Reduce: The first action in the Waste Reduction Triangle

An inverted triangle showing high impact at the top and lower impact at the small portion at the bottom. — We’ll all familiar with the Reduce, Reuse, Recycle triangle, but we may not understand that some actions have greater impact than the others. In the waste reduction hierarchy, Reducing and Reusing waste materials are more powerful than recycling them. Image courtesy of EPA.

By Guest Writer Christine Farrier, Forsyth County Extension Master Naturalist

The New Year is here along with overflowing curbside trashcans of holiday paper and ribbon, cardboard and plastic. At the very top of the Waste Reduction Triangle (WRT) is reducing and even working toward entirely preventing waste from entering our homes. This effort is the most effective action in ending ugly litter, landfill expansion, air, water and soil pollution. The big payoff includes stronger, more diverse ecosystems and cleaner food chains that support top mental and physical human health.

A garbage pile of single use cups, cans, and other quick serve packaging — One of the easiest and most effective ways to reduce trash is to stop using single-use items, especially single-use plastics (SUP). These items don’t decompose and they have limited recycling options. Photos from Unsplash

Don’t bring garbage home

According to author and humorist Eve Schaub in her 2023 memoir, A Year of No Garbage, most Americans want laws reducing single use plastics (SUPs). Think of grocery and retail store bags of all kinds, meat packaging and individual snack wrappers, freebie pens, straws, bottled water, cups and flatware, party favors. SUPs never biodegrade, and they leach toxins into soil and water. Incineration of SUPs saps energy resources and sends the toxins into the air.

There is some recycling of SUPs into building materials. However, as the WRT model maintains, figuring out where and how we can reduce SUP consumption in our own homes and lives, such as with reusable bags, metal flatware and glassware, bulk packaged snacks and water, will reduce the demand for SUPs. Explaining simply at social events that you’re going paper- and plastic-less, people will usually respect your choice and hopefully even begin to follow your example.

A door with a mail slot. Above the slot is a plate which says 'no junk mail' — Refusing to accept trash, such as junk mail, is another way to reduce waste. The Federal Trade Commission recommends some websites to use to get your address off of unwanted mailing lists. Photo by Miguel A. Amutio on Unsplash

Get off the lists

Bea Johnson, in her 2021 best-selling audiobook, Zero Waste Home, says reducing also means refusing. She points out that 100 billion unwanted junk mail pieces clog our mailboxes annually. Instead of creating more landfill waste through shredding, Eve Schaub writes in her memoir that unsolicited preapproved credit card applications and insurance offers can be refused by filling out a request at optoutprescreen.com, a site recommended by the Federal Trade Commission. The FTC also recommends a non-profit site, DMAchoice.org, for removal from other companies prospecting through the mail. If you’ve made a purchase through the company, however, you’ll have to contact them directly to get removed from mailing lists.

Through Catalogchoice.org, you can request removal from any of nine thousand catalogs. To request removal, select the catalog and type in your name and address exactly as it appears on that catalog’s mailing label. Take a picture of your junk mail and upload it to the app PaperKarma.com, and for the first few items, PaperKarma will get you unsubscribed for free. Beyond that, there’s a subscription fee. Also, visit well known Atlanta consumer advocate Clark Howard’s online article “Four Ways to Opt Out” at clark.com/consumer-issues-id-theft/stop-junk-mail/.

Choose quality over cheap

When purchasing necessary items that must be new, purchase the highest quality you can afford. While these may have a higher initial cost than cheaper options, higher quality items typically last longer and require less maintenance than cheaper options. Since lower quality goods wear out faster, they contribute to more waste going into landfills. Oh, and when possible, opt for emailed receipts over paper.

Considering the modern age and culture we live in, eliminating completely all plastic, paper and other waste from our lives is not likely, but we can reduce it by taking a little time to make more careful and thoughtful choices. Won’t that feel good.