How to Help the Environment by Reducing Your Rubbish
by Karen Rollins Nov 6, 2023
Taking better care of the environment has to be the responsibility of every individual.
If you’re thinking of ways to reduce your carbon footprint one of the first steps you can take is to try to cut down on household waste.
We’ve put together these five tips which will hopefully stop most of your trash from ending up at a landfill or, even worse, the sea – the planet will thank you for it.
Cancel mail you don’t need
Every day hundreds of catalogues and unsolicited forms of junk mail are sent through the post, and most of the time we don’t even look at them.
If you’re getting lots of mail that you don’t want or need, it usually only takes a few minutes to cancel a subscription by going online or picking up the phone and asking to be removed from the mailing list.
Several utility companies and banks also offer customers the choice of swapping paper billing for online statements – if you choose that option you should be able to significantly reduce your waste paper.
Stop using plastic bags!
Experts have warned that by 2050 there’ll be more plastic in the ocean than fish! If you want to prevent that from happening, one of the best solutions is to take your own bags, preferably made out of cloth, when you go shopping.
Most stores offer reusable shopping bags and some will even replace the old ones for free, once they get worn out.
If you’re in a store and have forgotten your own bags, stop and think before asking for or accepting a plastic one, especially if you can easily carry whatever you’ve bought.
Ditch plastic bottles
According to research, more than 480 billion plastic water bottles were sold worldwide in 2016 which is far more than the recycling industry can handle.
You can help reduce this figure by refusing to buy drinks in plastic bottles, and taking a reusable glass bottle to work and the gym, which you can easily refill.
Buy a reusable coffee cup
Just like a reusable glass bottle it’s also a good idea to have a reusable cup for your coffee or tea.
Take it to work and the local coffee shop and feel good that you’re not adding to the mountain of disposable paper and polystyrene cups piling up across the world.
Recycle everything you can!
Of course one of the best ways to reduce the amount of trash you throw away is to recycle everything you can. If your recycled rubbish is not collected from your house, then find your local collection point, and make a weekly or fortnightly trip.
Most plastics can be recycled along with glass, paper and tin and some recycling companies will also take cell phone batteries, clothes, shoes, paint and various electronics.
Before you throw anything away consider whether it can be used again by you or someone else.
