Reducing The Waste From Packaging In Landfills

Not long ago, the checkout clerk at my local grocery store commented on the produce I was purchasing.

"That's funny. We're seeing more and more people buying produce loose instead of putting it in plastic bags," she said, as she rang up the onions, apples, potatoes and oranges rolling around in the bottom of my basket.

That's a good thing.

A big chunk of the waste in landfills comes from packaging on the goods we buy. While we may not have a lot of control over the plastic and cardboard used to package that new toothbrush we need, there are some steps we can take to reduce the amount of packaging ending up in landfills.

• Purchase refillable containers.
  
• Use concentrated products that are diluted with water. Soup and soap are two examples.
  
• Reusable shopping bags. Use these for more than just groceries. Take them to hardware stores, drugstores and clothing stores.
  
• Don't put produce in plastic bags. Buy it loose and store in the crisper drawers in your refrigerator or root bins.
  
• Buy products that use minimal or recyclable packaging. However, even biodegradable packaging isn't a great choice for landfills.
  
• Put pressure on manufacturers to reduce the amount of packaging they use by calling or emailing. This works. In recent years manufacturers have responded by using less plastic, glass and cardboard in packaging, but more can be done.
  
• Recycle.
  
• Reuse.