Want to help reduce your impact on the Earth? It starts with recycling and reusing items in clever ways, or ways you might not have thought of before. One of the main areas of waste is food and food packaging waste. Next time you visit a mall or grocery store, follow these simple tips from Kloos Hauling & Demolition to guide you. Soon you’ll be on the path to reducing your household and business waste!
Recycling habits while shopping: buy quality over quantity
Buying high-quality items for your home or business may cost more initially. But high-quality items last longer and work better than cheaper, mass-produced items. In the long run, this will help reduce waste, and save you money.
Purchasing quality, locally made goods can also help to reduce your environmental impact – if products you use are not shipped from other parts of the country or world it reduces emissions required to get the goods you need. Winnipeg is home to many talented makers, and several markets that make their products readily accessible. Check out independently owned stores in your neighborhood, you may be surprised what you find!
Recycling habits while shopping: buy frequently used items in bulk
Dry or canned foods, office supplies, household paper products, cleaning supplies, or any other items that you use frequently should be purchased in large, bulk quantities. This helps eliminate packaging. Often you will also save money by purchasing in bulk.
Reduce food waste by meal planning and only purchasing what you need for the week. This will also save you time each day because your menu is already planned out in advance! Tools like Flash Food help to save you money and reduce food waste by offering major discounts on food products that are nearing their best before date.
Recycling habits while shopping: choose products with less packaging
Try to buy items from brands that use less packaging, or even from bulk bins at grocery stores. This will help reduce consumer waste, reduces the use of single-use plastics, and can lessen your carbon footprint.
If packaging is necessary for the product, try to choose brands that use a recyclable or reusable package for the goods.
Recycling habits while shopping: buy rechargeable batteries
A single set of rechargeable batteries can replace thousands of alkaline batteries in its lifetime, saving both the environment – and money!
Donate items you don’t need
If you or your business has usable items, you no longer need – from clothing to hardware and building supplies – you can donate them to a charity that will provide them to those who do need them.
We often donate usable goods to local groups like Centre Flavie Laurent who distribute material goods to those in need at no cost to them – a great example of Winnipeg businesses supporting each other!
While shopping: always plan for recycling
Recycling is an incredibly simple way to be more environmentally friendly at your home or office. Make sure you have bins to accept recyclables like plastic, paper, and aluminum.
Check the city of Winnipeg recycling “what goes where” tool to see which items can be recycled and which cannot, and to see where non-recyclable items can be taken for proper disposal. If you are unable to take the items yourself, a junk removal company like Kloos Hauling & Demolition can pick them up and dispose of them appropriately for you.
Recycling habits while shopping: buy reusable items
One of the simplest changes to make is purchasing reusable bags instead of using single-use plastic bags. Reusable snack and sandwich bags, produce bags, and grocery bags are available at almost all grocery stores. Reduce the chance of forgetting your bags by keeping a few in the trunk of your vehicle for unplanned stops.
Reusable bags can be used for more than groceries – use them for picking up books at the library, when clothes shopping, and anywhere you might need them!
At the office, you can provide a set of glasses and coffee mugs to replace the paper or foam cups your employees use at the water cooler and coffee maker. In addition, reusing and repurposing other items as much as possible will help reduce waste at your home and your business!
We can all do our part to plan for recycling while shopping!
At Kloos Hauling & Demolition, we believe that everyone can do their part to help reduce waste, and our impact on the Earth. We hope these tips have been useful, and that they will help you save both money – and the planet! We’d love to hear the ways that you have made changes to reduce waste in your life, let us know at https://www.facebook.com/klooshauling/
If you’d like to learn more about our Winnipeg recycling services you can do so here: https://klooshauling.com/services/junk-recycling/.
Learn about the differences between recycling and repurposing here: https://klooshauling.com/blog/recycling-vs-repurposing/.