Category: Reduce Reuse

When we reflect back to one of our favorite pastime activities during the height of the pandemic, outdoor picnics were among one of our favorites. We hope this guide will help introduce a more sustainable way to picnic by applying the 3 Rs: Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle.

1. REDUCE: Plan ahead for the menu
   1. Prepare finger foods and bite sized items: Cupcakes, cookies, pastries, cheese boards, sandwiches, chicken wings, pizza, hot dogs, and burgers are examples of finger foods. Pre-cutting fruits and vegetables also eliminates the need to bring plates and extra utensils. Please note that not all parks have compost receptacles/services; therefore, composting the undesirable and inedible parts at home helps divert more organic materials away from the landfill.
   2. Bring a reusable cooler with reusable ice packs to keep drinks cold or pre-chilling drinks and keep in a portable cooler. It keeps drinks cooler without wasting water/ice cubes.
   3. Avoid plastic garnishes in drinks. Spice up your drinks with herbs, spices, and fruit instead. Not only are the garnishes edible, but also elevates the flavor profile of any drink.
2. REUSE: Bring your reusables
   1. Use cloth napkins. Use cloth napkins that can be washed and upgrade a picnic experience and avoid paper ones.
   2. Use reusable sandwich bags and containers, to put your food in and for leftovers!
   3. Use reusable utensils and straws. Eliminate single-use utensils, by bringing your own silverware and reusable straws. Single-use utensils not only contributes to microplastics into the environment, but also creates additional unnecessary waste.
   4. BYO cups and/or bottles. Avoid single-use cups, instead bring reusable cups or reusable water bottles. Water bottles can keep drinks colder and longer and can be used for any occasion.
3. RECYCLE: Use what you have
   1. Picnic Blanket– If you don’t already have one, try using a throw blanket around the house or DIY a picnic blanket out of old clothes.
   2. Table cloth– Try covering picnic tables with an older tablecloth instead of using plastic table covers.
   3. Picnic Basket– Utilize your reusable grocery bags to carry your picnic materials.   

There are so many different ways to re-think picnic waste by reducing, reusing and recycling. Share how you are rethinking picnics this year by tagging us on social media on Instagram, Twitter, and/or Facebook! However you choose to picnic this year, remember to continue to sort your waste by placing any single-use utensils and soft flimsy plastics in the garbage bins at parks!

From actions big to small, every new commitment to sustainable living can have a dramatic impact on our environment! As the year draws to a close, RethinkWaste would like to provide a few sustainability tips that we could all put on our New Year’s Resolutions! Consider adding some of these ideas to your everyday routine. Every bit helps!

1. Reduce and Reuse

At RethinkWaste, we like to guide ourselves using the 4R’s (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, and Rot). While these are all important in reducing our environmental impact on the planet, reducing and reusing are the most significant actions we can take on an individual basis. Reducing and reusing is a guarantee that items will not end up in the landfill!

Here are a few ideas to get started:

• Start using a refillable water bottle
• Make a grocery list to avoid purchasing excess food
• Save and reuse plastic bags
• Repurpose old clothing (for example, to use as a rag)
• Repurpose glass jars into handy containers

2. Make your own coffee

If you’re a coffee drinker, you may enjoy a nice cup of coffee in the morning. However, buying from coffee shops produces a lot of waste! Usually, the cups and straws are not recyclable or compostable. By making coffee at home, you’re able to eliminate waste, and try out all sorts of different coffee blends. We recommend using coffee grounds in a french press or drip coffee to avoid extra waste from single-serve coffee machines. After brewing, you can place the grounds in your compost bin or in your own garden: it makes for great compost!

3. Take a sustainability-themed class

Education is really important! Attending a sustainability-themed class or workshop can all help us learn to live with less waste. For example, RethinkWaste just recently hosted a kombucha workshop, where our participants learned to lower their grocery store waste! Many organizations also teach classes in areas such as zero-waste cooking, which can help lower grocery bills, reduce environmental damage, and make our food last longer! Keep posted on events by subscribing to our newsletter or check offerings from our partners at San Mateo County Office of Sustainability!

4. Get educated about waste

Are you afraid that you’re disposing of things in the wrong bin? Fear not, RethinkWaste can help! RethinkWaste hosts public, school, and business tours of our Shoreway Environmental Center (currently virtual), that can help you figure out exactly how to sort your waste and where it goes afterwards. Questions can also be sent to info@rethinkwaste.org, where we can answer any further waste-related questions you may have!

