Cutting waste is a critical strategy for tackling climate change, says Abby Obenchain of Clean North, who recently gave a virtual seminar on this topic.
She noted that climate change is fundamentally a waste management problem: Manufacturing, transportation, and other activities produce waste in the form of greenhouse gas emissions, which escape to the atmosphere and wreak havoc. People, ecosystems, and the economy are paying the price.
The good news? We can do something about this: The less stuff we buy, and the longer we use the stuff we already have, the less waste we have, including greenhouse emissions.
Reducing waste also helps reduce our tax burden by extending the life of our landfill. And it protects us from toxic chemicals and heavy metals that can leach out of waste materials and into our air, ground, water, food, and wildlife.
Among the waste reduction tips she offered up:
- Conduct a household waste audit to determine how much and what types of waste your household produces. What you learn will help you decide how best to slim down.
- Say no to single-use items, to things you don’t truly need, to things made of plastic, to poor-quality goods that don’t last, to unnecessary packaging. Each item refused helps reduces production as well as related emissions. And it provides feedback to producers as well!
- Say no to fast fashion. People are buying way more clothing than they did 15 years ago and even viewing clothes as disposable, getting rid of them after only a few wears. Buy quality clothing that lasts longer, buy secondhand, do without, swap with friends, line-dry to help prolong clothing life.
- Never throw something away that someone else might be able to use. You can sell almost anything on Kijiji or Facebook Marketplace! Giving items away will allow you to reduce clutter even faster.
- Swipe left on electronics upgrades. The cell phone is an ecological disaster. Many people get a new phone every two years and don’t recycle the old one. Delay upgrades as long as possible, and make sure all electronics go to a recycling depot (Best Buy, Office Depot, Habitat for Humanity Re-Store, the city’s hazardous waste depot).
- Shrink your ride. Transportation is the second-largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the Sault, and Sault Ste. Marie is a sea of pickup trucks. How many of us actually need a truck for the few times a year we haul a big load? Downsize your vehicle dreams and borrow or rent a trailer when you need more hauling capacity.
- Say no to small appliances, and go manual instead. The world is drowning in trendy small appliances like Keurig machines and Instapots. Pick one or two you can’t live without and resist the urge to fill up your kitchen, garage, shed, and/or craft room with unnecessary electrified gadgets made of metal and plastic. Go manual whenever possible.
- Consider a manual lawn mower. They’ve come a long way since your grandparents’ era. No noise, no stinky emissions, and they are better for your lawn.
- Reduce food waste. Canada is one of the most food-wasting countries on the planet, and organic waste in landfills is especially bad as it produces methane, a far more powerful greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. You can reduce food waste by downloading a chart on how best to store food, planning your meals each week, always shopping with a list, buying only the amount you need, and shopping less often (fewer opportunities to impulse buy).
- Kick the liquids! Liquid soaps and detergents are heavy (lots of shipping emissions) and come in plastic bottles. You will get better bang for your emissions buck in bars and powders. You can even buy bar shampoo and dish soap. Or at least order large refill jugs to reduce overall plastic use.
- Get with the program: If you don’t have a programmable thermostat, get one — stop wasting energy when no one’s home or you’re sleeping. And visit city, provincial, and federal webpages that list energy efficiency programs to support homeowners. You may be eligible for assistance or rebates.
- Check out the energy efficiency of any appliance before buying. Look for the Energy Star label.
- Reduce water use as it takes energy to process water. For example, you can keep the faucet off while brushing your teeth or shaving, repair leaks right away (a leaky toilet can waste 200 gallons of water a day!), run dish and clothes washers only when full, and water your lawn early or late in the day, avoiding midday.
- Learn our city’s recycling rules and make sure everyone in your family follows them. Items made of recycled materials generally require less energy, and recycling paper products has the added bonus of saving trees — they are nature’s carbon capture devices! On the flip side, if a load of recyclables has too many contaminants in it, the entire load may end up in the landfill. So it’s critical to recycle right! For example: The only plastics we can recycle in Sault Ste. Marie are #1 and #2 bottles and jars. They must be clean and the lids must be removed. Read more about curbside recycling rules here.
This presentation was cohosted by Sault Climate Hub and Clean North.
Questions? Email us at info@cleannorth.org.
