Simple, actionable tips to reduce waste at home and on-the-go that help the planet by lowering the amount of garbage sent to landfills, and save you money at the same time.
Groceries IN, garbage OUT.
Imagine the typical home in the United States. Each week bags full of groceries and household goods come in the front door and each week large bags of trash go out the back.
Even if you are buying healthy, organic food, non-toxic cleaning products and natural beauty & personal care, there’s still a lot of stuff coming in one door and eventually out the other.
I’ve heard from many of you who want to prioritize reducing waste in your home. You want to stop this cycle of stuff cluttering up your home and eventually heading for the landfill. We know it’s terrible for the planet and frankly, too much stuff makes us feel out of control and unhappy.
The good news is, there are lots of ways to reduce your garbage output, without drastically changing your lifestyle. All it takes is a bit of preparation and a mindful outlook toward what you bring in the front door in the first place.
Benefits of Reducing Waste
FACT: The average American produces 4.4 pounds of trash per day. That’s over 1500 pounds per year – a crazy amount!
So you can imagine how the environmental benefits of creating less waste are huge. When you create less waste you are lowering the amount of stuff sent to landfills or the incinerator, which in turn reduces greenhouse gasses and creates less pollution.
FACT: 9 million tons of plastic waste end up in the ocean every year. And 40% of that plastic is single-use. What a waste!
Read up on a few more statistics on the plastic waste crisis and you’ll want to reduce your plastic use immediately. The less plastic you buy, the less will end up in our oceans, waterways and in landfills.
FACT: For every one garbage can of waste you put out on the curb, 70 garbage cans of waste were made upstream in factories to create the stuff in that garbage you put out on the curb. (Source: Story of Stuff)
The amount of energy and materials required to create the products we use is something we don’t often think about. Using fewer products and less packaging can lead to lower pollution around the world.
FACT: Making a conscious effort to reduce waste can save you money.
For starters, buying from the bulk bins is usually cheaper than buying packaged products because you aren’t paying for the packaging and brand marketing. And when you buy only what you need – whether it’s food, clothing or other household goods, you aren’t wasting money on things that aren’t bringing value to your life.
One additional thought – depending on where you live, you might be able to switch to a smaller garbage can or even go down to one garbage pickup a month, which can lower your utility bill. Another win for a low waste lifestyle!
Is Zero Waste the Goal?
Zero waste is a popular term these days. You’ll find it splashed all over internet and popping up in books like Zero Waste Home or Zero Waste Kitchen. It’s even in the title of my very popular blog post: Zero Waste Alternatives to Plastic Wrap.
Aiming for zero waste is a great aspirational goal but most of us (especially those of us with kids), will still have some garbage going out. Personally, I view zero waste as more of a guiding philosophy but not the specific end goal.
Zero waste is a shift in mindset to being a more eco-conscious consumer. This mindset helps us evaluate what we buy and bring into our homes in terms of its effect on the planet.
The real goal is to reduce the waste you kick to the curb each week and know that anything you do makes a difference!
How to Reduce Waste at Home
I may receive commissions from purchases made through links in this article. Full Disclosure
Whether you are well on your way to a green & healthy lifestyle or are just beginning to make changes to live more naturally, there are many simple changes you can make to reduce the number of bags of garbage you carry out the back door to the garbage each week.
Read through these tips for reducing waste and see how many you can start implementing right away. Keep track of your garbage output and see how low you can go! Then leave a comment with your zero waste wins and what has worked for you so we can all learn from each other!
1. Buy Reusable, Not Disposable
Invest in durable, reusable products instead of wasteful disposables.
- Microfiber cloths or cotton cloths instead of paper towels and disposable wipes. (Here are some of my favorite reusable kitchen products and alternatives to plastic wrap.)
- A glass straw or stainless steel straw instead of single-use plastic straw.
- Reusable lunch containers and snack bags instead of plastic baggies.
- Rechargeable batteries instead of traditional.
- Reusable tableware and utensils instead of the throw-away type.
- Choose biodegradable bamboo toothbrushes instead of plastic.
2. Buy Products with Less Packaging
Reduce the amount of packaging waste you throw out by simply not bringing it home in the first place.
- Avoid food sold in big plastic clam-shells. There is usually an alternative way to buy the same product with less packaging.
- Look for concentrated versions of cleaning products that come in smaller bottles.
- Forget all those mini packages of snacks you see at the store. Buy a big box or bag and send it to school in reusable snack bags.
- Make DIY cleaning products and homemade beauty products instead of buying new.
- Purchase meat wrapped in butcher paper instead of packed on non-recyclable styrofoam trays.
RELATED: Tons of Easy Ways to Reduce Plastic Use in Home & Life
3. Refill It!!
Fill up an old container instead of buying a new one.
- Buy food from the bulk bins by bringing jars or bags from home to fill with nuts, beans, flour, granola & more.
- Pay a deposit on a glass milk jug and bring it back to be refilled when you are finished.
- Purchase cleaning products that offer refill packets like My Green Fills.
