When people think of climate change, they think of increasing temperatures. Hot winters and hotter summers. Maybe the ocean and its changing pH, or a melting glacier or two.
Maybe polar bears losing their habitats? Less and less fish? How about little trees and more landfills taking their place?
This is the effect of trash upon trash upon trash. The more trash, the more carbon is in the air. And the more carbon (or any other greenhouse emission contained in the atmosphere), the more consequences Earth has. It’s easy to ignore what’s not in front of us – that these animals are too harshly affected and that a slow decline of our Earth is happening at our fingertips, from our fingertips.
But that’s only if we keep contributing waste. With reducing, reusing, and recycling waste, a sustainable future becomes a long-term concept, one that ensures a high quality of life for future generations. For instance, the benefits of reducing, reusing, and recycling your waste include:
- Prevents pollution caused by reducing the need to harvest new raw materials
- Saves energy
- Reduces greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global climate change
- Saves money
- Reduces the amount of waste that will need to be recycled or sent to landfills and incinerators
- Allows products to be used to their fullest extent
As a nation, we throw away $11.4 billion worth of recyclable containers and packaging each year. Before you put your plastic trash bag on your trashcan, check out the best practices to reduce, reuse, and recycle your waste:
Reduce Waste
There’s always new ways to reinvent everyday items, so why not waste? With more than 262.4 million tons of trash generated in 2015, we can only imagine what it’s like now in 2019.
- Plan ahead and buy in bulk.
- Rent or borrow instead of buying.
- Purchase items that can be repaired (or simply don’t throw it away after a couple uses).
- Cut down on electricity and water use.
Reuse Waste
Unlike Forky from Toy Story 4, trash is not your friend. It’s better to reduce waste than contribute it to your household trash bin.
- Post unwanted items on the Facebook store or Poshmark.
- Find new uses for everyday items (i.e. glass mason jars can hold makeup brushes).
- Gift old clothes to a friend or family member.
- Clean old products instead of throwing dirty ones away.
Recycle Waste
Place any of the below items in the green recycling bin in your house, neighborhood, or workplace. If all three don’t provide a recycling option, reach out to your community to kickstart one!
- Paper
- Gift wrap and bags
- Batteries
- Plastics
- Glass
- Used Oil
- Tires
- Household Waste
Avoid Waste
While reduce, reuse, and recycle are the three main practices, there’s one that could easily be put above them – avoid. It’s best to not use any waste at all. Avoiding it in the first place will not only prevent trash, but it can prevent the step of recycling, even. We can’t contribute waste if there isn’t waste to produce in the first place.
- Take your own shopping bag.
- Use a stainless steel bottle.
- Say no to plastic (specifically plastic straws!).
- Use glass containers.
Now we are aware it’s easier said than done. With Evergreen Promotions at your disposal (no pun intended), we provide environmentally-friendly products made from recycled materials that make it a bit easier for you to start your zero waste journey. With our four categories – biodegradable, heirloom, reuse, and low carbon – you are not only able to reduce, reuse, and recycle to your heart’s desire, but you can buy zero waste products like stainless steel bottles and reusable bags.
We will let you know when those are available. But, for now, check out our reuse page on our website and learn more about how recycling impacts our beloved environment.