Reduce

Reducing the amount of waste generating products is the first step in addressing our waste production. By becoming more efficient with our product consumption, the level of overall waste is lowered.

Junk Mail

Junk mail creates an estimated four million tons of preventable waste every year. Reducing unwanted mail can help reduce the financial and environmental impacts associated with the production and distribution of the material. Learn how you can reduce junk mail by visiting the city's junk mail reduction tips page. 

Products

There are many consumer products that quickly produce large amounts of waste and/or cannot be recycled efficiently. One example is plastic bottles. Creating these bottles is very energy intensive, and while recycling them reduces the level of energy used to create new plastic bottles by 2/3, fewer than 30% of these bottles are ever returned to recycling centers. This means that approximately 70% of the bottles that are consumed remain in the waste stream for 1,000+ years attempting to biodegrade.

These issues can simply be avoided by not consuming them in the first place. It is much better for the environment and your checkbook to purchase one reusable bottle that you can repeatedly fill up.

Other products that you should reduce your use of are:

  • Paper shopping bags
  • Plastic shopping bags
  • Plastic Utensils
  • Paper Cups
  • Aluminum cans

Resources

  • Earth911's Plastic Bottle Facts - A list of the waste and energy generated by the consumption of plastic bottles.
  • Reduce.org - A great online resource for tips on how to reduce waste in many aspects of your life!