Happy New Year! With every new year, a New Year’s Resolution or goal follows. According to Psychology Today, the most common New Year’s Resolutions are losing weight, exercising more, or to quit smoking.

These are all amazing resolutions and we hope you succeed in your goals! If you don’t have a goal for the new year but want to make a difference, we suggest to “reduce, reuse, and recycle”! If you don’t know where to start or what to do, don’t worry, we have five easy beginner tips you can use to help out our beloved planet.

1. Reduce plastic bottles and single use coffee cups.

This is one of the easier practices that you can start today and make a difference!

How can you reduce plastic bottles and single use coffee cups?

No more Coke from the vending machine or gas station. Purchase a reusable cup that you can refill with your favorite beverage instead of buying it in a plastic bottle. This can also be done with water! Invest in a reusable water bottle that can save you money and waste.

2. Reduce plastic grocery bags and buy reusable ones!

The average American uses 307 bags a year. That is 100 billion bags thrown away annually in America and 4 trillion bags worldwide.

How can you reduce plastic bag waste?

Instead of using 4-5 grocery bags per grocery store visit, pack reusable bags. Keep them in your car to be sure you don’t forget them when you go shopping! If you do forget your reusable bags at home, ask for paper instead!

Paper bags can be broken down quicker in landfills and are easier to be recycled into things like cardboard.

3. Say no to plastic straws and utensils.

The US uses around 500 million drinking straws a day. That is enough to fill 46,400 school buses every year!

How can you reduce plastic straw usage?

Plastic straws are available everywhere for convenience. One way to reduce plastic straws would be to bring your own cup with a reusable straw whenever possible. If you are going out to eat a restaurant, say no to a plastic straw.

Another way to avoid plastic straws would be to carry your own reusable straw. There are travel size reusable stainless steel straws now!

4. Ride your bike or walk more!

What benefit does riding your bike have?

If your new years resolution is to workout more then you’re in luck! You can exercise riding your bike or walking to your close destinations while reducing air pollution.

5. Reduce your waste by recycling more.

How do you reduce your waste conveniently?

You can reduce your waste without it being inconvenient by simply watching what you are throwing away and asking yourself if it can be recycled. You’d be surprised by how much we throw away that can simply be recycled.

Do you order a lot of packages from amazon? What do you do with the cardboard? Cardboard can be recycled into more cardboard without using new resources. If you switch from plastic grocery bags to paper bags, those can be recycled as well.

Do you ever wonder what the world would be like if everyone recycled? We do! Which is why we offer business to business recycling in the Kansas City Metro area. If this sounds like something your business would be interested in, contact us and we would be happy to help!