What's the best way to reduce the amount of rubbish my family creates?

Question

The best way to prevent the problems of disposal of rubbish is not to create it in the first place.

Then what is the best way to reduce the amount of rubbish my family creates?

Answer 1

First up, it's a great idea to build a compost bin and a worm farm, perhaps combining the two (link below).

A good deal of household waste is biodegradable, and constructing one of these monsters means that rather than putting waste food matter into the bin, you actively use it to create fertiliser and improve soil quality.

Next, buy items with biodegradable packing, to help feed your compost bin where such a choice exists. If you can't get what you want don't be afraid to ask the shop keeper if they plan to stock the product with more eco-friendly packaging.

Carry a canvas bags to do your shopping, so you don't need to use the plastic ones, and if you can, pack vegetables loose or bring in your own containers to take them back home.

Brew your own beer! That way you can recycle glass bottles time and time again without relying on untrustworthy councils to do what they promise they will do when you put them in the glass-recycle box. Also your beer should taste better, contain fewer additives, be less likely to give you a hangover, and cost about 1/10th the price to make as your local store. A big winner if your household drinks beer!

Find uses for things like glass jars as storage pots, with due attention to safety you can use them as candle moulds or even as candles with low temperature burning wax. Tin cans can become slug and fruitfly traps in the garden.

Old carpet and carboard can make great mulch.

All these suggestions aside, perhaps the best single ways are asking yourself, when you buy a product "where will this end up/" and when you are about to bin something "is there a way I can use this?" .

Best of all, get creative!

Answer 2

This is some of what I do: use canvas bags when shopping, not buying anything I do not really need, buying consumer products that are concentrated using less plastic to contain it, buying biodegradable, finding another use for something I am done with, free cycle, compost, use cloths to clean instead of paper towels, and real plates instead of paper. These practice's can also save you some real money.

Answer 3

Recycle, recycle, recycle. Recycle all aluminum, plastic, glass, paper, cardboard. Buy reusable canvas bags for grocery shopping. Recycle all hazardous waste at a hazardous waste center, don't just throw things in the trash.

Answer 4

Reminds me of an old computer saying: "Garbage in > garbage out."

If you don't buy things that are disposable you won't create any garbage.

Answer 5

organize entire neighborhoods into sitdown strikes in front of your post office for delivering junk mail,in front of stores for using too much paper