ULTIMATE LOW WASTE CHECKLIST

28.05.2020

Going low waste is not an easy journey, but we have prepared a checklist that might help you to make it easier. Use this to reduce waste, get new ideas, save money and create a more sustainable lifestyle.

Use reusable, low waste and washable items

• ☐ Coffee cups and travel mugs
• ☐ Water bottles
• ☐ Cloth grocery and shopping bags
• ☐ Plates and cups
• ☐ Silverware/serving utensils
• ☐ Cloth napkins and tablecloths
• ☐ Food storage containers
• ☐ Cloth towels, rags and wipes
• ☐ Cloth diapers, wipes and bibs
• ☐ Garment bags
• ☐ Lunch totes

Use less paper

• ☐ Use “print preview” and only print what you need
• ☐ Set your printer default to double-sided
• ☐ Purchase paper with a high recycled content
• ☐ File documents electronically
• ☐ Subscribe to newspapers and magazines online
• ☐ Receive bills electronically
• ☐ Stop junk mail
• ☐ Cancel phone books
• ☐ Cancel catalogs

Shop sustainably

• ☐ Use reusable shopping bags
• ☐ Purchase products made with recycled content
• ☐ Look for products with less packaging
• ☐ Buy food in season and shop at local farmers markets or stores selling local products
• ☐ Choose lotion and toothpaste in low waste tubes instead of pumps
• ☐ Purchase milk from local farms in reusable glass containers
• ☐ Dehydrate and can fruits and veggies for year-round use of local, seasonal harvests
• ☐ For birthdays, holidays and special occasions, give homemade gifts or buy gift certificates for services and experiences
• ☐ Reuse boxes, bubble wrap and other packaging materials or drop-off for reuse at mailing or shipping businesses

Be a greener cleaner

• ☐ Use cloth rags and wipes
• ☐ Make homemade household cleaners
• ☐ Buy environmentally friendly cleaning products
• ☐ Compost food scraps at home with a worm bin or “green cone”
• ☐ Mulch and grasscycle
• ☐ Plant native plants
• ☐ Grow your own food
• ☐ Compost yard waste in your backyard
• ☐ Use rain barrels
• ☐ Manage pests and lawn without toxic products

Build green

• ☐ Research green home remodelling resources
• ☐ Purchase environmentally friendly products
• ☐ Use low VOC paint and reclaimed wood
• ☐ Purchase low flow faucets and toilets
• ☐ Replace lights with compact low waste fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs)
• ☐ Recycle construction, demolition and land clearing debris

Safely dispose or recycle these products

• ☐ Used motor oil
• ☐ Oil-based paint, thinner and solvents
• ☐ Pesticides and garden chemicals
• ☐ Electronics and cell phones
• ☐ Pool and hot tub chemicals
• ☐ Auto and boat chemicals
• ☐ Large propane tanks (5 gallons)
• ☐ Non-alkaline batteries
• ☐ Fluorescent light bulbs & tubes
• ☐ Unwanted or expired medicine

We want to encourage you to take this low waste checklist and modify it upon your needs and lifestyle. You can always share it with friends, or people who might be interested in living more sustainably.

You can’t change everything overnight, as long as you are incorporating more of these points into your lifestyle day by day, then you are moving in the right direction.