10 Ways You Can Reduce Household Waste

Can you believe that over almost 4 billion plastic bags are disposed of in various landfill sites throughout the country annually? Or that more than 20% of the grocery products you shop for end up in trash bins? Here are 10 amazingly simple ways to make a significant difference by reducing household waste today!

1. Say “Yes” To Non-Plastic Bags – Make it a habit to carry a reusable cloth bag or something similar and say a big “no” to plastic bags. These are big steps in the direction to reduce waste.
2. Opt For Reusable Packing– Buy products with reusable packaging or without packaging. An excellent way to reduce waste is to shop for products with reusable jars, cardboard boxes rather than disposable tins and plastic bags.
3. Waste-Free Lunch Packing – Preparing and packing your lunch is a healthy habit. You get nutritious food and packing that is easy. Using minimum packing or packing food in reusable lunch boxes adds little/nothing to waste.
4. Discontinue Use Of Tea Bags – Start using loose leaf tea and an infuser in place of teabags. Teabags are only partially degradable and sealed with a heat-resistant polyethylene plastic strip to prevent them from bursting open. That plastic is non- compostable.
5. Do Away With Junk Mail – This is a way to save 6% of the total paper usage in Australia. And if you think of the water utilised annually in the production of catalogues, it can easily be used to fill 8640 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
6. Carry Containers For Takeaway Food – Using your containers for takeaway food may seem a crazy step to save the environment, but the trend can get easy acceptance. It will make other people around you become more aware of the environment and follow suit.
7. Say Good-Bye To Cling Wraps – Cling wraps cannot be discarded in plastic recycling bins. This is because their melting point is higher than other plastics, which creates problems in the recycling machines.
8. Use Washable Rags In Place Of Paper Towels – Once you start using old towels, T-shirts, etc. in place of paper towels in your kitchen and around the house, you will realise the amount of daily waste you have stopped creating. Repurposing different fabric in your house in this manner helps reduce waste.
9. Reusable Coffee Cups – Billions of disposable cups end up in landfills annually. Do your bit for the environment and buy a reusable cup for your takeaway coffee instead.
10. Hankies In Place Of Tissues – Handkerchiefs are reusable because you do not throw them around or discard them in the bin as you do tissues. They are also more hygienic because you can wash, dry, and reuse them.

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