How to Reduce Household Waste

Every year, landfills across the world are packed with thousands of tons of unnecessary trash. Each person in the United States produces an average of 4 pounds of trash every day. You can cut down on the amount of trash your family produces in a few simple ways that only take a little bit of thought and effort.

Things You'll Need:

* Reusable tote bags
* Cloth napkins and cleaning rags
* Compost pile

Instructions :

1. Buy whole foods that don't come with packaging. Increasing the amount of fresh produce you eat is healthy for your family as well as the planet. In addition to produce, you can purchase cereal, grains, spices, dried beans and many other grocery items in the bulk section of natural food stores. It's an inexpensive way to stock your pantry, and you can keep it all fresh by storing it in canisters.
2. Use reusable tote bags for your purchases every time you go to the store. If you still accumulate plastic bags here and there, many grocery stores have recycling bins for them.
3. Buy household products such as laundry detergent, hand soap and cleaning sprays in bulk. By purchasing a few large containers of each product instead of many small containers, you can cut down on the amount that needs to be thrown out.
4. Purchase products made of recycled or recyclable materials. These products not only reduce the amount of waste heading to the landfills, they also keep reusable materials in the economy, conserving precious resources.
5. Use washable cleaning rags and cloth napkins rather than paper towels and paper napkins. You can make cleaning rags more convenient to use by placing two baskets under your kitchen sink–one for clean rags, and one for dirty rags.
6. Check every single package for a "recyclable" symbol before throwing it out. You might be surprised at some of the things you can recycle these days.
7. Make a compost pile in your yard for kitchen scraps instead of throwing them away. You'll have extremely rich fertilizer for your garden, at no cost. You can also add yard waste to your compost pile.
8. Think before you toss-your trash may be another person's treasure. Online trading communities allow you to trade items of all kinds with other people in your community (see Resources below). You can also donate used goods to local charities.
   

-eHow Home & Garden Editor