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Simple Solutions: What You Buy
Canadians take home over 55 million plastic shopping bags every week, and most of them end up in landfills. The average family of four in North America uses one thousand plastic bags each year of which 80 per cent come from the grocery store.
Fast and Free Solutions
- Recycle whatever you can from the packaging that comes into your home—glass, plastic and cardboard.
- Question every item you are about to throw away. Is the item recyclable? Can it be composted? (e.g., fruit and vegetable scraps, ends of bread, muffins, coffee filters and grinds)? Can I use this item for something else (e.g., is it a glass jar that could become a storage container)? Is this item hazardous waste (e.g., batteries, medication, and automotive oil container)?
- To reduce waste, choose fewer products with excessive packaging.
- Reduce the number of disposable plastic bags brought into your home by bringing your own bag when you go shopping.
- Think about non-toxic alternatives.
Simple and Low Cost
- Buy food grown locally. The average household imports 113 kilograms of food each year, producing 226 kilograms of greenhouse gases.
- Buy in bulk if you can.
- When you open a package to take out its contents, notice how much packaging it contains in relation to the product inside. If it’s a lot, try similar products that may have less packaging and choose to use those.
- Sign up for an Internet subscription to your favorite newspaper.
- Buy a reusable water bottle and keep refilling it throughout the day.
- Use liquid laundry detergents and bleaches instead of powder to cut down on heavy metals in wastewater.
- Whether you are buying food or items for the house, buy only as much as you need. You can often rent or borrow items like power tools from your neighbors.
- Avoid having more toxic products such as petroleum distillates around by choosing cleaning products that contain citrus-based solvents instead.
Spend to Save
- Invest in rechargeable batteries.
- Invest in reusable food containers instead of plastic wrap.
- Switch to cleaning products that stores can refill.
- Buy local. This includes fruits, vegetables, and even clothing. It supports your local economy and helps the environment.
- Buy gifts for your friends that help them save the environment. Get your Mom into vermi-composting. Buy your brother a programmable thermostat. Give your Aunt an outdoor water timer for her new home.
- Buy products that are EcoLogo certified by Environment Canada. Products include household and industrial cleaners, laundry detergent, printing paper, paper products, tissues and napkins, pain, fuels, office furniture, print’s, floor and other renovation and building materials.
