How to Go Green by Limiting Packaging

Use reusable bags instead of disposable ones.

Packaging makes up nearly one-third of America's nonindustrial waste. According to an article published at the San Francisco Gate, the online home of the "San Francisco Chronicle," each American discarded approximately 520 pounds of packaging per year as of 2007. To put that in perspective, this means an average 180-pound man puts nearly three times his weight in packaging waste into a landfill every year. This is why it's so important to limit packaging if we are to reduce our overall waste. It's possible to reduce the amount of packaging you discard by making some simple changes in your everyday habits.

Difficulty:

Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Reusable shopping bags
• Reusable produce bags
• Recycling bin
• Compost bin or pile (optional)

1. When you shop, bring reusable shopping and produce bags to eliminate using unnecessary disposable bags. Groceries, clothes, books, small electronics, DVDs and various other items will fit into the reusable shopping bags. Small items like makeup, produce, hardware and jewelry will fit nicely into reusable produce bags for convenient carrying.

2. Consider all these qualities while considering a product purchase: necessity, compact or multifunctional, made from renewable or recycled resources as well as being reusable or recyclable itself. The more of these qualities the product's packaging possesses, the more packaging waste you are eliminating.

3. When giving a gift, consider wrapping the gift with something other than typical wrapping paper. A nice reusable bag or basket complements and adds to the gift. Scarves, blankets and towels are other thoughtful options that enhance the gift with something useful. The key is using your creativity as well as whatever is available or reusable as packaging.

4. After opening the product, either recycle or compost the discarded packaging, as applicable. Recycling is the last chance to keep waste out of the overflowing landfills and reuse the resources we have. Composting, if it is an option, is a great way to lighten your environmental impact and put resources safely back into the Earth.

Tips & Warnings

• Other options for wrapping a present are newspaper comics for a child or crossword and Sudoku pages for a literary friend. This has the additional benefit of reusing newspaper. Pages from a coloring book filled in by a child can be a fun wrapping for a grandparent's gift.

References

• EPA: Packaging
• University of Florida, Office of Sustainability: How to Go Green with Print Design
• San Francisco Gate: The Thin Green Line: Brown paper packages tied up with string: If only!

Resources

• Sierra Club: Go Green and Give Green