Make a list and stick to it, and then combine trips.
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This is a good way to avoid impulse buying which can lead to waste, while
saving time and/or gasoline.
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Shop at home first
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You can keep our local economy healthy just by consciously choosing to Shop
at Home, buying from locally owned stores. If you don't see what you need,
ask if the store can order it for you. The more we shop out of the area, the
fewer services remain available locally, and the more we force ourselves
to shop out of the area.
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Shop without travelling
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If something you need is not available locally, try shopping on the world
wide web or by catalog mail order. You can make sure you only get the
catalogs you want by following the tips on
Reducing Junk Mail.
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Consider the lifecycle impacts of your choices
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Consider the lifecycle impacts of your choices.
As we use each new product in our lives, we share the responsibility for
the environmental impacts of that product as it was created: as the raw
materials were extracted, processed and manufactured. We also share in the
impacts of producing the energy necessary to make and use the product, and
to collect once it is discarded. Finally, we share in the impacts as the
product as we used it, then
recycled,
composted,
burned,
disposed
or dumped it.
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Let Manufacturers Know What You Think
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Let the manufacturer know what you think about their product and package.
Most products will have the manufacturer's phone number and/or address on
the label. When you express your opinion on the durability, toxicity, or
recyclability of their product or package, they will assume that you
represent hundreds of people who had the same thought, but didn't call. So
simply by complaining when a manufacturer changes to an unrecyclable package
or commending a company which makes a non-toxic alternative to a hazardous
product, you can have a big influence on the market. You can also join
groups which work on these issues, like
Californians Against Waste.
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Educate Yourself
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By educating ourselves and taking these responsibilities seriously, we can
reduce our personal impacts on the planet while improving our quality of
life. Follow these tips to reduce these impacts:
- If the product has a warning label saying 'Flammable,' 'Harmful if
Swallowed,' 'Poisonous,' or 'Keep Out of Reach of Children'
it is a hazardous material. Take some extra time to see if there is a
non-hazardous alternative.
- Choose reusable, compostable, returnable, and repairable products over
disposable ones.
- When possible, choose products made from recycled materials.
- Make sure the packaging is recyclable in Del Norte.
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Understand what package labels can tell you
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Recyclable
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Unfortunately, just because the package says it is
recyclable does not mean that you can actually recycle it in Del Norte.
Some people think that if they put such a product in the trash, it somehow
gets recycled - Not true. Some materials (such as styrofoam
blocks or the paperboard used to make cereal boxes) have so little scrap
value that processing, transporting and recycling these materials can cost
much more than disposal, and so no recycling service is locally available.
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Recycled
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This package is made from a combination of post-industrial and
post-consumer materials.
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Post-consumer content
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This package contains some portion of materials
actually collected from recycling programs like the ones in Del Norte, from
people like you.
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CA Redemption Value
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These packages have deposits which you pay at the grocery store, and can
collect at Julindra Recycling.
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