5. Unplug devices you’re not using

Did you know? Even if you turn off your electronics, they may still draw power from your outlet. While this is a small amount, it can add up over the course of a year! Just by unplugging, you’d save on your electricity bill while helping eliminate fossil fuel emissions from electricity consumption!

6. Try some plant-based meals

According to the United Nations Special Report on Climate Change and Land, reducing our consumption of animal products is one of the most effective strategies at countering climate change. We can reduce our impact on this planet one meal at a time! There are many plant-based recipes and restaurants that would surely be delectable. 

7. Invest in rechargeable batteries

Did you know that you can purchase rechargeable AA and AAA batteries? By using rechargeable batteries, you’ll be able to lower your electronic waste (e-waste). Every year, e-waste is becoming a bigger part of our waste stream. This is a worrying trend as e-waste is very harmful to the health of our workers, our community, and our environment. A one-time investment in rechargeable batteries helps reduce battery waste on a longer-term basis. 

8. Use public transit

If you’re able, catch a ride on the train or the bus! Not only does this help with urban congestion, you’d also be reducing urban pollution and carbon emissions. Of all the actions that help the environment, taking public transportation is one of the most impactful and immediate on our environmental outcomes. 

9. Reconsider: Do I really need it?

Whenever you are deciding on a purchase, ask yourself: Do I really need it? Sometimes, it might be easy to impulsively put things in your shopping cart. By asking ourselves this one simple question, we can make sure we think about everything we’re buying. It helps us recall that reducing and reusing are our most powerful tools in eliminating waste. 

We hope that these tips were helpful! Every action counts towards reducing our waste and improving the health of our communities and environment!

With the holiday season comes an increase in gifts and celebrations, which leads to an increase in packaging waste and food waste! Here are some gifting and celebration ideas that are a little easier on the planet.

Although holiday gifts and celebrations naturally bring more waste during this time of the year, intentional preparation helps to reduce unnecessary waste. There are plenty of ways to show your love to friends, family, and the planet!

Share with us how you’re reducing your waste this holiday season by tagging us on social media! Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

Enjoy this video of RethinkWaste staff sharing why waste reduction is important!

When we think of our waste stream, we often focus on daily-use items associated with food such as bottles, cans, paper, food scraps, straws, and plastic film. However, we may often neglect thinking about another source of waste that we also use every day: clothing. Perhaps you have never thrown a clothing item into your garbage, but nonetheless one garbage truck worth of textiles is wasted every second.

One of the main reasons we do not realize how much clothing ends up in landfills is that there is significant waste created even before consumer purchase. This waste, also known as upstream waste, consists of discarded material that does not become part of a finished garment. On the downstream end, clothing in poor condition that are sent to donation centers may also end up in the landfill. Another environmental impact of clothing production less visible to consumers, is the large amounts of water it takes to make clothing. On average, making just one cotton t-shirt requires approximately 2,700 liters of water. Fortunately, there are many ways to curb our waste associated with clothing.

Reduce Clothing Consumption

Stopping fashion waste can be thought of like stopping an overflowing bathtub. The first and most important step is to turn off the faucet! In this case, the faucet is our global annual production of 80 billion pieces of clothing! As an individual, the best way to help is to limit how many new clothing items you purchase. Of course, this is easier said than done, but here are several strategies that can help.

• Limit yourself to a certain number of clothing purchases per year. This strategy works well if you know you buy a lot of clothing each year and need a tangible target to help limit yourself.
• Only visit clothing stores when you need a specific clothing item. Remember that online stores count too!
• When you do purchase clothing, limit waste by purchasing secondhand. This prevents an unwanted item from going to the landfill, but it also avoids all the upstream waste associated with the production of new clothing.
• If you have to purchase new, try to buy durable clothing that you know you will enjoy for a long period of time. Look out for brands that are very transparent about the environmental impact of their production, as these companies make a large effort to reduce their impact and treat their workers fairly.

Extend Clothing Life

After long exposure to the elements and a certain number of washes, some clothes may have a few holes or a tear, but this doesn’t mean you have to throw it away. With just a needle and some thread, we can extend the life of our garments. Extending the life of a piece of clothing by just nine months can reduce its environmental impact by 20 to 30%! Another way to extend the life of your clothing is to repurpose it into a different clothing item. For example, a t-shirt can easily be turned into a tank top or a pair of pants can be turned into shorts.

If an article of clothing no longer fits you or your taste in style has changed, there are likely many other people that can still appreciate it. Here are a few different ways to extend the life of your clothing.

