Our homes are some of the biggest producers of waste. While there’s a lot that can be done with waste after it leaves our homes, there’s a lot that can be done at home to prevent waste in the first place. Waste is pretty much everything that we no longer want to use and is a result of something we used. It includes used paper, plastics, food, metals, cardboard, electronics, wood, packaging, water, and many other items we use in our homes. When you add it up, it translates to more than 250 million tons of solid waste collected in municipalities, according to the Environmental Protection Agency’s latest assessment.

Everybody knows that recycling is critical to reducing waste, but what can you do to reduce waste generated at home in the first place? Here are five simple things you can do right away to have a big impact on waste production:

1) Avoid and Reuse Paper Products. Paper products are the biggest contributor to municipal solid waste, accounting for some 30% of all municipal solid waste when compost is excluded. To reduce paper waste: pay all your bills online, read your news online, and avoid having to print anything you can read online; reuse paper for packaging or as scrap paper instead of recycling it right away; opt-out of junk mail using MailStopper; and use reusable towels instead of disposable paper towels.

2) Compost. Believe it or not, food and yard trimmings are some of the biggest contributors to your ecological footprint (representing some 25% of all municipal solid waste). Instead of sending food and yard trimmings to the landfill, why not put it to use in your garden by creating compost? Green Irene offers two composters for outdoor and indoor application at ShopGreenIrene, so be sure to check them out. You can also donate food to local organizations that provide food to the homeless and very poor through food banks.

3) Conserve Water. As you may know, water is going to be one of the most precious resources this century as its supplies dwindle. The wasteful use of water is actually a big contributor to our ecological footprint, especially in water-stressed areas like the Southwestern U.S. As a result, one of the best things you can do is to help conserve water by avoiding bottled water; cutting shower time to five minutes; changing your showerheads and installing aerators (see ShopGreenIrene for these); and conserving energy (read here to learn why).

4) Stick to a List. When going shopping, make a list of items you actually need. Don’t be tempted to buy items that later on you won’t really use. A list not only allows you to purchase items you really need, but it will also save you money and space at home.

5) Recycle Electronics. Typically, homes tend to recycle the traditional items, such as paper, cardboard, glass, and plastic containers. Not too many think about electronics, and as a result a huge amount ends up in our landfills or shipped overseas. The problem electronic waste, or e-waste, is that it may contain very toxic substances that can harm human health. As a result, make it a priority to reduce electronic waste by first donating it for reuse (you can do this with cellphones and many other electronic items) and then ensuring that the rest is recycled (many manufacturers will take electronics back for recycling or reuse).

Reducing your home’s waste is an important step to going green and reducing your footprint. You can go further by learning about what else you can do to reduce waste and your general ecological footprint through a local Eco-Consultant.

Commentary: Green Irene now offers free e-recycling services for home clients through Local Eco-Consultants. If you wish to recycling your old electronics, including cellphones, simply contact your Local Eco-Consultant to arrange for it and we will recycle it for you. To learn more about recycling, get a Green Home Makeover today to have a Local Eco-Consultant provide you with a run-through about how you can recycle at home and gain access to Ask Green Irene, our knowledge greenbase that contains information about recycling almost anything. Plug-In To eCycling’s National Cell Phone Recycling Week 2009 is a joint effort with leading cell phone manufacturers, service providers and retailers to increase the awareness and recycling rates for cell phones and Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs). During the week of April 6 through April 12, 2009, Americans can participate in this national event by donating or recycling their unwanted cell phones, PDAs and their accessories.

To kick-off National Cell Phone Recycling Week and build momentum for Earth Day 2009, program partners across the country are rolling out a series of in-store promotions, contests and giveaways while providing in-store and online recycling opportunities to assist consumers in the “eCycling” process. Plug-In partners supporting this nationwide effort through special promotions include AT&T, Samsung, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon Wireless. EPA is targeting cell phone recycling because only ten percent of cell phones are recycled each year, and most people do not know where to recycle them. Recycling cell phones results in significant environmental savings and can also benefit communities. Cell phones and accessories are made from valuable materials such as precious metals, copper, and plastics – all of which require energy to extract and manufacture. Recycling cell phones reduces greenhouse gas emissions and conserves natural resources. Plug-In To eCycling partners involved in the “Recycle your Cell Phone. It’s an Easy Call” campaign to increase cell phone recycling include AT&T, Best Buy, LG Electronics, Motorola, Nokia, Office Depot, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, Sprint, Staples, T-Mobile, and Verizon Wireless.

Article excerpted from the Environmental Protection Agency.

Rosamaria Caballero Stafford
Co-Founder and the Original Green Irene

Cellphones and other electronics are made from valuable resources such as metals and plastics – all of which require energy and chemicals to extract and manufacture into useable products. Recycling electronics reduces greenhouse gas emissions, keeps valuable material out of landfills and incinerators, and conserves natural resources. More than three quarts of oil are used to produce one laser printer cartridge. Recycling just one million cellphones would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by the same amount as taking 1,370 cars off the road for an entire year.

To help our Local Eco-Consultants encourage their clients to recycle more, Green Irene is now offering to take back any e-waste for recycling from our clients. Our mission is to “Green Our World, One Home and Office at a Time,” so to further enforce this commitment we have partnered with an e-waste recycling service to facilitate recycling electronics for our clients. This will only make it easier for our clients to reduce their footprint and GO GREEN. Green Irene has selected an e-waste recycling service tha considers both environmental and social factors, has a strict no-landfill policy, and keeps recycling inside the United States. In addition, before recycling your e-waste, our service provider first considers products to be donated to low-income and underdeserved schools across America.

This E-waste program has come at an opportune time. In the Southwestern PA (Pittsburgh area), recycling is still not required in every county and curbside recycling isn’t even available in many boroughs/towns. “Hard to recycle drops” are hosted only 2 – 3 times per year and aren’t advertised properly. So, unfortunately, it is not convenient to recycle in this area. I would like to be the agent of change for this issue. The e-waste program that Green Irene has implemented will fit perfectly into my GO GREEN plan. I am participating in many fairs and farmers markets in which my Green Irene table will be set up this Spring/Summer. I was planning on having a drop box for these types of products anyway. This program makes it easy and with the proceeds going to a good cause – what a win-win!!

To learn more about Green Irene or get a Green Home Makeover, please contact me at:

Laura Essel, Authorized GreenIrene Eco-Consultant

Laura.Pittsburgh@greenirene.com

412-997-2293

Pittsburgh Area