When household wastes is mentioned, what generally comes to people’s minds is the waste generated mainly from the kitchen, like you see the trash bin flashing in your head. Did it just flash in yours?
But, this is more than just kitchen waste. It is everything in the house. From the waste generated in the bathroom, bedroom, kitchen, backyard garden, and other parts of the house. These wastes are classified into liquid and solid wastes, while some are degradable and others are not.
Stick with me while I take you around on how you can reduce your household waste to 50%. I say 50% because it is almost impossible to eliminate it to 100%, especially in a country like Nigeria.
RefuseÂ
Refuse products that have a short lifespan and cannot biodegrade or be recycled. Refuse single-use packaging and overly packed products when shopping. especially from the shop around the corner. If you don’t want people to see what you are buying, use a car or a reusable shopping bag. If you don’t have a shopping bag, get one from us today.
ReduceÂ
Household wastes exists in many forms, one of them includes instances when you have to buy anything, the right thing to do would be to buy the things you need. With quick access to most things, thanks to e-commerce, it’s easy to buy things we don’t need on deals. Cook according to how much you can eat. Don’t just use things in large quantities that you will end up throwing. Let me give you some instances and examples of things you can recycle: using a water dispenser instead of buying sachet water or bottled water, stopping buying newspapers, or reusing the ones you have. Just get the news straight up online.
DeclutterÂ
Most Nigerians have a habit of accumulating things they don’t use in their house for no reason. We keep our perfume’s empty bottle, our cream’s empty bottle, and other empty stuff. I am guilty of that. These things can be given to recyclers instead of laying at home.
Let’s also look at things that can decompose and other household wastes whether solid or liquid. When kept for too long, they attract rodents. From rodents, it becomes a communal nuisance as they will move from one house to another. From there, they can spark a disease that can be a pandemic. So, this then affects the whole of a community, posing an environmental nuisance. Don’t underestimate the trash you keep for long.
Re-PurposeÂ
Be in the constant habit of buying things that can be reused instead of single-use. Not every worn-out item needs to be trashed. A used microwave oven can be repurposed into an Aquarium to beautify your living spaces, butter/mayonnaise jars can be repurposed in the kitchen or, empty cartons for instance can make beautiful wall art. You can visit our Eco-friendly shopping mall here to stock up on your house. Trust me, we’ve got cool things.
RecycleÂ
Recycle things instead of disposing of them after one use. In case you aren’t sure which material is recyclable or not, use the Ecobarter Recycling Dictionary to decide whether to Recycle or Trash.
If done correctly Refuse, reduce and re-purpose will cut your household waste by almost 30%. Recycling cuts by another 30% because most of the household wastes we generate are recyclable. Think, plastics, paper, and metals.
Thinking of eliminating 80% of your waste? Then think composting!!!
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