04.0 Waste

1. Audit and reduce your garbage.[1] (high impact)
2. Work to reduce your waste a little bit more ever day:  Eco-Cycle can help.
3. Recycle paper, metal and plastics per NYC law.[3]
4. Consider recycling the plastics NYC won’t accept at the Park Slope Food Coop.[4]
5. Opt out of mail order catalogs you don’t want through Catalog Choice.
6. Stop junk mail. Go to Eco-Cycle.
7. Donate or sell your castoffs:  Freecycle,  NYC Stuff Exchange,  Clothing Swap, Swap Style.
8. Sell it on EBay, Craig’s List or on the stoop.
9. Recycle what you can’t sell or give away.
10. Cell phones[5] and rechargeable batteries – Call 2 Recycle.
11. Shoes – Reuse a Shoe.
12. Carpet – Carpet America Recovery Effort.
13. Computers – Electronics Take Back Coalition.
14. Building supplies – Habitat for Humanity.
15. CDs & DVDs – Green Disk.
16. Say “No” to disposables.
17. Use reusable shopping bags. [6]
18. Use cloth napkins.
19. Use dish towels instead of paper towels.
20. Don’t use disposable plates, cups, or silverware.
21. Use rechargeable batteries.
22. Compost!  If you live in an apartment, compost at your nearest community garden.  A great source of nutrients for plants and gardens.
23. Place a water bottle in your toilet tank and reduce the volume of water you use.
24. Your laptop is about five times more energy-expensive to make than a car or fridge.  So upgrade first before you replace.  Install more memory or faster processor.  Reuse. Give your PC away.  Recycle. Many manufacturers will take your machine when you buy a new one.
25. Feeling like no matter what you do it’s just not enough?   Install an Envirolet composting toilet!

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[1] The average American generates 1,460 pounds in a year.   Think about what you can do to improve your recycling and consumption rates, and do it!

[2] www.riot4austerity.org

[3] Metal mining consumes approx. 9% of our global energy output.

[4] The Coop has three collection days each month, and best of all, they accept plastics from any neighborhood resident (excluding businesses), not just Coop members.

[5] Cell phones are about 14% copper by weight and contain other precious metals and are valuable.

[6] If you forgot your bag and need to choose between paper and plastic, while debatable, the carbon reduction  advantage goes to paper as it is more easily reused and recycled.