Reduce

What is it?

The most efficient way to reduce waste is not to create it in the first place! When you avoid making garbage, you don't have to worry about disposing of it later. Reducing waste saves resources and money and reduces pollution that is created by manufacturing, shipping, and disposing of goods.

How do I do it?

The key to reducing waste is changing your habits. Think about ways you can reduce your waste (when you shop, work etc.). Here are some ideas of ways to create less waste:

	Share or borrow tools and other things that you use infrequently.
	Maintain and repair things like clothing, vehicles, household machines, etc. so you won’t have to replace them as often.
	Don’t buy products with a lot of packaging. Many store-bought food products contain a lot of wasted paper and plastic packaging. So eating our subsistence foods is not only good for our health, but is a great way to avoid any food packaging and reduce waste!
	Avoid using disposable products such as paper towels, paper cups, disposable razors. Instead use cloth towels, durable mugs, refillable razors, etc.
	Consider buying a battery charger and rechargeable batteries. This can save you a lot of money if you use batteries often! You can recharge the batteries as often as you want instead of having to buy new ones.
	Use a cloth or crocheted tote bag for groceries.
	Reduce unwanted mail (commonly called junkmail) by removing your name from mail lists. Click below on the envelope to read about ways to reduce unwanted mail.

Share your ideas

Do you have any more ideas about how to reduce waste? If so, we’d love to hear about it!
Email or call us at: 1 (800) 344-1432 ext 7184 rpaddock@ccthita.org

Related Links

Recycle
Reuse
Compost