How to reduce waste and treat the Earth nicer

How to reduce waste and treat the Earth nicer

Ariona Imel, Staff Writer

“Save the planet!” We all know those people who are constantly posting about how we can help Planet Earth. There are numerous websites sites and groups that are researching and testing ways to help our environment in a positive way. If someone is walking down a sidewalk and see a piece of trash, most people wouldn’t give it a second glance or pick it up. Most of us probably have seen those pictures and videos of the piles of trash washing up on the shore. So, how can we reduce the amount of waste and treat our environment better? Here are a few tips and ideas on how to help our environment and reduce waste.

Reducing waste in homes

To start off, we need to find ways of reducing waste in our homes. Maybe instead of throwing everything away in one garbage bin, start recycling and separating things from your regular garbage. You know that collection of grocery bags you have stuffed away? Reuse those when you go back to the grocery store. Then you won’t have a seemingly endless collection of plastic bags laying away in your cabinet. Take a break from disposable items, they only create more pointless waste. 

Reduce water and energy consumption

Another way of helping our environment is reducing the amount of power we use. Start by trading out your regular light bulbs for energy efficient bulbs. It may sound like these would cost more, but actually they are reasonably affordable. If you have a dishwasher at home, quit rinsing your dishes before placing them in the dishwasher. This will cut back on the amount of water you use.

Invest in a good detergent and your dishes will come out just as clean. Food waste is a huge problem in households today, but it is something we can help reduce. Only buy the foods you know will get eaten. Cut out buying items you think will get eaten at some point or another. The amount of food that gets thrown away could be used for compost. Get a bin and start composting, all that waste can be used to feed your garden if you have one.

Stop buying plastic water bottles

Stop buying plastic water bottles. This is probably one of the main ways we hurt our environment, they are a huge waste item. Invest in a long-lasting water bottle, this can help out with the huge plastic problem. The ocean has way too much plastic, so bring reusable items when you’re going to the beach.

What do you think you could do to help save and protect our planet? Buy a reusable water bottle rather than a plastic one and reduce greenhouse gases by taking a bike to work. Reduce, reuse, recycle is a sentiment we learn in elementary school but remains true today. We all live on this planet together so we should do our part to take care of it.