According to the US EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), in 2008, Americans generated 250 tons of trash (4.5 tons per capita) and only recycled one third. Recycling has a lot of environmental benefits and we should encourage it and practice it in our daily lives, but recycling is not the answer to waste reduction. The only permanent solution is to think in terms of “waste reduction.” Before buying something just think for a minute, do I really need it? For how long will I be using it? Where will it end up when I stop using it? If we all change our perspective toward the things we consume and instead of seeing them as throw away things we start seeing them as things that have a big environmental cost (from material extraction, labor production, energy and water waste, distribution cost, packaging manufacturing, selling expenses, recycling, disposing and all the pollution generated during this processes) then, maybe we can start changing our over-consumption behavior.
When I choose to support a product or service, I try to choose sustainable products that satisfy my need without compromising our future generations' needs. Truly sustainable companies also have stronger values toward humanity, animal protection, health, environment protection, and fair commerce. When you consciously buy from them, you promote a better world.
If you are reading this article, it is because you are a conscious person, so I invite you to think before you buy something and start making better choices, conscious choices as a consumer. Besides, reducing your waste will also help you save Money. For example you can save the $5 for coffee or the $2 for bottled water, and also you will save a plastic-disposable wrap that would have ended up in a landfill for 500 hundred years or more.