10 STEP PROGRAM TO REDUCE YOUR WASTE
Easy (Beginners Level)
1. RECYCLE –Duh!
If you don’t already recycle, this program may be too much for you already. For basic Baltimore recycling info, CLICK HERE.
2. Bring Your Own Shopping Bag (and not just to the grocery store).
City Councilman James B. Kraft is has been working to make Baltimore the second city in the nation to ban plastic grocery bags. Although he has been unsuccessful thus far, you can show your support by toting reusable bags wherever you go.
3. Avoid Petroleum Based Products.
Approximately ½ of each barrel of crude oil (a non-renewable resource) is used to make gasoline. The rest is used as a partial ingredient to make other products such as: candles, lotion, shampoo, soap, makeup, detergent, toothpaste, perfume, crayons, MORE ……………
Substitutions with plant-based ingredients can be found at most supermarkets and health food stores. Avoid products with petroleum-derived ingredients such as these: Petrolatum, Mineral Oil, Paraffin, Microcrystalline Wax, Resorcinol
4. Donate Unwanted Goods Instead of Throwing Them Away.
- Give clothes to a nearby thrift store.
Goodwill stores in downtown Baltimore.
- Donate your computer to a school.
Schools needing computers in Maryland.
- Give tools, household & office goods, and art supplies to a local non-profit.
Project PLASE in Downtown Baltimore.
Baltimore Animal Rescue & Care Shelter in Federal Hill.
Chesapeake Habitat for Humanity in Hampden.
- Donate building supplies to a materials reuse center.
The Loading Dock.
5. Counter Your Own Waste by Picking Up Someone Else’s.
Baltimore turns a good deal of its trash into energy by burning it. To learn more CLICK HERE.
By picking up that soda can and throwing it away, you might actually power a light bulb. Also, when you pick up garbage you save our city time and money. The Bureau of Solid Waste spends more than $5,000,000 annually on litter clean up.
Moderate (Requires More Time & Energy)
6. Buy Products With Less Packaging.
Packaging is the single largest product in the waste stream. It comprises more than a quarter of trash.
Source: http://www.eia.doe.gov/kids/energyfacts/saving/recycling/solidwaste/sourcereduction.html
Look for products with minimal packaging. Buy in bulk when possible. Shop at the local farmer's market and bring your own bags.
7. Stop Junk Mail.
100 million trees are destroyed each year to make junk mail. The average American receives 41 lbs of junk mail each year.
Learn how to stop junk mail here.
8. Reduce Your Use of Toxic Chemicals
According to the EPA, the average U.S. household generates more than 20 pounds of household hazardous waste per year. Alternatives Are Available. Avoid Products with Caution, Warning & Danger on the label. For help identifying hazardous chemicals and to find alternatives,
CLICK HERE.
Difficult (Powerful Forces May Be Working Against You)
9. Buy Less Plastic
Plastic is one of the worst things to happen to planet earth and yet it is everywhere. To learn more about the consequences of plastic waste, CLICK HERE. Plants, animals, streams, oceans and the air will all be happier with each fewer plastic item you buy.
10. Consume Less.
Not suprisingly, the retail industry's response to climate change has been to promote "green consumerism." If people are buying organic, fair trade, energy-efficient products then it's OK to keep consuming, right? -Not necessarily.
A study by CIBC World Markets found that making consumers feel better about their shopping choices produced one notable outcome:
They bought more.
According to CNN Today, the richest 20 percent of people consume 86 percent of everything that is sold for private consumption. The poorest 20 percent consume 1 percent of it. Today begin saving the planet AND your money.
Live Green Below Your Means
BEGIN NOW
