To lead a zero-waste lifestyle, we not only try to minimize waste but to also be more conscious of WHERE we dispose of it! Have you noticed what type of wastes are typically generated in your household?
Segregating waste can get quite tricky, but let’s do our best to first EASE into the practice. Anna Varona of Clean Our Oceans Project gave us some of the simplest solutions to segregating at home!
When segregating your plastics, try to categorize them by:
- RIGID or SOFT bottles — think fabric conditioner containers (rigid) or typical water bottles (soft)
- Bottle CAPS
- FILM — loaf bags, bubble wrap, sandwich bags
- MICROWAVABLE or NON-MICROWAVABLE food containers
- Sachets and Foils
Note that you should clean these plastics and let them dry before throwing them in the bin! Also make sure not to mix in food waste with the rest of your trash. Compost them instead!
One of the benefits of segregating your trash at home is that it helps you realize what you might need to buy less of. It can also help you decide what items you can switch to more eco-friendly alternatives.
But… where do these segregated trash go?
That’s one of the problems that need to be addressed! Sadly, even when we do our part and segregate at home, they still end up together in landfills.
Trash that end up in landfills are made of toxic substances which can damage our soil through time. Landfills also produce LEACHATE which are harmful to the land, ground water, and waterways, negatively affecting ecosystems in the process. Lastly, landfills release METHANE GAS which is about 85 times more potent than carbon dioxide!
This short TED-Ed video goes a little more in depth about what happens to plastic in landfills.
So, what can we do?
Once we’ve segregated our trash, we can instead bring them to organizations and businesses that treat these wastes as RESOURCES! Plastics are then repurposed, food waste is composted, and they are all DIVERTED from landfills.
Check out cleanup.carrd.co for a compiled list of these businesses and organizations, and let’s work together to divert waste from the landfills. Let’s make the change #FromLandFillersToLandHealers!
We would also appreciate it if you can submit more resources to our list for more options to where waste can be brought!
Featured image by Christopher Vega