- Look for refillable beauty products like shampoo, lotion or liquid soap at your local co-op or health food store.
- Refill printer cartridges instead of buying new.
4. Repurpose
Use something you already have instead of buying something new for the job.
- Old t-shirts and towels become absorbent rags.
- Plastic yogurt tubs are great for holding crayons, paintbrushes, nails etc…
- Keep shoe boxes for storing old papers or favorite mementos.
- Egg cartons are perfect for separating craft supplies.
- Buy gently used clothing from thrift stores or consignment shops.
- Shop your basement or storage locker before buying something new
5. Be Selective
Don’t take it if you don’t need it!
- Think twice before you buy (Here’s a whole post about How to Buy Less because that’s a whole different subject!)
- Pass on freebies that you really won’t use.
- Don’t buy it just because it’s cheap!
6. Compost Food Waste
Turn food scraps into valuable dirt for your garden!
- Start small with a kitchen compost bucket.
- Find an outdoor space for a compost bin or tumbler.
- Let worms do the work if are up for trying vermiculture.
7. Recycle Everything You Can
Go beyond curbside recycling and commit to recycling as much as you can.
- Office supply stores often take printer cartridges and old cell phones.
- Turn in old sports shoes for recycling at participating stores or Soles4Soles.
- Fundraising programs like Terracycle take used drink pouches, yogurt cups and snack packages and turn them into useful household products.
- Bring dry cleaning bags & hangers back to the dry cleaner.
- Donate old pillows and blankets to the Humane Society.
- Donate used clothing to Goodwill or similar thrift stores.
- Research how to recycle anything at Earth911.com.
8. Be Prepared
Keep reusable items in strategic places to keep you from wasting even more.
- Take a glass straw with you everywhere you go!
- Carry a compact shopping bag in your purse or briefcase.
- Keep reusable grocery bags in your car (no excuse for forgetting them at home!)
- Store reusable utensils and a cloth napkin at your desk or in your car.
- Keep empty food storage containers with you for when the take-out bug strikes.
What have you done to reduce waste at home? I’d love to hear your wins in the comments!
Sheree Cade says
Shaklee’s Basic H2 makes several hundred bottles of all purpose cleaner thereby saving tons of plastic spray bottles from going into the landfills.
Learn more at http://www.greensheree.myshaklee.com.
France says
These are great tips! We do some of this. We live in an apartment that doesn’t have recycling pickup. Still I take it over to the center every other week. We also have a worm bin for compost and we get some of our food from the bulk bins and farmers market. We also don’t use disposable anything. Our weekly garbage that goes out to the curb is usually a small 3 pound bio-bag. This amazes me and yet I know we could still be making smarter purchases. It’s always a little troubling to see so many packaged foods go into my reusable grocery bag. I even have a little song I sing “I brought my own bag so you could put a bag in it…” Like everything, it is still a work in progress.
MamaWendy says
Those are really great ideas – thanks for sharing! I’ve been happy with my own recent refill idea at home. I buy a big bottle of liquid castile soap and use that to refill my self-foaming hand soap dispenser. I only need to fill it 1/4 or less with soap and the rest with water. Cheap and simple!
Micaela says
Love your foaming soap idea MamaWendy!
Abegail says
Very impressive. This post is interesting and useful indeed. I learned so many things from this that’s why I wanna thank the admin. I will book mark it for further info and research.
Jeleryl Comisky says
Recycling is very helpful. Those plastic bags we take home are usually good for something else. These tips can serve as initial guides for people who are just getting into recycling. It’s time to save Mother Earth.
Kerry says
Great article – I’ve just started recycling etc they say we are never too old so here goes – you’ve enlightened me. Thanks
Kristina (The Greening of Westford) says
Composting, by far, made the biggest dent in my trash! I couldn’t believe it! We are a family of five and have one bag of trash per week – at most. Of course we were recycling everything we could before that.
The other tip I have is to reduce your junk mail. It not only saves paper, but saves your time and sanity!
Karen says
Great tips – thanks. Here’s another: use solid soap for sinks and baths/showers, rather than the liquid soaps that come in bottles. They’re mostly water anyway, right? Solid soap bars can be cute and even wrapped in paper. Better even than the refillable liquid stuff, which inevitably comes in plastic anyway.
Let’s ask our own mothers and grandmothers what they did during the depression and before plastic took over our lives. 🙂
Micaela says
Very good point Karen! I’m a big fan of bar soaps!
Energy Girl says
Thanks for sharing! I usually wrap the children’s christmas gifts in strong and fancy wrapping paper, but use ribbons instead of tape or glue. That way I can reuse all of it next season. They already learned not to tear it apart 😉
Terra (The Reuser) says
Thanks for this list! Great ideas and I’m *really* glad to see you putting recycling near the bottom. In my work, I often find that people think “going green” is all about recycling and unfortunately, that’s where many people stop. Reducing our consumption and reusing is so much more important, because we don’t have to worry about the resources that went into something that we didn’t buy/use in the first place!
Micaela says
Yes, I agree Terra! We can reduce so much waste by simply being mindful of what we actually need.