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Home / Personal Waste Reduction

Taking action to reduce your waste can be confusing, but we're here to help!
We encourage reduction on all levels, from individuals to communities
 through awareness, education and programs.  Reducing the waste we produce helps us to simplify, make more environmentally and socially-conscious decisions, make healthier choices for ourselves, and to build communities that are overall more sustainable.  


Please browse our variety of resources and consider challenging yourself to live with less waste!

Remember the intentional 3-Rs:

The sequence of these actions isn't by accident:

 How do we first and directly need to address waste? 

        By reducing it  

  What is the next best option? 

        By reusing what we can

  What comes next? 

        Recycling it

  Our last, last resort?

        Landfilling it

Kitchen

In the kitchen

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Bathroom

In the bathroom

  • Various alternatives to disposable feminine hygiene products

  • Don't forget to always recycle in the bathroom!
    Remember you can recycle plastic film

  • Purchase a recycled or bamboo toothbrush.

    • This toothbrush is made from recycled products and can be recycled by sending it back to the company.

    • This toothbrush is made from bamboo and is compostable. (NOTE: there are many varieties of compostable toothbrushes. This is a company I know and trust. Feel free to shop around.)

  • Make your own hygiene products to avoid packaging waste, minimize miles traveled, and keep unknowns out of your body

    • Hand Soap

    • Toothpaste

    • Shampoo & Conditioner

      • Angie's Method: I keep two 16oz cups in my bathroom. Before I go into the shower I mix up the following, one in each cup.  Shampoo - 1/2 cup baking soda to 1 cup warm water / Conditioner - 2 cups warm water with 2-4 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar, optional couple drops of essential oils. Wet my hair, stir the baking soda into the water and pour the entire cup over my hair, massage into hair, let sit for 2-3 minutes (while you soap up) and then rinse fully from hair. Next pour the entire cup of ACV water onto hair. Massage around and let sit a minute or two. Rinse fully. Dry and style as you normally would.

      • Karin's testimonial:  Angie's method works great for color-treated hair AND for grey hair.  I know because my hair color is often unpredictable :)

    • Consider purchasing locally made cosmetic and body care products (try your local Co-op for handmade options and ingredients)

  • Make your own bathroom cleaning agents

Laundry

In the laundry room

  • Compost dryer lint (if materials are non-synthetic, i.e. cotton)

  • Make or purchase your own wool dryer balls to avoid disposable sheets

  • Avoid packaging and chemical residue of detergents by using soap nuts

  • Make your own laundry detergent

  • Shorten the laundry cycle and use cold water

  • Line dry laundry

  • Consider a Coraball to help capture microplastic fibers in your wash loads

Inside

Inside the house

Outside

Outside the house

Around your community

Community

WASTE REDUCTION ADVOCATES

What is your favorite way to live with less waste?  

 

If you don't see it up here, let us know so we can add it to the list and continue sharing ways to minimize waste!

Success! Message received.

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Please note that the people, organizations, businesses, and products listed on our website are simply those we (staff of RCC) have found beneficial and practical enough to share with others for the ultimate goal of helping each other reduce waste and live more sustainable lives.  This does not imply any formal endorsement or necessarily reflect the opinions of the board.

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