Trash services are essential in residential areas as they help to move the waste to landfills, where they sort it for recycling and reusing. While garbage production is inevitable, you can reduce the amount of waste produced in your home and preserve the environment.

Here are waste reduction strategies you can adopt in your home.

1. Reduce Food Wastage

According to US Environmental Protection Agency statistics, food waste remains the largest component in municipal landfills. This statistic means that out of all the garbage collected from residential and commercial garbage containers by trash services, a high percentage of the waste is food. And while most food is biodegradable, reusable, and can be used to make manure, you can help reduce food wastage.

Different ways of reducing food wastage at home include the following:

• Shop for only what you need at the home
• Prepare enough food for each meal and avoid stashing left-overs in the fridge
• Use left-over food before preparing new meals
• Store your food properly to prevent rot
• Feed animals like pigs and chickens with food scraps
• Create a compost pit in your backyard

You should also contact your local trash services provider to collect food scraps from your curbside or drop off the scraps at the local drop-off point.

2. Use Reusable Shopping Bags

Most residential garbage cans contain plastic and paper packaging bags from stores, markets, and malls. This is because many people buy packaging bags every time they shop and dispose of them immediately after they unwrap their shopping. Consequently, plastic and paper shopping bags contribute to environmental pollution.

You can reduce the number of plastic and paper bags in your home by using reusable shopping bags whenever you shop. Have specific bags for grocery shopping. You only need to clean the shopping bags after every trip to avoid cross-contamination of your food.

Also, focus on buying foods with little or no packaging. For instance, the fresh produce sold at farmers' markets comes with no plastic packaging, and you can also purchase dry cereals and grains in refill containers. Carry your containers to the stores and refill them instead of buying packed grains and cereals.

3. Ditch Plastic Water Bottles, Napkins, and Serviettes for Reusable Alternatives

People buy bottled water with the misconception that it's purer than tap water. Tap water goes through a thorough federally approved filtering process and is healthy for consumption. Thus, you should stop buying bottled water and use reusable water bottles to carry your drinking water. This practice will help reduce the number of plastic containers trash service providers collect daily.

Also, use reusable cleaning cloths instead of serviettes and paper towels at home. While serviettes and paper towels are biodegradable, they still impact the environment. Reusable cleaning cloths can clean your surfaces better and are an excellent way to reduce the amount of waste in your home.

To learn more, contact a professional waste management service in your area.