Waste Reduction, Home and Office
What is Waste Reduction? Try the following hierarchy.
It will help you take the first step when making a waste
reduction decision:
1. Source Reduction/Waste Prevention - what is it made
of, can it be recycled, do you really need it, how is it
packaged
2. Reuse
3. Recycling and Composting
Paper or Plastic; degradable or not; how does one decide?
Try following the packaging hierarchy:
1. No packaging; products which can be sold in bulk or
without a package
2. Minimal packaging
3. Consumable, returnable or refillable/reusable
packaging
4. Recyclable packaging/packaging made from recyclable
material
It is tough to be a "'green" consumer today, when
nearly every company is marketing its product as
environmentally friendly. Every time you make a purchase,
ask yourself the following questions. It is up to you to
establish your own hierarchy, depending on your level of
commitment, lifestyle and budget.
- Is the package necessary, and is there an alternative?
- Is the product/package recyclable?
- Does the product contain toxic chemicals? Remember that
many dyes and inks, particularly bright yellows and red,
may be toxic in large enough amounts.
- Does the manufacture of this product a toxic by-
product?
- Is the product I'm purchasing a single-use item, or
will it be long-lasting?
- Can this product (applies to appliances, etc.) be
repaired?
Waste reduction can be contagious. With this premise
in mind, we can approach what seems to be an overwhelming
problem, with a positive attitude that we can"make a
difference". We aren't going to solve the waste problem
overnight, but these simple steps can go a long way
towards affecting the public's attitudes and behavior.
Anti-junk Mail Campaign
Americans receive (and discard!) about 2 million tons
of junk mail every year about 44 percent of which is
never opened or read! Your name is "recyclable". Once
it's on a list, it can be traded, rented or sold to
companies for other mailings... which can put you on
another list that's traded, rented or sold again. There
are a number of ways to significantly reduce the amount
of mail you receive.
Preprinted post cards make it easy to respond quickly
to senders of unwanted mail.
Postcard project
To Whom it May Concern: In the interest of reducing
waste, please: Remove my address from your mailing list
Creditors: please limit your mailings to my monthly bill
(no extra advertising)
Member Organizations: please limit your mailings to
renewal notices and important announcements
All senders.: use recyclable/recycled paper wherever
possible
All senders: your use of plastic windows for
envelopes is preventing me from recycling the envelope -
there is a better way!
Mail order companies: Please reduce the number of
catalogues you mail to me each year. Please do not share
my name and address with any other companies or
organizations under any circumstances.
Affix mailing label here
Here are some other ways to reduce junk mail:
- If you receive unsolicited offers that include a pre-
paid envelope, simply pack up the junk mail that came
with it, insert into the envelope and mail back to sender
-- the sender pays the postage, AND the cost of
disposing of the waste!
- Use 800-numbers--especially for mail order catalogues
-- to ask that your name (or the previous tenant!) be
removed from their mailing list. Most are happy to
comply.
- When you contribute money to a charitable organization
ask that your name not be shared with others. Simply
write a friendly note right with your check.
- When you order something, stipulate that you do not
want your name sold to other companies. Cut the problem
at the source!
- Write: Mail Preference Service (MPS) Direct
Marketing Association, 11 West 42nd Street, P.O. Box
3861, New York, NY 10163-3861
MPS can help stop your name from being sold to most
large mailing list companies, which could reduce your
junk mail by as much as 75 percent! Urge mail-order
companies with whom you do business to eliminate
duplicate names, update old addresses and process their
mailing lists through the MPS to remove names of
consumers who have registered with the service to stop
unsolicited mailings.
- K.D. Enviro-Ventures, Inc is offering the'"junk Mail
Prevention Kit", a 20-page booklet that tells consumers
how to remove their names from mailing lists, plus eight
postcards and 88"return mail" stickers ($3.95); send
request to 5235 Roland Drive, Indianapolis, Inc. 46208;
add $1 for postage.