This month the city of Portland, Oregon started a new program for waste pick-up. Now our garbage is only collected twice a month, while our recycling and yard waste is collected every week. The big change happened because now we can throw in food waste with our yard debris. That means less waste going into landfills and more renewable resources.
It's an exciting change, but it's also going to be a challenge. While I think our family can make the transition fairly painlessly, we are going to have to be more conscious about not only what we throw away, but also what we buy. We already get some groceries in bulk, but now I will look for more items to cut down on packaging. I also think we can do better about not buying things we don't really need. Then we can avoid filling up the garbage bin with expendable toys, home goods, and cheap clothes.
We are already better about finding more to recycle. Now I throw even the smallest scraps of paper in our recycling bin instead of tossing it in the garbage. It helps to have a recycling container in more than one spot around the house.
Do you have tips to waste less and recycle more?
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