Now more than ever, we need to be conscious about the impact our actions have on the environment. And one of the best ways to minimize the negative impact some of our actions have on the environment is to produce less waste. Individuals and communities can take action to reduce waste, and Fort Collins has already begun.
“It’s reduce, reuse, recycle,” said Lindsay Ex, Fort Collins environmental services director. “And I think that we emphasize the recycle space, but really it is in that order. And so thinking about do I need this? How can I think about this differently?”
According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in 2018, the United States generated 292.4 million tons of waste. This means that each person generated 4.9 pounds of waste each day.
“For every bag of trash that you put into your trash can, there are eight trash bags upstream,” said Ex. “And so, one of the most important things that we can do is reduce.”
The EPA says that as well as harming physical habitats, mismanaged trash “transports chemical pollutants, threatens aquatic life, and interferes with human uses of river, marine and coastal environments.”
This shows how waste can be harmful to the environment, especially if it’s mismanaged. So, eliminating that waste in the first place is the clearest way to lessen its impact on the environment.
According to Toronto Environmental Alliance, producing less waste will lessen our impact on the environment, conserve natural resources, and minimize pollution caused by things such as extraction, manufacturing and disposal.
The EPA has estimated that about 42 percent of greenhouse gas emissions are caused by the production of goods. Packaged goods take a lot of energy and cause pollution when extracted, manufactured, and disposed of. Creating less waste will therefore decrease greenhouse gas emissions and lessen the impact they have on the environment.
Fort Collins has already begun taking steps to lessen the waste the city produces.
“The more that you throw away, the more your bill will cost,” said Ex. “That way, again encouraging folks to really reduce the amount of trash they throw away, and then recycling is free.”
Fort Collins’ Zero Waste Program recognizes discarded materials as “resources that need to be better managed to reinvest in the local economy.” The program “creates local jobs, helps local businesses operate more efficiently at reduced costs and liabilities, and reduces greenhouse gases.”
Fort Collins City Council also has a goal to achieve a 90 percent diversion rate, which means the community would recycle or compost 90 percent of waste, by 2025, and a goal of zero waste by 2030.
Although recycling and composting help, it’s still important that we reduce the amount of waste we generate in the first place.
The EPA states that in 2018 69 million tons of waste were recycled, and 25 million tons were composted. That is a 32.1 percent recycling and composting rate.
This is a step in the right direction, but we need to do more to generate less waste, so we don’t have to worry about disposing of it when we’re finished with whatever we’re using.
When disposed of, waste goes to landfills, which take up space and can cause pollution. According to the University of Colorado Boulder, landfills are necessary to properly dispose of waste, but they can also damage the environment. They cause the release of methane gas, produce carbon dioxide, and take up wildlife natural habitats. Also, plastic or clay liners of landfills can leak and create leachate, a liquid that can contaminate nearby water sources.
Some ways to reduce waste include using reusable bottles and cups for beverages, using reusable grocery bags, recycling, composting, and avoiding single-use food and drink containers and utensils.
“I started using tablets for teeth brushing instead of toothpaste in a tube, and that one simple action makes a difference when you think about how many tubes of toothpaste, we throw away every year,” said Ex.
Ex also spoke about places in Fort Collins where you can bring a reusable container and get a refill on soap.
You can also try buying secondhand items and donating used goods, shopping at farmers markets (and trying to buy locally and sustainably grown products), buying in bulk to reduce packaging, and minimizing your use of paper products, including things like mail, receipts, and magazines.
Now is the time to decrease the amount of waste we generate in the first place.
“The best action for you to take is the action that you will take,” said Ex. “Because taking a step, whatever that step looks like for your family, is the most important step that you can take.”
