GREEN PROJECT
Reducing Waste at Home
• Reduce excess paper
A significant percentage of household trash consists of paper. Much of the paper consumed by households arrives in your mailbox everyday. A typical American household will receive more than 500 pieces of advertising mail each year.
The best way to reduce household waste from advertisers is to prevent it from arriving in your mailbox in the first place:
Registering with the Direct Marketing Associations Mail Preference Service will get you off most national marketing lists
Prevent certain catalogs from arriving in your mailbox by contacting the individual mailers and ask them to remove you from their mailing lists.
Or call 1-888-OPT-OUT to stop mailings of credit card offers from the major national credit bureaus, Equifax, Experian, and Trans Union. Be sure to have your Social Security number ready to confirm your identity
Benefits: Although recycling of junk mail is supported and encouraged, by reducing the flow of junk mail into your mailbox, you will be contributing to the preservation of natural resource, reducing demand for landfill space, and saving yourself the time, money, and effort needed to shred or recycle unwanted mailings.
• Reduce packaging waste
Packaging comprises up to 30 percent of the municipal waste that ends up in landfills or incinerators. You can reduce the amount of packaging refuse by purchasing products which require less packaging.
Purchase concentrates and dilute them with water in reusable containers
Avoid single-service products in favor of larger servings or buy in bulk
Benefits: Typically, over-packaged products cost more than less-packaged or bulk items, therefore you can save money when buying products which require less packaging while preserving resources and reducing the demand for waste disposal.
• Eliminate Mercury
Mercury is a dangerous nerve toxin which travels easily through the atmosphere, ending up in our rivers and lakes where it accumulates in fish and other water-borne creatures, potentially injuring humans who may consume them. Mercury is particularly dangerous to children, pregnant women, or women who plan to have children in the future.
The best way to keep mercury out of your home is to avoid mercury-containing products in the first place. If your home has mercury-containing products, be responsible and make sure they are taken to a household hazardous waste facility for recycling.
List of mercury-containing household items: fever and cooking thermometers, tilt switches in many thermostats, steam irons with 15-minue automatic shut-off, neon lamps, older batteries, fluorescent lamps, switches that stop washing machines when the top is open, “silent” wall switches, mercury vapor, high pressure sodium, and metal halide lamps.
When buying these products, look for non-mercury containing alternatives like digital or alcohol-based thermometers and digital or electronic thermostats
Benefits: As with many toxic chemicals, it is illegal to dispose of mercury-containing products with the regular household garbage. In order to keep of rivers and lakes clean and our children protected, it is essential that any mercury-containing products be brought intact to your local household hazardous waste disposal site.
• Use the least hazardous cleaning products
Each month, in a state the size of New Jersey—approximately 8.6 million people—about 1,100 tons of liquid cleaners and 258 tons of toilet bowl cleaners are washed down the drain.
Look for signal words on product labels, such as caution (mild to moderately toxic), warning (moderately toxic), and danger (extremely flammable, corrosive, or highly toxic), which indicate the level of hazard. Try to use the least hazardous product to do the job, keeping in mind that extremely toxic products must also include the word “poison.”
Be sure to read the instructions printed on product labels and be sure to use the correct amount; Remember, you won’t get twice the cleaning results by using twice as much!
Consider these non-toxic cleaning alternatives:
Baking Soda: for sinks, tubs, and toilets, and for refreshing drains
Vinegar in a pump spray bottle: for mirrors and shining chrome
Plant-based Detergents: for countertops, fixtures, appliances, and walls
Rags and Non-scratch Sponges: for all-purpose cleaning
Vegetable Oil with Lemon Juice: for polishing furniture
Borax: a simple laundry detergent that can be used along with “washing soda”
Benefits: With so many cleaning products to choose from, it may be difficult to choose the best ones for your household. When shopping, purchase the product with the least dangerous signal word or use substitutes to reduce the amount of hazard resulting from chemical cleaners in your home. Reducing the amount of hazardous chemicals in your home will keep you and your family safe.
• Buy the right amount of paint for the job
Every year, millions of gallons of paint end up either at a hazardous waste disposal site, municipal land fills, or are released into the environment through irresponsible disposal in household sinks or sewage grates.
Before beginning a painting project, make an accurate measurement of the square-footage to be painted.
One gallon of paint covers approximately 400 square feet; less if painting a rough surface.
If stored correctly, paint stays in good condition and, if it mixes smoothly, can still be used.
Be sure to use the original paint container when storing unused paint
To prevent the paint from drying out, cover the paint can with plastic wrap, replace the lid securely and store upside down
Also, be sure to protect your paint from freezing
Benefits: Another way to keep hazardous chemicals out of your home is to use low-VOC or water-based paints, stains, finishes, and paint strippers. Using less paint by making accurate measurements will save you time and money while preventing the accumulation of excess paint in your home.
For additional information, please consult the National Paint & Coatings Association
• Shopping
Grocery store shoppers use nearly 40 billion bags annually, contributing to the estimated six-percent of highway litter that is plastic (Federal Highway Commission). Most are used only once then recycled or thrown away.
Bring your own cotton, canvas, mesh, or paper bags when shopping, either at the grocery store or the local mall.
Benefits: Purchasing a cloth or mesh bag can be an investment that will pay for itself in no time. By bringing your own bags, supermarkets and retailers won’t have to purchase as many paper and plastic bags for customer consumption, thus saving them money while passing these savings onto consumers. In addition, many grocery retailers offer a 5-10 cent discount for every paper, plastic, or cloth bag you reuse.
Source: www.reduce.org
• Other Resources
http://www.hpboro.com/publicworks/depts_pworks.htm-link to boro's recycling program
US EPA: What can you do about household waste?
New Jersey Division of Solid and Hazardous Waste
Waste Reduction, Reuse, and Recycling Pamphlets from New York Division of Solid and Hazardous Waste
America Recycles Day
ISRI: The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries, Inc.
Association of New Jersey Household Hazardous Waste Coordinators
New Jersey Solid Waste Policy Group
Calculate Your Yearly Household Carbon Production
Each of these pages contains extensive links to additional sources of information regarding household waste and waste management
