Ozark Living, Northwest Arkansas’ longest running real estate publication, is distributed the first week of each month.
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/972909
ADVICE Living Special to Ozark Living Homeowners may feel like they're always taking out the trash. Active families tend to generate a lot of garbage, and it's not uncommon to fi nd the kitchen trash pail overfl owing each day. A report from SaveOnEnergy found that garbage production numbers are staggering. e average American produces 4.4 pounds of trash each day. at means the average family of four can generate 17.6 pounds of trash a day. Here are nine ways to cut down on personal waste. Reducing trash to benefi t the environment 1 Recycle as much as you can. Post a list of all items that can be recycled where you live. Make sure to separate these items from the regular trash. Seek out facilities that will recycle items that are not collected in curbside pickup. 2 Avoid buying disposable products. Reusing items over and over saves money and resources. Many disposable products are packaged in plastic, which may be produced with toxic substances that can leach into the environment. 3 Use old rags for cleaning. When scouring the house, opt for old rags made from towels and T-shirts that are past their prime. ese rags can be washed and reused again and again. 4 Mend broken items if possible. Before tossing something into the trash, fi gure out if it can be repaired. A simple fi x may breathe a few more years of utility into the product. 5 Cook only what you can eat. e UN Environmental Program estimates that one-third of the food produced for human consumption across the globe is wasted. Store and use le overs effi ciently. Stick to portion sizes when cooking, and fi nd uses for foods (farms may take food scraps for pigs) before tossing them in the trash. 6 Compost usable items. Another way to repurpose certain food items is to turn them into fertilizer. Egg shells, fruit rinds, coff ee grounds, and more can be placed in a compost heap instead of the garbage. 7 Donate used items. Books, magazines, toys, clothing, household items - all of these things can be donated or traded. 8 Use reusable tote bags when shopping. Keep plastic shopping bags out of landfi lls by recycling them or bringing along your own cloth bags to the stores. 9 Stop junk mail. Contact companies to remove your name from lists of junk mail. Invest in a shredder and turn junk mail into packing materials or bedding for pet cages. 26 • MAY 2018 • OZARK LIVING