Sustainability and living eco-friendly lives are buzzwords nowadays. With the global environmental crisis that’s more real than ever, individuals are scrambling on to live a more sustainable lifestyle. Among the different facets in life where waste, if not managed well, can be unsustainable, the household reigns supreme. When you think about the waste you have at home from the moment you wake up until you go to bed, so much unnecessary waste practices can go on, if you aren’t cautious.
In effect, this means your home is one of those contributing to the waste problem that’s already rampant today. When you study and consider the numbers from War on Waste, you’ll understand how proper waste disposal practices are of utmost importance.
Change starts at home, and you can certainly do your part by implementing good waste disposal practices in your humble abode. These include strategies like:
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1. Reduce Reliance On Paper And Ink
Nowadays, many families have switched to working from home and homeschooling their children. On top of that, mail still regularly gets in the post from subscription and utility bills. These are only some of the ways households are dependent on paper. When you really come to think of it, this dependence on paper also equals unnecessary waste.
If you can reduce the use and coming in of single-use paper in your home, that’s better. The less paper you’re using, the less trash you’ll have to dispose of. This allows you to stay on top of your trash and waste disposal, so your bins aren’t regularly overflowing. Part of sustainable waste disposal at home isn’t just the act of disposal itself, but also reducing the inflow of waste so as to reduce the need to dispose.
2. Donate What Can Still Be Used
Not everything that’s trash for you should make it to the landfills. What may be trash to you can still be put to good use by others. So, for as long as a piece of clothing is still wearable, a gadget or appliance is still usable, or a furniture is still functional, donate instead of throwing it away. The only items you should send to the landfills are those that absolutely have no use anymore.
3. Avoid Dependence On Plastic At Home
One of the most difficult types of waste to manage is plastic. The reason for this is it isn’t compostable and, in most cases, can’t be recycled. So, if your household’s bin has been filling up to the brim with so much plastic items to dispose of every day, that should be a wakeup call for you to be mindful about using less plastic at home.
For instance, have you thought about how much unnecessary plastic packaging your vegetables and other grocery items come in? If you can buy directly from market or stores where vegetables aren’t pre-wrapped in plastic, then do so.
Other habits for reducing plastic waste include:
- Having a reusable bag with you each time you go shopping
- Bringing your own water bottle with you to work, and anytime you’re out and about
- Buying refillable containers as much as possible
Those three measures are only some of the many as there are still more eco-friendly practices you can do. Once you get into the habit of being more responsible with your plastic use, waste disposal management in your household becomes easier. You won’t have to worry too much about all the overflowing bins.
4. Compost Your Leftovers
Many of your biodegradable waste at home from food scraps and fruit and vegetable peelings are actually compostable. If you have your own vegetable garden, starting your own compost pit makes a lot of sense. This doesn’t have to take up a big space. If you search the Internet, you’ll find a lot of valuable resources that can help you start your own small compost pit.
Doing this at home makes you more sustainable with waste disposal, as you aren’t sending too much to the landfills. Moreover, why dispose those biodegradable waste when you can bury them at home in your own compost pit?
If you want to get started, here are some of the items you can compost: fruits, soiled paper bags or brown bags that can’t be reused, coffee grounds, kitchen towels, tea bags, disposable napkins, vegetables, bread, and pasta.
Also, be mindful not to compost the following: meat, dairy products, chicken, fat or oil, and fish.
5. Avoid Single-Use Food And Beverage Containers And Utensils
Single-use plastic and disposable utensils are convenient to use at home, but make it a point not to use them every day. If you can, reserve those single-use utensils and containers only when you have to, like when you’re on outings or road trips.
You can significantly reduce your waste disposal at home when you don’t use single-use utensils and containers regularly. In fact, you may notice a significant difference as to the frequency of your bins getting filled and sent to the landfills when they’re not piling up too fast with single-use containers and utensils.
6. Be Responsible With The Disposal Of Hazardous Waste
If you have any infectious or hazardous waste at home, you have to be mindful enough not to dispose it along with regular waste in your home. When these are collected by the garbage disposal company, they won’t know that hazardous waste is there. This is a safety hazard not just in your home, but in the community exposed to the landfill as well.
When you have no idea how to dispose of the hazardous waste, call the experts to do this job for you. That way, you can be sure your household is disposing of it in the safest and most sustainable way possible.
Conclusion
Many households today are still observing unsustainable waste disposal practices in their homes. If you haven’t given much thought yet as to how you’re managing your waste, your home could also be one of those. It may only seem like a small change to make when you consider the effort your home makes. But, when you look at the bigger picture, each household’s effort to carry out sustainable waste disposal practices can already create a significant change and impact.
