Reduce!

The modern mantra for waste management, about which we heard an excellent presentation this week from the City of Ottawa's Solid Waste Master Plan project manager, is REDUCE, RE-USE, RECYCLE! in that order. Recycling should be seen as a last resort, which means teaching ourselves to obey the other two commandments first. Sandra, in my Environment Action group, thought that we ought to publish tips on how to set about it. So, for reference ...

Tips For Reducing Waste

• Propagate the plants you grow, repurposing various containers as plant pots
• Give gifts wrapped in cloth instead of single-use gift-wrap
• Write out a weekly meal plan and shopping list to avoid impulse buys
• When choosing between a food item wrapped in plastic and / or polystyrene and one wrapped in paper, choose the latter.*
• Always carry shopping bags in your purse **
• Buy unwrapped bread, fruit and vegetables whenever possible
• Boil vegetable peelings to create nutritious home-made stock
• Buy loose tea, not teabags
• Buy nuts, edible seeds, pulses, grains, dried beans and dried fruit from bulk bins, using glass jars to store them
• Ask for meat to be wrapped in butcher's paper rather than plastic
• Place newly purchased food at the back of the fridge so as not to neglect the food already there
• Cook in bulk, labelling and freezing extra portions or leftovers
• Freeze and preserve excess food before it starts to deteriorate
• Buy toothbrushes, combs and picnic cutlery made of bamboo, not plastic
• Avoid using plastic wrap in the kitchen; there are multiple alternatives
• Shop for second-hand items; share, hire or borrow tools needed for one-off projects
• Compost egg shells, vegetable peelings, coffee grounds, nut shells, tea leaves
• Cancel unnecessary mail and don't accept junk mail in your mailbox
• Avoid buying disposable items
• Repair or donate old furniture and old clothes
• When an item for sale appeals to you, think: do I really need this, or could I manage without it?

* The ancient Brits of my parents' generation who sold fish 'n chips wrapped in old sheets of newspaper were thinking along the right lines!

** For readers who speak British-English, "purse" is the N. American word for handbag.