A man holding a bag of plastic bottles for recycling

How To Minimize Waste Being Sent To Landfills

By Carter Kho

How can you minimize waste being sent to landfills?

  1. Donate Your Toys
  2. Make Use Of Containers
  3. Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle
  4. Repurpose Cosmetic and Personal Containers

 

As individuals and consumers, we dispose of a large amount of trash per day. You can only imagine how much landfills are filling up with all of the waste combined. You should know that a large percent of garbage being disposed of in landfills is non-biodegradable, which can take years to dissolve. Although trash and garbage are inevitable, we should be knowledgeable about how to minimize landfill waste for the sake of the environment.

You might be wondering why landfill waste is such a problem if they are solely designed to store and separate trash. Well, implementing excessive amounts of trash will ultimately be a big problem because landfills don’t possess a high decomposition rate. Too much trash in landfills causes negative environmental and economic effects. The runoff from landfills contains chemicals that can end up in your water supply.

Because of this, it is recommended to be mindful of the things we consume and dispose of. Here are a few ways you can help minimize and cut down on the amount of plastic waste that gets dropped into landfills:

 

Donate Your Toys

A donation box with plastic toys

Sustainability throughout all aspects and components of life has been valued more through the years for a number of reasons. Have you constantly wondered where your plastic toys are sent off to when you decide to dispose of them? They will most likely be dispatched to landfills and contribute to excessive waste. If you value the environmental reasons that sustainability and mindful minimalism provide, you are less likely to feel the need to throw away your used toys. It is inevitable for children to outgrow their toys, and donating is a great way to go about this. It is considerably better to donate them to people in need or, better yet, hold a garage sale to sustain the cycle.

 

Make Use Of Containers

Plastic containers inside of a refrigerator

One of the most substantial contributors to landfills is the disposal of Tupperware and plastic food containers. We may not be aware, but the items that we dispose of have effects on the environment and climate change. A considerable way to go about reducing landfill waste is to maximize the use of your Tupperware and containers.

If you have leftovers in your home, save them and consume them for another day by storing them in used and washed containers. There are a number of other valuable ways to repurpose your containers. You can utilize them as organizers, make them an alternative for kitchen tools such as bowls and cups, or even use them for outdoor activities.

 

Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle

Recycle plastic items

This waste hierarchy has encouraged people to become more mindful of what they throw away. It has educated almost everyone around the world to reduce the amount of waste they generate. Reducing, reusing, and recycling is the key to becoming environmentally-conscious. You can positively recognize the value of this once you practice and implement it in your lifestyle.

Applying the 3Rs to your plastic bags and containers, will not only save you money but will also contribute to the positive effects on the environment. Before disposing of an object, think about how it can be utilized for another purpose.

 

Repurpose Cosmetic and Personal Containers

Empty plastic pill case

As a consumer, we are exposed to many things that we want to purchase. However, if you want to minimize landfill waste, it might be time for you to think about how much of your products can be repurposed. Think about your empty plastic perfume bottles, candle holders, cosmetic containers, pill cases, and more. They won’t have to lose their usefulness once they are empty and consumed.

You can transform them into something practical by upcycling them. Old lip balm containers are convenient and big enough to store your bobby pins and hair clips in. Your perfume bottles can be turned into cute vases and become an elegant piece of home decoration. Shampoo bottles may be purposeful to hold a number of things like toothbrushes and pencils or can even be reused to store another substance.

 

Key Takeaway

When you are knowledgeable about landfills and how excessive trash can harm the environment, you will start to be more mindful of your daily tasks, trash, and purchases. These tips on how to minimize landfill waste will surely help you in practice. Remember that when you start to make a difference, people will recognize and follow your footsteps in contributing to a better environment!