10 Tips for Trash

Taking steps to handle your garbage more efficiently and conveniently will make this task one you can dispense with easily. Here’s how:

1. Use Name-Brand Garbage Bags
They may cost more than discount brands, but they are less likely to break or leak.

2. Store Extra Garbage Bin Liners
Store extra garbage bin liners in the bottom of every trash can. It’s more convenient than trekking off in search of bags every time to take out the trash.

3. Kill Odor
A spritz of a natural pet-odor deodorant can tackle bad smells without adding chemicals to your indoor air. A sprinkle of baking soda on top of kitchen scraps can also help. Rubbermaid has a natural, fast approach to restore fresh air with the launch of Odor Away,™ a new, environmentally friendly way of eliminating unwanted smells around the home.

4. Divert Food Waste
One way to minimize the volume (and odor) of your kitchen garbage is to compost your organic waste. A DIY compost pile can manage fruit and vegetable waste, but the newest store-bought composting units can tackle meat and dairy, too. Your call, but either way, you’ll net yourself a tidier kitchen garbage can, as well as nutrient-rich compost for your flowerbeds!

5. Clean all Garbage Cans One Per Month
Use any all-purpose cleanser; no need for an anti-bacterial formula. This pro-active measure will help reduce or even eliminate odor.

6. Deal with Leaks and Spills Fast
Clean your kitchen or bathroom garbage can if there’s a spill. It will be a lot easier now, and less unpleasant, than when bacteria or mold set in.

7. Use Wheeled Garbage Bins
If you’re still lugging an old-fashioned can, trade it for a wheeled model that almost anyone in the family can handle.

8. Label Your Garbage Cans
Use a thick Sharpie, or paint, to mark your address on your garbage and recycling bins (don’t forget to label lids, as well!), so you can identify them easily if they get left down the street on trash day.

9. Cut Your Paper Waste at the Source
Opt out of junk mail. Choose paperless bills and bank statement, if available. Cancel subscriptions to paper based magazines and catalogs that you don’t always look at.

10. Recycle your Cans, Bottles, Paper, Plastics and Cardboard
If your community has curbside recycling, be vigilant about sorting your recyclables and putting them out. If it doesn’t, lobby your local government to implement one. If you pay for private trash service, consider adding a recycling service as well. If you don’t use curbside service, be sure to bring your recyclables to your community’s local drop-off center.

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