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We in NYC throw out enough trash every single day to fill the space of The Empire State building. If enough of us reuse some of those things one extra time, I think we can reduce that by a good amount.
Here are some everyday things that we can reuse, thus delaying it from filling up the landfills by a few days.
- Paper - Reuse the back of single sided printed paper. Use it for notes, doodling, etc...
- Plastic cups - Reuse it to drink another cup of coffee, water, soda etc... It can be a pencil/pen holder. Use it to plant a seedling.
- Plastic bottles - We are told not to reuse plastic bottles due to contamination. How about reusing it to hold water to water your plants? Throw a refilled botted in the freezer and use as and ice pack. I'm sure you can think of other ideas to reuse a plastic bottle.
- Toothbrushes - Who says you have to use it only for brushing your teeth? After it no longer does the job for your teeth, use it to scrub blemishes from shoes, hard to reach corners or any other small surface.
- Batteries - If you are still using regular alkaline AA batteries, you can put it to use after it no longer works in your camera or other high draining devices. Put it in your hallway clock, it takes very little power to get that clock going. You can also use the batteries in low draining remote controls for TVs, DVD players, etc....
- Paper bags - Use it to make popcorn. Brown bag your lunch. Help bananas ripen faster. There are numerous ways to use a paperbag. When you are done, recycle it!
Whatever you do, spread the message to reuse and recycle. Every little bit helps keep our little blue globe going one day longer, and you can start today. What do you reuse to help keep the landfills from filling up?
Elsewhere:
- Check out our weekly post on The405Club. This week, you can find some downloadable freebies!
- Enter to win a copy of How To Be An Everyday Philanthropist book - figure out more ways to help our world and communities.
Photo: country_boy_shane
5 comments:
I reuse all my plastic containers and jars. I no longer need to use ziploc bags (finally!). I just rinse out all spaghetti and salsa jars, yogurt (I buy the large size, so it comes with a top), cottage cheese, mixed nuts, and dried fruit plastic containers. They hold up very well! And if one gets spaghetti sauce stains, I don't feel so bad throwing it out.
I use the containers for tons of things! Anything that comes in a non-sealable bag, I will just store in one of the containers instead. When I make my own sauces, I can put them in a spaghetti sauce jar (looks better than in a baggie).
I have turned one container into a shaker for my carpet freshener. Just mix baking soda with an essential oil in a plastic container, put the lid on, poke some holes in the lid and shake over your carpet!
Hi Leslie,
Good ideas and advice! I try to do the same and have noticed I keep way too many containers at times. Good to know that I can recycle a good deal of them when I opt to.
I still believe it's better to reuse, it immediate and it means one less item in the landfill.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
I always reuse my plastic bottles and cup in the office for water, no reason to throw them out.
They have batteries now that power by USB
I use those :) So I don't have to buy disposable ones.
Great tips!
I also reuse any kind of container. AS paint pots, to hold wet garbage I don't want leaking all over the place... etc
go green - it's the only way to go!
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