A list of things I habitually do to reduce waste:
-Bringing coffee in travel mug to school to reduce use of paper cups (I still buy 2-3 coffees a week from coffee shops though). TIP: If you bring your own reusable mug to the UC dining commons, they only charge you $0.99 for coffee or tea. It’s a great deal! (I could write a whole section just on coffee & coffeeshops. For example: take a stack of their napkins to use later. Or, order your iced drink without a straw or lid, especially if you plan on eating in, or you’re just walking down the block to class.)
-Carrying a reusable water bottle. Are people still buying plastic water bottles???? Knock it off!
-Washing and reusing plastic sandwich bags. I use Ziploc bags as many times as I can before throwing them out and taking a new one.
-Always have at least 1 tote bag on you in case you need to buy something from the grocery store, or CVS, etc. to reduce your plastic bag use. (If you have to get a plastic bag, save it and reuse it later).
-When I moved into my first apartment in Brooklyn, I was horrified by how much food scraps I had to throw straight into the regular trash (at home in CT, we composted religiously). There was a short-lived attempt to compost by putting food scraps in the freezer & then bringing them to the farmer’s market, but I never really committed. (If you’re looking to reduce waste though, it’s definitely an option for composting in the City. I would check out the composting situation at the farmer’s market in Union Square).
-Look at every single-use item and think about how you can re-use it. Even to just save glass jars for later for when you might need them (to store homemade sauces/hummus/pesto, bring leftovers to school or work, as a candle holder, etc). Get take-out as little as possible. If you’re ordering to eat at home, ask them to hold the plastic utensils.
-Always recycle!! I am constantly holding onto empty glass bottles, plastic containers, cardboard coffee sleeves, etc. until I find the right recycling bin. I used to take empty water bottles & other recyclables off the top of trash bins at school and transfer them to the correct bin, but now I think the UC’s recycling situation is so messy that it may not matter which recyclables go into which bin. Last year, I lived with a roommate who had no clue about recycling, or was just too lazy to do it. I frequently took it upon myself to remove her recyclables from the trash, rinse them, flatten them and put them in the recycling.
I think recycling is one of those behaviors that seems to have little impact in and of itself, but is actually quite effective because it reinforces and normalizes ecological values.
Many of these habits I have adopted due to financial need (I love coffee, for example, (as perhaps has become evident) but I can’t buy a cup of coffee from a cafe every day). When you have such limited resources, I think you’re much more likely to attune yourself to ways of saving and reusing, because you just don’t have the funds to buy new things. Perhaps then, the richest countries of the world need to change their mindset to one of Depression-era desperation.
We have extremely limited our resources through climate change, and need to adopt a pervasive attitude of reuse, frugality and gratitude, in a way that it becomes instinctual, normal and automatic.