Zero Waste

http://www.zerowastehome.com/

Things I Was Already Doing

washing and reusing plastic bags using cloth napkins, handkerchiefs, reusable sandwich bags,

grocery bags and lunchboxes using reusable glass straws at home using filtered tap (instead of bottled water) taking plastic grocery bags to the library and packing materials

to my local shipping store for reuse reusing paper (and business cards) for printing and notes avoiding the use of paper plates, cups, and utensils

Things I Was Already Doing

shopping at thrift stores for clothes and household items avoiding taking home unneeded “freebies” such as plastic cups and

pens from vendors promoting their products making my own dishwasher and laundry detergent, hair conditioner,

lip balm, and deodorant using sustainable menstrual supplies (sorry if that embarrasses you,

gentlemen) recycling plastic, aluminum, tin, paper, cardboard, and glass

According to the US Environmental Protection Agency

Americans generated about 251 million tons of trash in 2012.

We recycled and composted almost 87 million tons of this material, equivalent to a 34.5 percent recycling rate.

65.5 percent of our garbage is NOT being recycled

Disturbing Facts about Plastic

Over the last ten years we have produced more plastic than during the whole of the last century.

50 percent of the plastic we use, we use just once and throw away.

Enough plastic is thrown away each year to circle the earth four times.

We currently recycle only five percent of the plastics we produce.

The average American throws away approximately 185 pounds of plastic per year.

The production of plastic uses around eight percent of the world's oil population.

Problems with Plastic Recycling

Indicate the financial advantages for the customer Compare quality and price with those of the competition

The 5 Rs

Refuse

Single-use plastics (bags, bottles, cups, lids, straws and utensils)

Freebies (hotel toiletries, party favors, food samples, swag)

Disposable items Packaging (DIY, buy in bulk) Junk Mail

How to Cut Back on Junk Mail

CatalogChoice.org (to be removed from catalog mailing lists) First-class mail (Refused – Return to Sender – Remove from

Mailing List) Mail addressed to previous resident (USPS change of address

form) Standard/third-class presorted mail (Can return to sender if

mailing says “return service requested,” “forwarding service requested,” or “address service requested)

Bulk mail (and standard with no forwarding) – contact directly to be removed from mailing list

Reduce

Choose quality over quantity (repairable vs. disposable)

Avoid unnecessary purchasesDecrease your exposure to

advertising

Buy It Once

Reuse

Chose reusables over disposables - bags, cups, jars, bottles, rags, towels, napkins, hankies, batteries, etc.

Collaborative consumption - borrowing, sharing, libraries, tool libraries, seed swaps, bartering, etc.

Repair instead of replace – clothes, shoes, etc. Rethink – consider using items you already have on hand for

different purposes rather than buying new things Return – hangers to the dry cleaners, packing material to shipping

centers, egg cartons to individual egg sellers, grocery bags to the library, etc.

Recycle

Plastic Paper (office paper, newspaper, magazines) Cardboard Phone Books Aluminum Tin

Not Glass...

Terracycle

Drink and baby food pouches Potato chip and other snack bags Snack bar wrappers Cereal bags (that come inside cereal boxes) Toiletry containers (toothpaste, deodorant, mouthwash, etc.) Pens, pencils, and markers Scotch tape dispensers Hair care and cosmetic packaging Electronics

Rot

Zero Waste Missoula?

What I'm Doing Now

Homemade toothpaste Reusable produce/bulk item bags (and washable crayons) Wide mouth mason jars Silicone baking pan and muffin tin liners and container covers Recycled unbleached toilet paper Wooden push pins Electronic greeting cards Composting (again) Terracycle

Where I've Got Room for Improvement

Remembering to bring reusable drinking vessels Bringing my own container for leftovers when eating out Paper towels (my family can't seem to live without them) Costco (good deals, but so much packaging) Making the most of compost Growing and preserving food Out of print books Gifts (especially gifts for kids) Transportation and shipping

What Do You Do to Reduce Waste?