Tips & Tools
Tips & Tools to Cut Waste
Paper Trail
Reduce the amount of direct mail and bulk mailings that you receive
Contact the Direct Marketing Association at www.DMAchoice.org/ to remove your name from their members' mailing lists
Valpak coupons - you can go to Cox Target Media and complete their simple online form to remove your address from their mailing list
MoneyMailer coupons - you can go to www.moneymailer.com/contact to remove your name from their mailing list
At www.catalogchoice.org you can select (for free) which department store or mail order catalogs to not receive in the mail
Rather than receive magazine subscriptions via mail, many publishers offer online subscriptions. Also, local or county public libraries offer online access to a incredible number of newspapers, magazines, and trade journals, which can be read directly from the comfort of your computer screen - check it out!
To stop receiving credit card offers in the mail, you can go to www.optoutprescreen.com/?rf=t to opt out
Phone books can require a little more persistence in order to stop having them delivered to your home.
You can start with the Yellow Pages Association's website www.ypassociation.org, and by entering your zip code, it will provide you with your local directory publishers' contact information to opt out
All Things Plastic
Use BPA-free water bottles, rather than buying bottled water, as most of the empty bottled water plastic bottles end up in landfills rather than being recycled 
Grocery/shopping bags - Paper or Plastic?
- Use totes made of recycled plastic fibers for dry goods, such as canned, boxed or bottled items; if you use them for packaged meat, fish, vegetables or dairy products, make sure to wash the totes on a regular basis to avoid potentially harmful bacteria from forming
- Use paper or plastic bags for non-dry goods; just be sure to recycle either after use
Avoid buying products packaged in plastic clamshells, as that type of plastic packaging is almost never recycled
Look for products in multipacks or bulk, which will reduce the amount of packaging required compared to single item packs
