can be composted, and the bristles can be recycled.
Utilize the Space in Your backyards
Designate an area in your backyard for a rainwater barrel. Instead of relying on a hose or costly sprinkler system, this will collect and store water for your lawn and garden. If you already have a sprinkler system, modify it using an irrigation controller with a rainwater sensor to avoid over-usage.
Another option for conserving water is compost leaves, grass clippings, twigs, and shrubs from your lawn for garden beds or potted plants. Depending on your available space, composting will allow you to reuse these materials instead of discarding them.
Recycle Papers in your home office
Having a home office is helpful because it can be used as a command center for important documents and a storage facility. However, you don’t want to contribute to your household’s waste stream by throwing away shredded paper, printed copies, or outdated calendars.
You can save money and help the environment by using refillable pens instead of traditional pens. You can also save money by using recycled paper and notebooks, and recycling them when you’re done. Another way to help the environment is to avoid using the printer whenever possible. Composting of shredded papers is also advisable.
