Hey you! As you probably know, our household was accepted to be apart of Hennepin County's Zero Waste Challenge. We've signed up for 9 months of education, training and challenging our own behaviors. I've been really nerdy and sharing tips via twitter along the way and I thought I would compile there here as well. To be clear, it's important that you know your own local area recycling rules - and it's great to research what facility actually processed your waste streams and ask your questions to them for the straightest answers! Most of there are general & applicable everywhere, but some might be our area specific.
#composttip start composting - 20% of what ends up in our landfill is food waste, composting in your home is a huge first step to reducing waste
#composttip if you don't have curbside compost pick-up or can't have a compost pile at home, see if your county has any organic drop off locations
#recyclingtip have you heard of @TerraCycle? They will take difficult to recycle materials and recycle them for you
#recyclingtip for plastic film, if it crinkles and is hard to rip it's trash (cereal bags) but if it's soft and rips easily (bread bags), it can be recycled with your plastic bags. Must be clean and dry.
#recyclingtip and #composttip greasy pizza boxes are compostable, but if the box lid is clean you can tear it off and put that half in recycling
#recyclingtip the @EPA is a great resource for recycling tips
#recyclingtip think about the packaging your gifts are coming in, can you avoid it or recycle it?
#composttip #recyclingtip many plastic plates, cups and silverware are not recyclable due to size or type of plastic. Next time you host a party consider buying BPI certified compostable or thrift a set of cheap set of dishes to be your new party set
#composttip meal planning is a great way to reduce wasted food. Plan for your leftovers to be a part of tomorrow nights dinner. Transform them into a new side. Or freeze them.
#recyclingtip create an extra bin for recycling that needs special handling or can't go curbside, like batteries and lightbulbs. Fill it up and drop all of it at your local recycling drop-off facility in one swoop
#recyclingtip gift buying online, while convenient, creates a lot more packaging waste. Consider shopping locally to reduce your recycling stream this season
#recyclingtip consider getting the big tub of yogurt and other foods, rather than individual serving cups. Less waste and less expensive. You pay for packaging = you pay for waste
#composttip leave the oily fats and animal products to the commercial compost facilities and keep them out of your home compost piles, yard piles don't get hot enough to break down and you'll just attract critters to your yard
#recyclingtip did you know that @BestBuy accepts many electronics for recycling
#recyclingtip make sure you put your recycling items in the bin loose. Typically plastic bags should not go in your curbside bin.
#composttip composting at home is important because when food waste goes to a landfill it creates methane
#recyclingtip Did you know you can reuse that shipping box from @amazon, fill it up with clothing donations and send it for free? Reuse before recycle. https://givebackbox.com/amazon
#recyclingtip that cardboard box your gift came in is recyclable. The tissue and wrapping paper is garbage. Save bows and bags for reuse.
#recyclingtip it's best to ask recycling questions directly to your local Material Recovery Facility (MRF). They will know the exact answer. Can you follow yours on twitter?
#recyclingtip cardboard has one of the highest market values of recycled materials, be sure to #recycle your cardboard
