Thanks for Re:Dishing and making a positive impact on our environment!

This Earth Day, we’re bringing you practical reuse tips so you can lower your impact on the planet outside of the office.

Tip #1: BYOR (Bring Your Own Reusables)

There are way more local businesses than you’d expect who will now accept your reusables. Your local coffee shop is probably the best place to start, so bring your own reusable coffee cup to avoid single-use—and hey, you might even get a discount!

If you want to take it one step further, consider bringing your own container and pick up your takeout order instead of getting it delivered. New York City generates 14 million tons of trash every year which includes roughly 23 billion disposable food service items! This may seem uncomfortable at first, but in most cases the restaurant or cafe will be happy to pack your order in your own reusable since it saves them money on the containers they have to buy for all their takeout orders.

Now that the weather is getting warmer, challenge yourself to do this for 30 days - you’ll get more steps in and help the planet.

Tip #2: Buy Secondhand

Reuse also applies to purchasing clothing and household items. Buying secondhand goods means that the energy and natural resources that went into creating those goods have already been used. So, you’re not creating a demand for new items that require additional energy or deplete even more natural resources.

On the other hand—sell, donate or gift your gently used clothing, household items, or furniture to give them a second life and allow others to reuse them.

Tip #3: Make Simple Swaps

What are some products or things you use in your everyday life that you could find an alternative, more sustainable version for? Do an audit of each room in your home and make a list of all the products you consume/buy and then research what zero waste products there are as an alternative. Some examples:

Maybe you use a coffee machine that uses single-use pods. Why not switch to a french press?

A new toothbrush every 3 months? Consider an electric toothbrush where only the head needs to be replaced and the base can be reused indefinitely. Ones that are rechargeable are even better as then you don’t need to worry about batteries.

Shop bulk bins for dry goods like nuts, flours and cereals. Bring your own produce bags to fill them in!