Living In A Friendly Environmental (L.I.F.E) Manner
A Waste Reduction Guide to Making Your Home Environmentally
Friendly
The Environment
We all want to do our part to protect it and make Mesa a better place to
live. Many of us take the time to divert household items from the landfill
by either participating in Mesa's Blue Barrel curbside recycling collection
program or taking materials to one of our area drop-off recycling centers.
While these are commendable activities, there is much more that we can do
everyday to ensure that we make the most of our natural resources and protect
the environment.
We need to pay closer attention to our lifestyles to make sure that we are
living in an environmentally friendly manner as much as possible. The
purpose of this guide is to provide you with some source reduction, reuse, and
recycling ideas to make your home more environmentally friendly.
Your Kitchen
The kitchen is the most logical place to start since most of our garbage
comes from this well-used room in the house. Many of the materials that we
can reduce, reuse or recycle are used or generated in the kitchen. In
fact, if you look at your kitchen waste carefully, you will notice that most of
the materials are actually packaging wastes. Over-packaging results in
more waste and higher disposal costs. It is important to pay attention to
what you purchase to ensure that you buy products with a minimum of packaging
waste. If you do a good job reducing your kitchen waste, you will have
already taken a big step towards making your home environmentally
friendly. The following are some suggestions for you that will help you to
reduce the amount of material you throw away:
- Reduce! When purchasing items, pay attention to the amount of
packaging used. Also, consider whether or not the product or its
packaging is recyclable in Mesa's recycling program. Another tip is to
buy in bulk and avoid products with excess packaging. Single serve
packages use more packaging than larger bulk items. However, balance
this with making sure that you buy only what you need, especially with
perishable products. You can also buy refills. Refill packages
reduce waste since they are often made of thinner material than the original
container and don't include spouts, pumps or spray tops. Also, these
refills usually contain a layer of recycled materials, saving on the use of
new or "virgin" materials.
- Reuse! It sounds simple, but many of us overlook the
obvious. Why throw something away when you can use it again and
again. The kitchen is a haven for reusable items such as aluminum
foil, glass, jars, and plastic containers. If you have items to
dispose of that you are not going to be reusing yourself, look into other
outlets for reusable materials such as the Salvation Army, Good Will and
Desert Industries. In this way, someone else can reuse your items
rather than throwing them into the trash.
- Recycle! Don't be a part of the problem! Be part of the
solution!If you are not already recycling, think about
starting. Recycling is easy. Many items such as newspaper,
glass, metal cans, and plastics are being collected from homes just like
yours. Currently, the City of Mesa's Blue Barrel recycling program
accepts the following items:
- Plastic bottles, jugs & jars (containers with a neck smaller
than the base or a screw top lid)
- Glass jars and bottles
- Aluminum cans
- Metal (tin) cans
- Corrugated cardboard
- Chipboard
- Newspaper
- Direct Mail
- Telephone Books
In addition, there are convenient drop-off sites available to recycle
specific items should you not have our barrel service or have an abundance or
recyclable material that will not fit into your blue barrel. Contact the
City of Mesa Recycling Hotline at (480) 644-2222 to find out what additional
recycling opportunities are available to you.
Your Garage
Your garage probably contains the most potentially hazardous wastes in your
home. Paint, oils, pesticides, solvents and cleaners are generally
referred to as "Household Hazardous Materials". When used
properly these materials pose little threat to the environment. It is when
they are disposed of improperly, that these materials can contaminate soil,
water, and air. They can also pose a health hazard to humans and
pets. It is very important that you make sure you use the product
according to label instructions.
The following suggestions will assist you in minimizing the environmental
impacts associated with Household Hazardous Materials.
- Don't buy too much! Carefully estimate how much of a material
you may need when making purchases. Purchasing only what you need will
eliminate having to dispose of excess material. Remember, just because
a larger quantity is on sale for a price comparable to a smaller package, it
is not a bargain if it creates a disposal problem for you.
- Give it away to others! If you have excess materials, check
with friends, family and community organizations to see if they could use
the material. This solves your disposal problems and saves others some
money. Giving away unwanted paint is a great example. Youth
theater groups, churches or other civic organizations may be interested in
your old paint.
- Try alternatives! There are many safe, more environmentally
friendly alternatives that you can use in place of commercially produced
cleaning supplies. You would be surprised at how much baking soda can
do! For example, 4 tablespoons of baking soda combined with 1 quart of
warm water makes an all-purpose cleaner. Another example is take 2
parts vegetable oil and 1 part lemon juice or 3 cups olive oil and 1 cup
vinegar to make furniture polish. Additionally, there are numerous
planting techniques to reduce unwanted garden pests.
- Practice proper disposal methods! The City of Mesa offers
regularly scheduled collection events for residents who need to dispose of
household hazardous materials. Additionally, the City works with other
surrounding cities to allow Mesa residents access to their collection
events. Utilize these events to properly dispose of excess
material. For additional information, call the Mesa Recycling Hotline at
(480) 644-2222.
