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Plants Protected
By Cynthia B. Lauer
It’s March. This month, Living Green Barrie’s 12 Actions for Climate focuses on reducing waste.
This isn’t a new idea. In fact, you probably already do quite a few things to reduce waste. You may bring reusable bags whenever you shop and receive all of your bills electronically.
While these activities may have felt like a compromise in the beginning, they’ve become easy enough over time. Now they may feel like second nature. You may even wrinkle your nose in disapproval when you see someone use plastic wrap or aluminum foil to wrap up leftovers or buy cases of bottled water.
Individual efforts are all good, even essential, activities. When they are elevated to a system of committed actions, their impact increases exponentially.
Let’s take a strategic approach to reducing waste by breaking it down into segments. We can do this by dividing up the functions of your home. Waste can be reduced in each of these areas—kitchen, closet, furnace room, general household, yard, transportation, and workplace.
Here are a few concrete ideas for how to reduce waste.
Kitchen
- implement meal planning
- compost food scraps and expired food
- make your own tea and coffee and avoid disposable pods
- buy in bulk and use these containers for refilling
- explore diverse plant-based meals
- reuse cloth bags for groceries
- wash and reuse Ziploc plastic bags
- conserve water by handwashing dishes
General Household
- buy less stuff
- choose sustainably made products that come in recycled packaging materials
- buy used furniture, tools, books, and household items whenever possible
- rent or borrow rarely-used items like tools or party supplies
- dispose of electronic devices responsibly
- clean with washable cloths, rags, or towels instead of paper towels
In downtown Barrie, Oh Beehive! is a local refillery offering sustainable, refillable and eco-friendly products. Bring in your own containers to restock kitchen, laundry, cleaning, personal care and food products like coffee, tea, and honey. The store also carries beeswax wraps and reusable bags.
Closet
- participate in the second-hand economy by buying used clothing and giving away clothing you no longer want
- seek out clothing brands that prioritize ethical and eco-friendly practices
- look for garments made from organic or upcycled materials
- repair and upcycle your clothing
- wash and dry clothes responsibly
Furnace Room
- reduce indoor temperature overnight
- don’t turn on air conditioning until it’s absolutely necessary
The Repair Cafe- Fix It, Don’t Toss It!
Have you heard of the Barrie Repair Café? In order to reduce waste, volunteers help repair broken household items like small appliances and furniture, clothing, toys, and wood items. Partnered with Living Green Barrie and Firebird Community Cycle, the café runs at least twice a year in Barrie Library locations. To find the next event and to register, search Living Green Barrie’s events calendar.
More ways to reduce waste
Transportation
- adopt Natural Resources Canada’s program, Fuel-Efficient-Five: accelerate gently, maintain a steady speed, anticipate traffic, avoid high speeds, coast to decelerate
- replace your car filter
- do errands in one run
- walk, cycle, or use public transit instead of the car or organize a carpool
Yard
- avoid using leaf-blowers with two-stroke engines
- eliminate fertilizers and pesticides
- choose native plants that require less water
Workplace
- use a reusable water bottle and re-fill stations instead of bought or delivered water
- use an insulated travel mug for coffee
- bring reusable cutlery for takeout food or bring home-made lunches and snacks
- replace paper documents with shareable digital documents
- lower shades on south-facing windows
- reduce excess lighting
- utilize natural light whenever possible
Living Green Barrie encourages everyone to adopt a low-waste lifestyle by making practical changes. Together, we can make these actions— refuse, repair, reuse, reduce, repurpose, recycle—part of our shared culture and ultimately, for the benefit of all.
Author bio: A Living Green Barrie volunteer since 2025, Cynthia Lauer, PhD is a member of Simcoe County Master Gardeners and a regular contributor to The Gardener magazine.