India is in the midst of fighting a pandemic, due to which maintaining social distancing and staying indoors is crucial. But, when half of the country goes under lockdown, the waste produced inside each house increases. Every house produces some quantity of waste everyday. More the number of people in the house, more will be the waste generated. Many studies claim that there can be better ways to reduce the production of waste at home. Managing home waste in an organised way can ensure clean surroundings and happy neighbors. This way, not only the amount of waste produced is reduced but, people work at individual level to help the environment as well. As citizens of our country, it becomes our duty to ensure a clean and pollution free environment and the change must start from home. Home waste management can be done in various ways. To name a few, here a list of 8 such ways in which you can manage your home waste effectively.
1. Do not use plastic bags
Plastic is everywhere. From the toothbrush you use to the bottle of your favorite soft drink. However, plastic is one of the most harmful waste products in the environment. This is because plastic takes many years to degrade and ultimately harms the environment in the process. Even though the use of plastic is everywhere, there are many ways in which you can eliminate the use of plastic at home. You can start with using reusable bags instead of cheap quality plastic bags when you go grocery shopping. You can also shift to cloth bags. Another interesting way to limit your plastic use at home can be by asking the vendor or the person who is bagging your items, to not use double bags. Make sure the use of plastic is as little as possible.
2. Buy food with less packaging
When you buy food which is packed in plastic, you increase the plastic waste that will be produced at the end of the day. If you buy food that does not contain plastic wrapping you can make sure that you produce less waste at home. Apart from this, you can also buy food items in bulk so that you reduce too much use of plastic from your every buying experience. You can store the food in airtight containers to make them last long without worrying about producing a huge heap of waste.
3. Avoid packaged drinks
Just like food, water is another basic human necessity that can not be ignored. However, if you rely on bottled water as the source of your water needs, you may be producing a lot of plastic waste. Bottled water and other bottled drinks are a major source of plastic waste at home. As an alternative for buying plastic bottled drinks frequently, you can buy big containers of the same drink. For example, you can buy a 5 litre bottle of water rather than buying 18 small water bottles. This way, you can ensure that the plastic waste produced is less and you won’t have to make a lot of trips to the shop as well.
4. Donate old unused items
Throwing away old items that are not in use anymore, can cause a huge addition to your waste. What’s best is if you donate your old unused items to the ones who need them instead of throwing them away as waste. If you have old clothes, shoes, tools, electronics or other items in decent quality that you do not use anymore, donate them to an NGO or a trust that works for underprivileged people. Not only will you be helping the environment by reducing the amount of waste that you produce, you will also be helping the ones in your community who may actually need your help.
5. Reuse the things you can
Reusing a few items that are in good shape and can be reused properly, can save you from producing a huge amount of waste at home. Reusing is always a good option. The bottles, bags and boxes that you may have from your primary purchases can be reused in different ways. Such ways can be:
• Using the plastic bag as garbage bag
• Storing home filled water in reusable plastic bottles
• Storing clothes or other items in the cardboard boxes that you may receive on buying a new product
• Glass containers can also be used for storing purposes Along with this, make sure that you do not use plastic containers for a very long time as they may have degrading properties that can harm the stored item.
6. Handle hazardous waste properly
The waste that you produce on a daily basis can be segregated into various groups of plastic waste, food waste, etc. one of these groups is hazardous waste. This group usually contains waste that has some chemical content in them. This chemical content, when left in the usual waste, and thrown away in the same heap, can be very harmful for the environment. Not only the environment, but the animals who accidentally consume this waste can also be exposed to a number of harmful diseases. Some of these hazardous waste is:
• Paints
• Batteries
• Light bulbs
• Electronic items
• Medical waste
• Insect killing chemicals
7. Buy cosmetic in bulk
Skin care is a much adored subject for many people. If you are among those who love to take care of your skin, then you may be aware about the waste that skin care products can cause. Products related to skin care, hair care and other cosmetics can produce a considerable amount of waste given that you buy a lot of products for your daily skin care routine. Rather you can buy cosmetic products in bulk. This ultimately reduces the number of packaging waste that is produced by cosmetics produced, everytime you buy them. Furthermore, if you want to reduce the waste in your house in a large amount, you can also switch to using natural remedies for skin care. You can also choose switching to brands that promise packaging that does not cause a lot of waste.
8. Recycle to make compost
If you have the supplies that may be required to turn waste into compost, do not hesitate in taking the step. Compost conversion is a great way to manage your waste at home. If you have leftover food scraps or yard cuttings, you can easily make compost at home. This waste turned compost can be used in your garden to nourish and fertilize your land. You can even grow your favorite vegetable with the help of the compost you produce. You can use green items which break down easily like grass cuttings, vegetable peelings, tea bags, leaves, etc. You can also use brown items which take a little more time to break down including paper, sticks, branches, eggshells, etc.
Conclusion
Reduction of waste is a healthy practice when you decide to do it in an organised way. Doing little towards the environment can make a greater change tomorrow. Change starts at individual level and what better place than home. Waste can be reduced in considerable amounts if every household starts to follow some basic steps for the improvement of this issue. However, many still remain unaware about these ways. This time, make sure to not only follow these small steps to ensure healthy waste management at home, but also spread this knowledge with your family and friends.