Your Yard and Garden
We all enjoy having a beautiful lawn and landscape. But how many of us
enjoy the work involved with keeping a lawn looking beautiful? Or the
expenses associated with it? Consider the following suggestions to keep
the yard waste off your curb for collection and therefore lowering your yard
waste disposal bill.
Xeriscaping makes sense...naturally!
Xeriscaping takes a smart approach to landscaping by promoting good planning,
proper soil preparation, efficient irrigation, and the use of well adapted, low
water using plants. For homeowners, it means less maintenance, lower water
bills -- and a colorful, attractive yard. Saving water, mowing less, and
sending less waste to our landfills promotes the overall conservation of our
resources. Check with the City's Water Resources Office at (480) 644-3058
for some free advice before planting.
Reduce your turf area!
Many people are rethinking how much lawn they want and need. You might
consider reducing the area of lawn you presently have by replacing some areas
with water-efficient groundcovers or shrubs. Patios, paving stones or
other garden structures can also reduce your lawn maintenance area while adding functionality
to your landscape.
Grasscycle!
Mow your lawn more frequently, cutting just the top third of the grass
blade. While this seems like more work, it actually saves time because you
don't have to bag the grass. Studies have shown that leaving the shorter
clippings (which are rich in nutrients) on the lawn and mowing more frequently
will result in a healthier, green lawn with less effort! A mulching lawn
mower is not necessary but it will help.
Green Waste Barrel
The City of Mesa offers a curbside green waste barrel for a nominal monthly
fee in which you can put loose, unbagged green waste; including grass cuttings,
leaves, and prunings. This barrel is collected weekly, the same day as
your blue recycling barrel. Call the City of Mesa Recycling Hotline at
(480) 644-2222 for details on this program.
Consider composting!
If you have a lot of grass clippings, leaves, and/or garden wastes, but do
not want to put those materials out at the curb, consider starting a backyard
compost pile. Composting will not only help you manage your waste on-site,
it will also generate a soil product that you can use in your garden, flower
beds, and around shrubbery and bushes. Compost is great for fighting weeds
as well as soil erosion. The City of Mesa offers residents a backyard
compost container for a $5 refundable deposit. Call the City of Mesa
Recycling Hotline at (480) 644-2222 for more information.
Your Neighborhood Store
We have offered some suggestions that you can use at home to reduce, reuse,
and recycle your wastes. However, most of those suggestions apply only
after you have purchased an item. Much of what you can do to reduce or
recycle your waste occurs before, or during, your visits to the store. By
making the effort to keep your disposal options in mind when you purchase goods,
you can truly make a difference. Listed below are some shopping tips:
- Buy Recycled! Take the time to check and see if the product
you are buying contains any post-consumer recycled material. By
purchasing products using recycled materials, you help support recycling
markets which improve the value of recyclable materials.
- Buy products that are recyclable in Mesa! This will reduce
what you have to put in your garbage barrel at home. Be careful
though. Just because an item states that it is recyclable does not
necessarily mean that it is recyclable in Mesa's program. If given the
choice between buying milk in a carton or in a plastic container, consider
the recyclability of each type of material and purchase the plastic bottle
that is recyclable in Mesa's program.
- Avoid single-use disposable products! Whenever possible,
either purchase goods that are durable and can be used for a long period of
time or reuse products you may have at home.
- Reuse your grocery bags! If you can bring your own bags from
home, do so. If not, take as few bags as you can comfortably
handle. Whether you prefer paper bags or plastic bags, be sure to
reuse them. Paper bags are great for keeping newspapers neatly stored
and make excellent book covers. Plastic bags make good wastebasket
liners or lunch bags. You can also inquire at your grocery store if
they have a return program for plastic bags.
- Support recycling! Tell your store manager that you prefer
buying products that are made with recycled content and/or are
recyclable. Ask them to make every effort to seek out and stock these
types of products. Store managers welcome this type of input from
customers.
Additional Tips
The following are additional tips to consider to help further reduce your
household's waste:
- Reduce junk mail. The City of Mesa offers brochures which explain
how to reduce unwanted junk mail. Visit our Web page or call (480)
644-2222 to request a copy of this brochure.
- Avoid using disposable products when appropriate. This includes
paper plates, cups, utensils, reusable bags, etc.
- Give it away, don't throw it away! Give away or donate items that
you do not want anymore but are still usable. Contact your local
Salvation Army, Goodwill, or Desert Industries for information on how these
products can be reused.
If you have any questions, please call us at (480) 644-2222.
Note: Portions of this guide were adapted from West Cook County Solid Waste
Agency publication of the same title. Information was developed by the Des
Moines Metro Area Solid Waste Agency; Illinois EPA and ENR; Missouri Household
Hazardous Waste Project; and the City of Fort Worth, Texas.
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