By the Bronxville Green Committee

April 22, 2025: During Earth Month we’re running a series of articles focused on creating a Waste Free Bronxville! Waste free is about avoiding or redirecting potential waste so that much less must go in the trash. It’s about REFUSE, REDUCE, REUSE and RECYCLE – and that order matters!

In this third article, we’ll talk about “REDUCE” – how to use less of what we need. Once we start paying attention to all the unnecessary items we buy, use and take, we’ll realize how easy it is to reduce waste and clutter in our lives!

Here are some ways we can REDUCE:

REDUCE Unnecessary Deliveries

-Whether it’s a food or Amazon order, try to place your online orders once a week, bi-weekly or even once a month to reduce deliveries and packaging; often you will realize you don't really need the item when the time comes, or you’ve already picked it up while doing local shopping.

REDUCE Single-use Items and Excess Packaging 

Whenever you can replace single-use items needed on a regular basis with reusable equivalents, you’re doing the planet a favor and saving yourself an online order or trip to the store.  You’ll save money too!

Daily Living

-Replace paper napkins with cloth napkins, paper towels with kitchen towels, and paper plates with lightweight dishware, like Corelle. The extra clean-up is minimal and for some gatherings it’s appropriate to recruit your family or guests to make cleaning up a fun part of your time together.

-Switch to a rechargeable lighter. It’s a reusable, one-time purchase that’s always ready, plus it’s flameless and windproof!

-Simple adaptations in your kitchen can cut waste: reuse Ziploc bags, replace cling wrap with storage containers with lids or reusable beeswax wraps. A plate over a dish or bowl is often all the storage you need.

-Avoid fast fashion! We all know the story here – let’s try to buck what has become the norm and stick with choosing basic, well-made items that best serve our needs (more to come in our next article).

Entertaining

-Set up a water beverage station with water dispensers instead of individual water bottles or drink cans.

-Use reusable plastic cups or acrylic glasses.

-If using disposable serveware, choose paper instead of plastic!

Food Shopping

-We all know to bring reusable shopping bags to stores, but let’s also bring reusable produce bags. They are sturdier, often with drawstrings, making it easier to use than those thin plastic bags provided by the store. They can also be easily washed as needed.

-Choose plastic-free packaging as often as you can – for example, put a lettuce head in your reusable produce bag instead of grabbing that big plastic clamshell of lettuce. Chances are the lettuce will last longer plus each purchase will add up to a big reduction in your plastic.

Cleaning Products

-Laundry Detergent: we mentioned this in our last article, but it’s worth mentioning again! Skip the big plastic bottles and pods (which produce microplastic in our waterways). Instead, try laundry sheets or concentrated tablets or old-school powder that comes in cardboard boxes.

-Try cleaning product solutions that provide “forever” bottles with easy-to-reorder cleaning tablets that come in plastic free wrapping. Just add the dry tablet and water, and you’re set! Blueland is one of our favorite companies that offer these options.

Personal Care

-Switch from plastic bottles of liquid soap, shampoo, and conditioner to bar versions for another big impact.

-Almost all personal care items have a non-plastic, reusable alternative – from toothpaste tablets to washable cotton pads. Take a look at the next item you pick up and do a quick online search for how to replace it.

On The Go

-Make a Sustainable Go-Bag to leave in your car! The bag should include the following reusable items, so you can avoid taking single-use items on the go: shopping/produce bags, water bottle, coffee cup, utensil set, and to-go food container.

REDUCE Your Food Waste

You’ve heard the shocking statistic: in the U.S. we waste 40% of the food we raise, a huge loss of resources. You can tackle food waste by:

-Cleaning out your fridge weekly to make sure food is getting used

-Creating a “use first” bin in the fridge

-Freezing food that you can’t use right away

-Buying food at a farmers’ market or joining a CSA offered by a local farm supports local agriculture while reducing costs associated with trucking food long distances.

REDUCE New Toy Purchases

Does your child or grandchild really need another plastic toy?  Instead, why not send some of their toys on “vacation” and return them when the child will be newly excited about them. A trip to the library, rather than purchasing a new book, might become a treasured memory.

Reducing has its own rewards – owning less means you’ll have less to clean, maintain, and store, freeing your time and energy for the life experiences that really matter to you. Sustainability does not require sacrifice. These are not hard steps, just simple choices. And none of us needs to be perfect, just do a little better.

We know the issue is big, but some solutions are small and can be found in simple everyday decisions. Click HERE to read the other Waste Free Bronxville articles in this series.

For your calendar: May 17, 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. is Bronxville’s TAKE BACK DAY! Start saving your sensitive documents to be shredded and used electronics to be dropped off for recycling. Other household items will be collected for donation. Check back HERE for more specifics on what will be collected as we get closer to the event.

The Bronxville Green Committee is a volunteer organization that is part of the Village of Bronxville. We work to propose and implement environmentally sustainable programs in our community. Visit our website and follow us on Instagram @bxvgreencommittee to learn more.