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Waste Prevention Tips for Around Your Home

Waste prevention is the practice of eliminating waste before it is created–essentially, needing less material to get the job done.

Waste prevention is the practice of eliminating waste before it is created–essentially, needing less material to get the job done. The benefits of waste prevention include reduced energy consumption and pollution, conservation of natural resources, extension of valuable landfill space, and substantial savings through reduced purchasing costs and disposal costs.

  • Purchase items in bulk or economy size.

  • Purchase items in reusable containers.

  • Purchase only those items that you need.

  • Purchase high-quality, long-lasting products.

  • Repair older items rather than purchasing new ones.

  • Use reusable shopping bags.

  • Use cloth towels, napkins and rags instead of disposable paper products.

  • Avoid using disposable cups, plates and cutlery.

  • Use rechargeable batteries whenever possible.

  • Return unwanted clothes hangers to the dry cleaners for reuse.

  • Donate unwanted or needed items (food, clothing, equipment, furniture, appliances) to charitable organizations.

  • Rent infrequently used tools or equipment.

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Litter Reduction, Living Green LMD Web Team Litter Reduction, Living Green LMD Web Team

Waste Prevention Tips for the Office

People recycle when it’s convenient. Make it easy for employees to recycle by meeting them where they already are (at their desk) with a bin.

Go (nearly) paperless. While recycling is helpful, the biggest impact comes from using less paper. With programs like Google Docs that allow you to write, edit, and collaborate for free online and Dropbox, a free service that makes it easy to sync and share files, it’s easier than ever to eliminate the amount of paper you use in the workplace. Consider adding a “think before you print” message to the bottom of your emails as a friendly reminder to coworkers.

Keep a paper recycling bin within arm’s reach. People recycle when it’s convenient. Make it easy for employees to recycle by meeting them where they already are (at their desk) with a bin.

Print smarter. Sometimes printing is necessary. Save up to 50 percent on paper costs by having employees set their defaults to print double-sided, and ask employees to use the “Print Selection” function, which encourages them to only print what they need and reduces wasted sheets of paper.

Provide real dishes and silverware. K-Cups may seem economical because you can make one cup of coffee at a time, but they are much more expensive than coffee beans. Those millions of little plastic cups can’t be recycled and go straight to the landfill. Invest in a machine that grinds the beans to make one cup at a time, and buy coffee beans in bulk to save money.

Reuse binders and file folders. Provide label stickers so employees can write over and reuse binders and file folders instead of throwing them away after one use.

Provide filtered water. Install a filtered water tap so employees can pour a glass of water instead of grabbing a disposable plastic water bottle. Your company will save money on bottled water, and landfills will be spared of more plastic.

Invest in equipment that is high-quality, durable and repairable.

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Living Green, Litter Reduction LMD Web Team Living Green, Litter Reduction LMD Web Team

Make Your Own Green Cleaning Products

Many household cleaners contain materials that may be harmful to the environment. You can detoxify your home by making your own environmentally safe and effective products.

Many household cleaners contain materials that may be harmful to the environment. For instance, phosphates, found in many cleaners, detergents and soaps, when washed into waterways can cause water blooms of algae and bacteria that can kill fish and aquatic plants. Other chemicals found in common household cleaners may include neurotoxins, carcinogens, allergens and heavy metals.

Most stores and online retailers sell natural cleaning products that offer environmentally safe, cost-efficient alternatives to the toxic and potentially lethal household cleaning products used in many homes today. When shopping, look at the labels and make the switch to natural products. You can also detoxify your home by making your own environmentally safe and effective products.

Homemade Alternatives to Toxic Household Products:

All Purpose Cleaners:

  • 1 cup of baking soda in 1 gallon of hot water

  • ¼ cup of borax and 1 tablespoon liquid soap in 1 gallon of hot water

Deodorizers:

  • Baking soda or cornstarch

  • Zeolite is a non-toxic mineral that absorbs odors, bacteria and mold

Disinfectants:

  • Citrus-based products

  • Mix ¼ cup borax with ¼ cup white vinegar in hot water

Drain Cleaners:

  • Use ¼ cup baking soda, followed by ½ cup vinegar, cover until fizzing stops, and then flush with boiling water

  • Use a plunger or drain snake on major clogs

Metal Polishes:

  • Brass: Olive oil retards tarnishing

  • Chrome: Polish with baby oil

  • Copper: Use a paste made of lemon juice and cream of tartar, leave on for 5 minutes, wash in warm water

Laundry Products:

  • Use borax instead of bleach

  • To remove blood stains, soak in cold water, club soda or hydrogen peroxide

Oven Cleaners:

  • Apply a baking soda paste, let stand for 1 hour to overnight

  • Self-cleaning ovens work well and use no cleaners

Scouring Powder:

  • Baking soda paste

  • Pumice stick on porcelain surfaces

Toilet Bowl Cleaners:

  • For rings, mix borax and lemon juice into a paste, cover ring with paste, let sit for 2 hours

  • Pumice stone will remove stains

Tub And Tile Cleaners:

  • Use ½ cup of borax in hot water

  • Sprinkle with baking soda

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Being a Responsible Consumer With Hazardous Waste

Be a responsible consumer by reducing hazardous waste. And keep hazardous waste out of the reach of children and animals, and away from food, water, and heat sources.

When you reuse, recycle, or reclaim hazardous water, you can avoid environmental hazards, protect scarce natural resources, reduce our reliance on raw materials and energy and provide economic benefits. Hazardous waste, when improperly disposed of, can have disastrous effects on our land and water.

The hazardous waste you may have around the home is any unwanted household product labeled as flammable, toxic, corrosive, or reactive. Most commonly, these are aerosols, anti-freeze, asbestos, fertilizers, motor oil, paint supplies, photo chemicals, poisons, and solvents.

Be a responsible consumer by reducing hazardous waste.

Buy Responsibly

  • Compare and read product labels.

  • Buy only what you need.

  • Purchase or make your own environmentally friendly non-toxic cleaning products.

  • Use latex paint instead of oil-based paint.

Store Responsibly

  • Keep hazardous waste out of the reach of children and animals, and away from food, water and heat sources.

  • Store materials in their original containers with labels intact.

  • Separate flammable, corrosive and poisonous products.

Dispose Properly

  • Always try to purchase only the amount needed.

  • Never place hazardous waste in recycling receptacles or trash cans.

  • Don’t flush hazardous waste down toilets, household drains or in storm drains.

  • Deliver excess household hazardous waste in their original container with label intact to the Prince George’s County Household Hazardous Waste Acceptance Site. (If  the product label is not legible, use a permanent marker to write the chemical name on the container).

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