Waste Reduction – How to Begin and Win $10,000

CleanScapes Neighborhood Waste Reduction Rewards Competition, Fall 2009-Spring 2010

CleanScapes, your garbage, recycling, and compost service provider, is sponsoring a $10,000 neighborhood challenge to reduce waste. You don’t have to sign up, you don’t have to apply. The only thing you have to do is create less garbage! To begin reducing waste, start by taking an inventory of the single-use, throw-away, or even recyclable items you use in your daily routines and try to replace these items with reusable, durable and washable items like water bottles, travel mugs, cloth dish towels, napkins, cleaning rags, and shopping bags. You will be surprised by the difference small changes can make over time.

The best way to discover where you can reduce waste is to actually sort through your trash and recycling. It sounds a little gross at first, but you’ll find it is very informative! Lay out a tarp in the garage or in the yard, put on some gloves, and start sorting. Look for what each family member throws away, what could be recycled, which materials take up the most space, and which materials could be replaced by durable materials.

Once you have your list of the common items in your garbage and recycling cans, try and identify where you could make different choices. If your recycle bin is filled with plastic water bottles, then think about getting everyone their own reusable water bottles. Paper towels can take up a lot of space too in the yard waste can. If you move the paper towels out of sight for emergency use only and replace with kitchen towels and cloth napkins, you should be able to save about a roll a week. If you have a lawn, think about leaving the clippings where they are. If you have a big yard, consider backyard composting and mulching your yard debris.


To learn more waste reduction tips, subscribe to CleanScapes’ weekly waste reduction email. To find out more about the neighborhood competition, visit our website. The neighborhood associations representing the winning area will choose a capitol improvement project from a list of options, including public benches, a pocket park, lighting, signage, public art or other public improvements. No project is too small. You can submit your ideas to Education Outreach at Cleanscapes.