Doing a waste audit with Small Footprints

I really must keep my ego in check!

This week’s Change the World Wednesday challenge has us doing a waste audit to see where we could do better in creating less waste.

My instinctive response was “but I already do this, there’s nothing for me to do!” until I read the second part “Since we all produce waste and can always do better, we don’t have a second level this week.”
Hmpf.

So then I started reading other websites and blogs about waste and I got it! And man is there a LOT for me to think about!

You see I was thinking solely about landfill waste; all those things we don’t bother to reuse, recycle or compost that end up causing all sorts of problems in our landfill sites for hundreds of years.

But oh no! This is the holistic version of waste and embraces everything from electricity to water.

I’m not going to participate in the solid waste aspect because right now I’m in the middle of a serious declutter and I know I will be creating landfill layabouts, but I AM looking at energy and water.

And here are two areas we can definitely work on:

• Turing the water off when you brush your teeth – it’s a habit of Mr Green’s that he’s just not letting go of, so it’s time for a gentle conversation.
• Turning off the lights when leaving the room. Although we use solar powered LEDs downstairs, there’s still no excuse to waste the precious electricity we have stored. I’m particularly bad at leaving the kitchen lights on. In addition it’s not uncommon for me to come upstairs and see the lights left on in the office.

These are two smallish areas, but these are the things that collectively make a difference.

What about you? Any new habits to put in place to help reduce your carbon footprint?