The Telegram (St. John's)

Small steps for a greener home

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Practicing green habits goes beyond sorting through your trash. There are many things we can do in and around our homes to play a small but significan­t part in waste reduction. Follow these three easy tips to keep your landfill contributi­on to a minimum.

Reuse and recycle. Purging old things that have been stashed away for seasons doesn’t need to be daunting. Try tackling one area of your house at a time and work through the rest in stages. Start in the garage where clutter tends to pile up. Instead of holding on to old items you no longer use, recycle them. Locally discarded vehicle tires these can be dropped off at the Robin Hood Bay site (residentia­l side) Tuesday through Saturday, 8:00 to 4:00 – truckloads of discarded tires not accepted; this is a residentia­l service.

Repair and refurbish. Channel your inner creativity by completing fixer-uppers around the home. With DIY tips and tricks at your fingertips, projects can be done on a budget. Start small by working through jobs like repairing light fixtures or refurbishi­ng furniture. No home workshop? Check out locally to see if you can access to equipment to help you with your project. Not only will refurbishi­ng save you money, it will also lessen your impact by diverting waste from landfills.

Extend the life of materials. Shopping at second-hand shops or consignmen­t stores offers oneof-a-kind pieces that are trendy and discounted. You can also extend the life of your own items by repurposin­g different garments and materials. Try repurposin­g old clothing into vintage styles or using the rubber from old tires for shoe soles or belts. If you’ve run out of uses for your old items, visit your local community centre donation drop box.

 ??  ?? Clear out the useless things that are accumulate­d in the garage, the basement, the shed and even the attic.
Clear out the useless things that are accumulate­d in the garage, the basement, the shed and even the attic.

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