The average American produces 4.6 pounds of trash per day. This means that, as a nation, we produce over 230 million tons of solid waste per year. The best way to manage waste is to not to produce it at all.

Clean Air Council works to help residents and businesses of Pennsylvania and Delaware reduce the amount of waste they produce.

Use this website to learn about:
Waste Reduction Tips | How to Practice Waste Reduction
Success Stories | Household Hazardous Waste Disposal Tips


Waste Reduction Tips
In the Home | At the Office | In the Classroom | In a Restaurant

In the Home

• Put someone in the house in charge of waste reduction.
  
• Use Tupperware instead of plastic wrap or aluminum foil.
  
• Use sponges and cloths instead of paper towels and tissues for cleaning up spills and housekeeping.
  
• Use a reuseable lunch box instead of brown paper bags.
  
• Buy food, detergent, etc. in bulk/concentrate whenever possible to cut down on packaging.
  
• Use the back of paper as scrap for grocery lists, etc.
  
• Get off junk mail lists by requesting a name removal card from:
  

Mail Preference Service
Direct Marketing Association
P.O. Box 9008
Farmingdale, NY 11735

• Don't bag grass clippings--leave it on the lawn, its good for the grass.
  
• Repair old household items rather than throwing them away.
  
• Avoid disposables--juice boxes, paper cups/plates, razors, plasticware.
  
• Give away rather than throw away books, clothes, furniture, etc. to friends, charities, or second hand stores.
  
• Avoid products with wasteful packaging when shopping.
  
• Start a compost heap with food and yard waste.
  
• Use cloth diapers. Check out www.katieskisses.com for lots of mom & baby items. Sew your own reusable cloth diapers with the features of disposables with the Better Baby Diaper .
  
• Use reusable, rather than disposable products.
  
• Use recycled products and ones with recycled packaging.
  
• Purchase products that are durable and less toxic to the environment.
  
• Reconsider waste producing activities.
  
• Express preferences for less wasteful/environmentally friendly products to businesses that you patronize.
  
• Write or call to encourage businesses and governments to do their share in reducing solid waste.
  

At the Office

Office Practice Tips:

• Copy on both sides of each piece of paper.
  
• Edit documents on the computer screen before printing them.
  
• Reuse paper copied on one side for internal memos and drafts.
  
• Save and reuse interoffice envelopes, manila envelopes and file folders.
  
• Use electronic mail whenever possible.
  
• Use outdated letterhead for in-house memos.
  
• Provide fewer bins for trash and more for each kind of recycling.
  
• Create a list of what is recyclable and where to put specific items.
  
• In the lunchroom, use non-disposable tableware, buy reusable filters for the coffee machine, encourage employees to reuse lunch bags, consider purchasing a water cooler to replace individual bottles.
  
• Post announcements on bulletin boards rather than copying memos.
  

Supply Tips:

• Order supplies in bulk to save money and reduce packaging.
  
• Prevent overstocking supplies that have a limited shelf life.
  
• Save polystyrene peanuts to return to supplier or reuse.
  
• Implement an inventory system that provides control over supplies.
  
• Avoid office junk mail by taking your name off mailing lists. Contact:
  

Mail Preference Service
Direct Marketing Association
PO Box 9008
Farmingdale, NY 11735

Product Manufacturer Tips:

• Limit a product's weight or volume.
  
• Reduce a product's packaging.
  
• Increase a product's durability and reusability.
  

In the Classroom

• Use both sides of each piece of paper.
  
• Have a collection bin in the classroom for reusable paper.
  
• Collect scraps of writing and construction paper for art projects.
  
• When the eraser wears down on a pencil, use a separate eraser instead of throwing the pencil away.
  
• Encourage students to ask their parents to help them pack a lunch with reusable containers rather than one with disposable packaging.
  
• Use role-playing and interactive activities as teaching tools instead of worksheets and assignments that require paper.
  

In a Restaurant

Purchasing Tips:

• Reuse, recycle, or return shipping boxes.
  
• Serve fountain carbonated beverages instead of bottles or cans.
  
• Use refillable condiment dispensers.
  
• Buy in bulk whenever possible.
  
• Buy recycled paper products.
  
• Use paper rather than Styrofoam packaging.
  
• Use straw dispenser rather than individually wrapped straws.
  
