A few small changes around the home will dramatically increase your pre-cycling efforts. Check out the following tips to help our environment: How many are habits in your household?
In Your Yard
Water early in the morning to limit evaporation.
“Cut it high, and let it lie,” or create a compost pile. Bags of grass clippings help clog landfills.
Birds welcomed by providing nesting sites will eat many of the insects that create a need for pesticides.
Plant a few trees. Shade trees cool ambient air temperature by as much as 10 degrees, and they also consume carbon dioxide and produce oxygen.
Avoid using non-organic fertilizers and pesticides.
In Your Kitchen
Use dish towels or sponges instead of paper towels.
Buy recycled paper napkins and paper towels.
Avoid using plastic wrap, which breaks down slowly in landfills.
Install low-flow aerators on faucets. It has been estimated that 250 million gallons of water could be saved every day if every home utilized these faucets. A family of four can save as much as 280 gallons each month.
Wrap sandwiches in wax paper, which is biodegradable, instead of plastic or foil.
Use a microwave, which consumes less energy than conventional gas or electric stoves.
Use a dishwasher, and select the “light” cycle whenever possible. Studies indicate dishwashers use less water than hand-washing, when cleaning comparable loads.
In Your Bathroom
Take showers instead of baths, which use twice as much water.
Install a low-flow, water-saving shower head, which can reduce water use by half.
Install a “toilet dam,” available at most hardware stores, in your toilet tank. Or use a brick or capped half-gallon plastic jug filled with water. You’ll be reducing water use per flush from 3.5 to 1.5 gallons.
Fix leaky water faucets, which can waste thousands of gallons of water each year.
Turn water off while brushing teeth or shaving.
Buy toothpaste in tubes instead of plastic pumps, because tubes take up less space in landfills.
With just a little effort, you can make a difference. And if everyone – well, OK, if at least a few people – follows your lead, we’ll all begin to notice the difference.
