By Metro
As the hustle of the holiday season comes to an end, the new year offers a chance to think about new beginnings. It is a fresh start for our habits and offers an opportunity to set a vision for the year ahead.
There are many actions you can take to conserve resources, minimize the impacts of products and reduce waste in your daily life. Check out these New Year’s resolutions and pick the one that works best for you.
Use reusable bags for groceries
Opting for reusable bags saves resources, reduces plastic pollution and protects workers that remove plastic bags that get tangled in sorting machines. Using reusable bags twice a week for a year would keep 104 single-use bags out of the trash.
Bring your own reusable water bottle
People in the US purchase about 50 billion bottles of water per year and 75 percent go into the trash. Switching to refillable water bottles reduces one of the biggest contributors to plastic waste.
Use eco-friendly cleaning products
People use an average of 40 pounds of cleaners each year, and many common cleaning products contain harmful ingredients. You can switch to less toxic store-bought products or make your own healthy cleaners at home.
Ditch the paper towels
Paper towels contribute 7.5 billion pounds of waste per year. Instead, you can swap to Swedish dishcloths, cotton kitchen towels or repurpose old clothing into rags.
Stop before you buy
The phrase “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” lists them in that order for a reason; manufacturing new products takes more resources than reusing or recycling them. Buying fewer things, choosing things that will last longer and giving gifts of experiences all lessen the impacts of manufacturing.
Repair instead of discarding
Repairing broken things can reduce waste and save money. Look for local experts or learn a new skill yourself. Check out local repair cafes (repairpdx.org) to meet volunteers who give their time and repair expertise.
Cut down on food waste
Food that ends up in the trash emits methane, a powerful greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change. Use a “first in, first out” method to go through groceries and look for meal planning calculators like savethefood.com/guestimator to see how much food you need to make.
Make use of bulk food and refill stores
Buying from the bulk food aisle and zero waste stores helps people avoid using bulky containers and packaging. Some stores carry free reusable jars you can fill and return.
Donate your unwanted things
When you donate things you can’t use anymore, you give someone else a chance to make use of them, and adding to the circular economy reduces the need to make new products!
Recycle your old electronics
Many old electronics contain harmful materials like lead and mercury that we want to keep out of our environment. The Oregon E-cycles program has over 200 collection locations throughout the state. Find a location by visiting the Oregon E-cycles website, ecycleoregon.org.
Go pesticide free in your garden
Garden chemicals can also be harmful to humans, pets, wildlife and waterways. Switching out your practices and products can make your garden as safe as it is beautiful. Got a question on how to start? Try the metro area Master Gardener hotline at 503.821.1115.
This article was originally posted on the Metro website, oregonmetro.gov.