Two kilograms of garbage a day
Cut the trash!
Small lifestyle changes are all it takes to help save the planet. How do you start? Each time we’ll provide you with some earth friendly tips – easy to apply at home
According to the Ministry of Environmental Protection, each of us produces two kilograms of trash a day – and that amount grows at a rate of five percent a year. Empty cardboard and plastic packaging, leftovers, paper and plastic bags, old clothes, toys, electric appliances, worn-out furniture – are just a sample of the typical Israeli garbage can.
You can blame western consumers' culture that sends us to the malls and the supermarkets to constantly purchase newer, upgraded, products. Yet, it is possible to coexist with it in relative peace by reducing the amounts of garbage we produce.
It turns out that by cutting back 10 percent of the trash, we can save the planet about 550 kg of carbon dioxide – the gas responsible for the global warming.
Although some of us regularly recycle empty plastic bottles and old newspapers, recycling is the last stage in the garbage-producing process. We can limit it by applying environmental-friendly insights in every trip to the store, or simply put, buy less: Less packaged food, less new clothes.
So, what can be done?
- Instead of buying bottled water, install a water cooler or use a purifying decanter
- Buy packaged food in family-size containers
- Replace packaged food products with local fresh food.
- If you try you can find products that are packed in recycled paper, plastic or cardboard packages.
- Donate old clothes and household items to the needy. WIZO, for example, has many thrift stores throughout the country.
- If you order take-away, make sure to tell the restaurant not to send you plastic utensils.
- And finally: Think twice before you buy. Do you really, but really, need the new shiny product?
