Simple actions to start a zero-waste journey

Much of the waste that comes from a household is produced in the kitchen in the form of food, packaging, and cleaning waste. Better organization in the kitchen can help you significantly reduce the amount of waste produced in your home.

To reduce your food waste, start by organizing the refrigerator. This will make it easier to plan meals and encourage you to use ingredients before they expire. Preparing more meals at home will also cut down on how often you order takeout, which is more expensive than cooking at home and which usually comes with excess packaging.

Pantry organizers will further help organize your kitchen, clearing up space for food storage containers that you can use to preserve bulk food and ingredients. Buying in bulk is a great option as it will greatly reduce the amount of single-use packaging you consume.

Another main source of waste in a kitchen is single-use paper towels, which are often used for cleaning up minor spills or wiping down surfaces. You can easily replace paper towels with reusable dishcloths or simply make your own rags from extra pieces of fabric or old shirts.

Reduce your waste while out of the house by properly preparing for the day ahead, especially when it comes to your lunch.

For starters, don't leave home without a reusable water bottle and, if you're a coffee drinker, without an insulated bottle as well. Either brew your coffee at home or have your favourite coffee shop fill up your bottle rather than serving your drink in a single-use cup. Some shops even offer a discount for bringing your own bottle!

Reusable food containers are also a must-have for reducing your lunchtime waste. They make it easy to bring your lunch from home and avoid individually wrapped snacks.

Recycling and composting both offer better alternatives for dealing with waste than throwing it in the trash. The ideal scenario, however, is to not produce waste that needs to be dealt with in the first place. This means being more mindful about bringing less waste home by asking yourself if you really need something before you buy or accept it.

For example, if someone offers you a free promotional item that you know you won't use and will just end up throwing out, it is perfectly fine to decline. While you are out, make sure you also always have a reusable bag on-hand so that you can avoid bringing plastic bags home.

One way that you can help others produce less waste is by giving away or selling items that you don't use any more to someone who will make use of them. That way, they will get what they need without having to bring home the extra packaging that comes with new products.

There are several products around your home that can pose a hazard to the environment if they end up in the landfill. Divert these products from the landfill by dropping them off at a RONA location and benefit from our Take-Back Program.

This program ensures that old compact fluorescent light bulbs, fluorescent tubes, batteries, and paint are safely disposed of and recycled.
Contact your store to see whether it participates in the program.