Ways to Reduce

Reduce focuses on using less whenever you can to avoid creating trash from the start. There are tons of ways to reduce, but the number one way to reduce the amount of trash you generate is to consider whether you really need something before you buy it in the first place. Other reduction strategies include buying in bulk to avoid single-serving packages, meal planning to avoid buying food that you won’t end up eating, and donating gently used items to give them a second or third life. Reduce doesn’t mean do without, but we’ll admit it isn’t always the most convenient form of waste prevention. That said, its position on the waste hierarchy means that every decision we make to reduce has a meaningful impact on waste reduction.