Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Want To Reduce Your Waste? Start Composting!

I am always trying to reduce the amount of waste that I create. No glass jar or cans go into my waste. I have read through the web pages on my city's website about things that are allowed in the recycling boxes, so I am very familiar with the items that go to recycling and which ones go to composting.

New habits

It has just become a matter of course for how I sort my garbage now and doesn't take much extra time to do. Once in a while I will drive down to our local recycling center to drop of batteries, electronics or appliances. Apart from a recycling center, we are also lucky to have drop off boxes placed outside our local supermarket, where you can donate books and clothes.

4.6 pounds of garbage every day

Get this: An average American throws out 4.6 pounds of garbage every day. Every single day. That's a lot. It is getting to the point where we are running out of space to dump the garbage. It is getting near impossible to develop new landfills because no one wants to live close to a dump. Companies make a lot of money transporting garbage elsewhere, it is a big business. So, apart from newspapers, glass and pop cans, what else can we keep out of our garbage to minimize our waste?