• Use reusable table linen and silverware.
  
• Use roll-type paper towels instead of precut.
  
• Purchase cleaning supplies in concentrate.
  
• Use multipurpose cleaners instead of lots of different bottles.
  

Food Preparation and Storage Tips:

• Rotate stock of perishables frequently to minimize spoilage.
  
• Organize your refrigeration and dry storage areas in a way that allows easy access and minimizes spillage.
  
• Use vegetable and meat trimmings for soup stock.
  
• Evaluate and adjust the size of your meal portions if you find they are consistently being returned unfinished.
  
• Keep all appliances (ovens, fryers, refrigerators) well calibrated, in good working order, and clean in order to insure efficient performance and long life.
  
• Donate leftover food to food banks and pig farmers.
  

How to Practice Waste Reduction

1. Getting started:
   
   • Encourage participation from everyone in your facility or household.
     
   • Appoint a waste reduction coordinator.
     
   • Set short and long-term goals that emphasize continuous improvement.
     
   • Establish realistic timelines for meeting those goals.
     
   • Conduct a waste audit (see No. 2).
     
   • Develop a system for quantifying results.
     
     
2. Conducting a waste audit and facility walk-through:
   
   • Examine what is thrown away, what is purchased, and how these items are used.
     
   • Identify waste-producing activities and equipment.
     
   • Track the amount of waste generated and the different categories of waste (food waste, paper waste, office supplies).
     
   • Set a goal for the approximate amount of waste from each category that can be reduced.
     
     
3. Creating a waste reduction program:
   
   • Compile your options focusing on the largest portion of your waste.
     
   • Decide which options make the most sense for you.
     
   • Develop a reasonable plan to reduce waste in these areas.
     
   • Implement the plan.
     
   • Monitor and evaluate the program.
     
   • Educate employees or family members on the importance of the program and how they can participate in it.
     
     
4. Measuring success:
   
   • Conduct follow up waste audits to determine how much waste has been reduced.
     
   • Track waste reduction over time to measure success and motivate participants.
     

Success Stories

Here are some local success stories associated with Clean Air Council's waste reduction efforts!

Weaver's Way Co-Op, Mount Airy, Philadelphia, decreased its yearly waste disposal costs by $2,000, even though its customer base increased by 35%.

State Senator Allyson Schwartz's Office cut the amount of trash disposed each week by 50% by reducing the amount of office paper used and reusing paper whenever possible.

Mary Henry's Class at Jackson School in South Philadelphia reduced its waste by 50% by studying the classroom waste stream and brainstorming creative solutions to eliminating unnecessary waste, such as using scrap paper in art projects.

Southwest Community Development Corporation (CDC) reduced the amount of trash set out at the curb from three bags per week to two. Southwest CDC also saved two cases of paper over the course of two months by double-siding their copies.


Household Hazardous Waste Disposal Tips
Household hazardous waste contains materials that harm the environment when they are taken into landfills or burned in incinerators.

It is important that Philadelphia-area residents take the opportunity to recycle or properly dispose of unwanted household hazardous waste accumulated at home.
Household hazardous wastes can be dropped off at one of the City's regular Household Hazardous Waste Drop-off Events.

Common hazardous waste materials include:

• Painting materials: Solvent-based paints and stains, paint thinner, varnish, paint stripper and paint brush cleaners, artists' paints.
  
• Household chemicals: Pesticides (fungicides, herbicides, insecticides, rodenticides), chemical fertilizers, bathroom and tile cleaner, toilet bowl cleaner, oven cleaners, drain cleaners.
  
• Household Items: Grill-type propane cylinders (up to 20lbs), fires extinguishers, aerosol cans, photographic chemicals, lead products (including solder and fishing weights), mothballs, and stain and spot removers.
  
• Automotive Items: Used motor oil, antifreeze, lead-acid batteries, auto body repair products, brake fluid, degreasers, old gasoline, mercury, asbestos.
  
• Batteries: rechargeable computer and cell phone batteries, button cell batteries used in watches, hearing aids, and calculators.
  

What is not hazardous waste?

• Latex paint
  
• Household batteries size D, C, AA, AAA and 9 volt. (Non-rechargeable batteries are not household waste but can still leach toxins into landfills. To avoid this, place batteries in sturdy plastic bag before disposal).
  
  

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