Life

5 Ideas on How to Reduce and Reuse

Now, more than ever is the time to think about how you are using everyday products. By reducing how much you use and reusing what you can, not only do you help the environment (including air quality) but often you spend less. And let’s be honest, spending less is probably more important to most of us since we see the immediate effect.

Here are five simple ways to reduce and reuse.

Buy used

Buying used is a great practice to use throughout life! Not only are you helping the environment by reusing, but most times you can find high-quality products for a fraction of the price. For example, when buying a used car you can drive a better car for a fraction of the price. Or that new phone you wanted, buy it refurbished.

Buy products that use less packaging

Packaging is a huge environmental issue and a lot of waste is packaging waste. Buying in bulk, for example, uses less packaging per item. Using your own reusable bags at the grocery store can go a long way.

Check out this list of over 40 household products that use less packaging.

Buy reusable over disposable items

Avoid plastic as most plastic products are no longer recycled (only #’s 1 and 2) to see which ones are recycled click here. For example, when you get coffee, take your own tumbler that can be reused each time you go. Many locations will even offer discounts if you use reusable cups and tumblers. In addition, opting for an electric razor instead of disposable can reduce a lot of packaging waste as well as reducing the number of razors you use.

Maintain and repair products

Instead of purchasing a new product every time something slightly wrong happens, it is better if you first take the necessary steps to maintain the products that you already have and second look for ways to repair your products. There are many shops that will repair electronics for a low rate, and if you’re up for it there are always videos on the internet explaining how to do this.

Here are 10 YouTube channels for fix-it tips around the house.

Borrow, rent, and share products that are used infrequently

Rather than purchasing a product you will use once or twice, why not see if a friend or neighbor has the product for you to use? Or if there is a way to rent it for the time you will need it. Purchasing a product to use once or twice and then sit in storage until it gets thrown out is very wasteful. If you do own products that you don’t use very often, consider lending it to family, friends, and neighbors so that the product can be used as much as possible!

For more tips on how to “Go Green” visit AtlasDisposal.com/Green

To Top