Are You Doing Everything You Can?
The average American generates almost 5 pounds of waste each day. That’s almost 1 ton of trash per person, per year. Recycling is a quick and easy way to reduce your impact on the environment. Are you doing everything you can do minimize what you leave behind?
So much of today’s packaging is recyclable. Some packaging you may not even realize can be recycled. With just a few adjustments, you can lessen the amount of trash you produce.
Here are some things you can recycle quickly and easily:
- The cardboard sleeve that protects your hands from your
paper coffee cup.
- The top of your pizza box (as long as there’s no grease on it),
even though the bottom half isn’t recyclable.
- The foil wrap on Hershey Kisses
- Plastic bottles and their caps
- Cardboard toilet paper and paper towel cores
- Plastic wrap on things like bread, paper towels, newspapers,
and dry cleaning can be recycled where you recycle your
plastic shopping bags.
- Paper, including boxes, magazines, food boxes (cereal,
crackers, etc.), newspapers, and office copy and printer paper
- Glass jars and bottles, and aluminum and metal cans
Aside from recycling, there are some other things you can do to reduce your impact on the environment, while saving money:
- Bring your own mug to get coffee – paper cups increase waste and take up landfill space.
- Look for and purchase products that are made with recycled materials.
- Set your thermostat lower in the winter. Lowering your thermostat by one degree can cut as much as 10% of your heating bill
- Set your thermostat higher in the summer. For each degree the thermostat is set above 72 degrees, you’ll save 1% to 3% of your cooling expense.
- Unplug appliances when you’re not using them.
- Wash clothes in cold water whenever possible. Up to 85%
of the energy used to machine-wash clothes is spent heating
water.
- Install a low-flow shower head.
- Take shorter showers to reduce water usage.
- Compost yard trimmings, as well as coffee grounds, egg shells,
and fruit and vegetable scraps to reduce landfill space and help fertilize the soil.
Making a few quick and easy adjustments to your daily routine can have an impact that will be felt for generations to come. If you have any questions about how our products can help your or your work- place with your recycling efforts, ask our Technical Support Reps. Call 800.922.8553, or email techsupport@northernsafety.com. They’re happy to help.