• Give to a friend or family member
• Participate in a clothing swap (or organize your own with friends, family or co-workers!)
• Sell at an online secondhand clothing market or platforms such as Craigslist or Ebay
• Donate to a thrift store or donation center
• Repurpose into other items such as rags to clean around the house, a cloth napkin, or even stitch together into a reusable bag!

Clothing Disposal

Unfortunately, some clothing does eventually reach a stage where it cannot be passed on to somebody else or fixed. There are some brands and stores that have drop-off locations to recycle clothing. This should be the last-ditch option because recycling clothing is energy intensive and companies are only able to recycle a very small fraction of the textiles they collect for recycling.

The fashion industry has significant environmental and social impacts, but curbing our impact does not mean we have to give up clothing or sacrifice our sense of style. While it may take more effort to look for used or sustainably sourced clothing, refreshing old clothes and finding a new home or use for retired clothing, it is a process that can be fun, rewarding, and most importantly will help protect our natural resources!

RethinkWaste held a Holiday Show on December 11, 2020. This page provides the webinar recording, presentation slides, links to more resources, and all of the questions submitted by attendees. If you have additional questions, fill out the form at the bottom of the page.

We know the holidays are usually a pretty wasteful time so we put on this informative webinar to give tips on how to reduce waste this holiday season. We also spread some cheer with waste-related carols and had a fun and informative round of trivia.

We hope you find the following resources helpful in your personal journey to reduce waste this holiday season.

To view a recording of the webinar and the live Q&A, click the recording below.

If you have more questions, fill out the form below!

The holiday season will soon be upon us! Here are tips for gifting and receiving gifts that are a little easier on the Earth.

If Gifting:

1. Try a new experience. Giving the gift of an experience is an easy way to reduce waste while still being fun and thoughtful. This could be something like tickets to a botanical garden, museum, or outdoor activity!
2. Get crafty. Making gifts can lead to meaningful keepsakes that come with a lighter ecological footprint. Make a quilt or bag from fabric, yarn or old clothes, make some candles, or construct a memory book of cherished photos.
3. Give the gift of knowledge. There is nothing like curling up with a blanket with your favorite…e-book! E-books allow you to read something new without any of the paper. When they’re done, they can easily download the book to share with others. Alternatively, you can gift them credit for a fun virtual class!
4. Donate to a cause they care about. Donations to organizations can make a positive impact while making little to no waste!
5. Fill their tummies with their favorite foods. Does your loved one have a favorite local restaurant? A gift card or warm meal from there is an easy way to make them smile while supporting a local business. Just remember to ask for no disposable utensils!
6. Shop local. There are plenty of great small businesses in the RethinkWaste service area. Shopping locally and in-person (if possible) supports the local economy while reducing waste and emissions from shipping.
7. Repurpose wrapping. Paper grocery bags or old newspapers make great wrapping paper. Tie it together with some twine and pine needles from outside for a rustic feel. Or reuse last year’s wrapping paper and gift bags or try using scrap sewing material or a colorful scarf.
8. Power up. Many electronics, toys, and gadgets require batteries. If batteries are not included, consider rechargeable batteries. They help reduce waste and can save you money, too.
9. Disposal directions. When giving gifts, providing directions for disposal can help ensure that the receiver knows how to properly sort any waste that comes from it. This is especially important for gifts that contain batteries, as batteries are very dangerous when put in the wrong bin!

If Receiving:

1. Make a list. If you plan on exchanging gifts with loved ones this year, make a list of items you may want or need. Giving your gifter ideas may spoil some of the surprise, but it does allow you to receive something you want instead of something that may go to waste. Also, it’s OK to say no to friends and family if you don’t really want a gift, or consider one of the ideas above if you’re trying to avoid too much consumerism.
2. Sort it out. Make sure you sort your gift wrapping and packaging into the correct cart or bin—or better yet—save materials to reuse next year! If you’re not sure where it goes, check out WhatBin.com.
3. Energize. As you start receiving and using new gadgets, make sure to properly dispose of your spent household batteries. Learn how to do this on our battery page.
4. Donate. To make room for your new gifts at home, consider donating items in good condition that you no longer need instead of trashing them. Check out San Mateo County’s Reduce, Reuse and Recycle Guide to learn more.

Holiday celebrations may look a little different this year, but there are still plenty of ways to show your love to friends, family, and the planet! How are you reducing waste this holiday season? Tag us on social media – #RethinkHolidays on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.