October 16-22 is Waste Reduction Week across Canada! There are a lot of simple things you can do in your own home to reduce waste and ingrain environmentally responsible habits. Here are a few to get you started. If you're already doing all of these then you get a big gold star!
- Bring a travel mug rather than taking paper cups to go
- Invest in a reusable water bottle and avoid buying bottled water
- Always have reusable bags in the car to carry groceries
- Purchase whole foods as much as possible, and avoid packaged foods
- Use rechargeable batteries
- Shop second-hand
- Tell your bank and utilities companies that you want electronic statements only, not paper mail
- Try composting with worms in your kitchen (we love our worms at Rocky! See other ways we reduce waste at our Green Workshop)
- Use cloth diapers
- Buy in bulk and use glass jars to store dried goods in your pantry
- Purchase large sizes of shampoo and conditioner and some small refillable tubes to fill at home and take with you when you travel
- Use old clothing as cleaning rags and avoid paper towel and disposable cleaning cloths
- Line-dry your laundry whenever possible
- Download your music and movies instead of buying CD's and DVD's