Did you know that the average American sends over 1600 pounds of waste to the landfill every year? There are over 3000 landfills in the United States and all though they all try to limit their environmental impact, they are at the mercy of the waste delivered to them.

With many citizens and cities taking on the challenge of reducing waste and encouraging more sustainable practices, including Park City, we wanted to look into 6 simple ways that Park City and Wasatch county homeowners can reduce their waste at home.

1. Drink from a glass or stainless steel water bottle instead of disposable plastic bottles.

Did you know that there are over 50 billion plastic water bottles that don’t get recycled every year? Limiting your use of plastic bottles and using reusable bottles is a great way to help reduce your waste.

2. Bring your coffee mug to your local coffee shop or to work.

Every year over 16 billion disposable coffee cups are used. By using a reusable mug at work and coffee shops, you can help eliminate daily waste.

3. Bring reusable shopping bags to the grocery store.

Did you know that about one trillion single-use plastic bags are used annually across the globe? That’s nearly 2 million every minute. By using reusable bags when grocery shopping you can limit your plastic bag usage.

4. Avoid using plastic cups

Plastic cups are often convenient and the only option available, but when possible they should be avoided. Yearly, over 500 billion plastic cups are used.

5. Buy fresh produce from local farmers’ markets

Buying fresh produce is a great way to reduce the impact our food has. Many people forget about the long journey that most food has to take before reaching our table. By buying locally grown food, you can eliminate some carbon emissions expelled during the transport of food from around the world.

6. Buy food in bulk to reduce packaging waste.

Did you know that over half of the world’s plastic thrown out in 2015 was plastic packaging?  By buying food in bulk, you can help reduce the amount of packaging that you are throwing out.