Less is More: Everyday Choices that Make A Difference

Seattle Public Utilities sends out a seasonal tips and information for Seattle residents newsletter, which includes different ways to help residents reduce, reuse and recycle everyday. In a previous edition, the title of the newsletter was "Less is More: Everyday Choices That Make A Difference."

We use a lot of stuff. Think about the amount of clothes you own, the food you buy, and the cups of coffee, tea, or juice you drink. The number of things we use every day can seem small or insignificant, but all together and over time buying all that stuff can have a big impact. Buying less means we save more money. Using less means we conserve more natural resources and protect the environment.

• Reduce: Less stuff means less stress. Reducing the number of things you use means less clutter and more money saved. Buy only what you truly need.
• Reuse: Find ways to use things to their full value. Using a refillable water bottle, avoiding disposable items, turning leftovers into new meals, and lending your ladder to a neighbor are all ways to get the most use out of your things.
• Recycle: Give used items a chance to be made into something new by recycling them. Recycling cuts down on waste and the amount of new materials needing to be extracted from the environment to make new items.
• Before putting next item in the recycling bin, remember:
• Recycle right. Only accepted items in recycling.
• Keep it clean. Clean, dry, and no food.
• Question: Can plastic bottle caps really be recycled?
• Answer: Yes, plastic caps can be recycled when they are put back on a plastic bottle. Empty the bottle before you screw the cap back on. Loose plastic and metal caps under three inches go in the garbage. They are too small to capture when being sorted at the recycling facility and end up as garbage.
• Question: Are paper envelopes padded with bubble wrap recyclable? 
• Answer: No, put them in the garbage. They contain two distinct materials, paper and plastic, which are hard to separate for recycling. Online shopping often comes with a lot of packaging. When possible, request grouping items into fewer shipments to reduce packaging.
• Additional questions about recycling or compost, find out where it all goes at seattle.gov/util/WhereDoesItGo

Love Your Food

• Buy what you need. Eat what you have. 
• Buying only what you need now means you're less likely to throw away food later. Check your fridge and cupboards to see what you already have that needs to be used up. Next, make a meal plan using what you already have. Then, make your shopping list based on your plan, so you don't overbuy. At the store, stick to your shopping list. Don't get distracted by every sale, instead focus on the deals that fit into your meal plan, or choose foods that can be frozen for future meals.
• Make it last longer.
• Storing food correctly keeps it fresh longer--helping you waste less food.
• Store fruits and vegetables away from each other--fruits make vegetables go bad faster.
• Keep your fridge at or below 40 degrees, and your freezer at 0 degrees.
• For resources to help you waste less food, visit seattle.gov/util/reducereuse
• Items that should be stored at room temperature: Bread, ripe bananas, onions, tomatoes, squash, eggplant, and unripe fruit.
• Compost food scraps.
• Put all food scraps in the compost. When you throw food scraps in the garbage, you break the nature cycle of food returning to the soil--creating more greenhouse gases. Composting transforms your food scraps into nutrient dense soil that will help grow more food. Keep the food cycle going by eating the food you buy and putting all food scraps in the compost. This closed loop benefits our wallets, our communities, and our environment.
• If you choose to line your compost container, use newspaper, a paper bag, or a compostable bag.