Did you know that by reducing waste such as old clothes, furniture, and paper products you keep these items from ending up at the landfills?  It is true and there are many ways to reduce the waste and begin green living today.  Most people do not realize that little things they do now can have huge impacts on future generations.  Of course, recycling is one way to reduce waste, but there are other easy ways in which to reduce waste.

If you are planning to get new furniture, rather than throwing out your furniture, donate it.  There are plenty of nonprofit organizations that will come to your home and pick up your donated furniture free of charge.  This means your furniture will be sold to someone else at a reduced price.  It is a better solution than having your furniture ends up at the landfill in your city where it remains for many years.

Reduce your printing practices.  Many people print everything and feel they must have a hard copy, but many times it simply is not necessary, especially when you can look at it on your computer screen.  This saves money in printing materials, such as paper and ink and it saves in those printed papers ending up in the trash.

When the holidays come around and if your family puts up a Christmas tree, purchase a real one, rather than an artificial because a live tree once it dies does not harm to the environment, but an artificial tree can because the materials are not biodegradable in most cases.  In addition, decorating your tree with tinsel is very hard on the environment because the tinsel does not break down and therefore can remain on the planet for 100’s of years.  When you consider the fact that tinsel is not reusable, imagine how much tinsel makes its way to the landfill each January?  Imagine how much of that tinsel is still in the landfills from when you were a child.

Wrapping paper for gift giving is also a huge waste product.  Choose wrapping paper that is recycled and that is certified biodegradable so that it begins breaking down quickly and does not add to the earth’s waste problem.

Recycle your CD’s rather than toss them in the trash.  The materials that CD’s are made from will not decompose for 100’s of years, which means all these CD’s that are becoming obsolete, end up sitting in the landfills long after you have left the earth.  The good news is, you can recycle these and there are companies that have taken up the cause to make sure we do not end up with millions of CD’s for hundreds of years.

In conclusion, there are things you can do right where you are to reduce the amount of waste your family contributes.  By doing so, you help the environment stay cleaner and the air less polluted.