Tips for avoiding waste in everyday life

• Avoidspontaneous purchases and only buy what you really need and use up.
• Writea shopping list and use an old envelope or the back of a printout you no longer need.
• Takea shopping basket or shopping bag with you and avoid single-use plastic bags in the store.
• Give preference tounpackaged food : fruit and vegetables are now also available in supermarkets without plastic packaging. Nuts, flour, pulses, rice and the like can be filled into reusable containers in unpackaged stores.
• Avoidproducts with multiple packaging (such as individually wrapped sweets).
• If possible, buy refill packs, e.g. for soap, detergent or spices.
• It is better to buy one large pack instead of many small ones.

• Store food correctly so that it keeps for a long time.
• After the best-before date has expired, check the edibility of food with all your senses and continue to use it if necessary.
• In the case of fruit and vegetables, also use B goods.
• Use all edible parts of fruit and vegetables: The skin of many fruits and vegetables can be eaten, and in some cases (e.g. radishes) leaves can be used to make salad.
• New vegetables can often be grown from "green waste": For example, you can put the roots of spring onions in water and grow new spring onions from them.
• Use cooking utensils and containers made of durable (natural) materials such as wood, stainless steel, glass or porcelain for cooking.
• Avoid disposable coffee capsules and use refillable capsules instead.
• Usefood sharing systems and help to ensure that edible food is not thrown away.

• Tap water has drinking water quality in Germany. Drinking tap water saves you having to lug around bottles and helps to avoid waste.
• If you buy bottled drinks, you should opt for reusable bottles with short transportation routes (e.g. beer from local breweries, water from bottling plants close to home)

• Reusable products often offer a good alternative to disposable products: For make-up removal, washable pads or washcloths offer a good alternative to expensive disposable make-up remover wipes. Razors with replaceable blades can be used instead of disposable razors.
• Solid soaps for hands, body and hair use less packaging material than liquid soap, shower gel and shampoo.
• Buyplastic-free cosmetics: Many shower gels and exfoliating products contain microplastics, which then end up in waste water. When buying, it is worth taking a look at the label to avoid such products in future. A mixture of olive oil and coffee grounds is also suitable as a plastic-free exfoliating alternative.
• Buy refill packs: Especially when traveling, it is worth buying refill packs and refilling small bottles with them.
• Waste-free menstrual products such as menstrual cups or menstrual underwear can offer an alternative to tampons and disposable pads.

• Toys and clothes are often only used for a few months before small children have outgrown them. In most cases, however, they are not damaged and can be resold or bought second-hand.
• Take food in lunch boxes and drinks in refillable bottles with you on the go. This is cheaper than buying packaged snacks and drinks in disposable bottles and is better for the environment.
• Cloth diapers can be a good alternative to disposable diapers. Parents should check whether the use of cloth diapers is practical for them.
• Avoid toys with batteries: Rechargeable battery-powered products are more environmentally friendly and children can enjoy them for longer.

• Usewashable dishcloths and cleaning cloths
• Some cleaning agents can be replaced by environmentally friendly household products (e.g. lemon juice or vinegar).
• Effervescent tablets that are dissolved in a reusable spray bottle generate less packaging waste than liquid cleaning agents.

• Takeprovisions from homein a lunch box and avoid food in disposable packaging.
• Beeswax cloths are a good alternative to cling film and sandwich paper.
• Takedrinking bottles made of glass, stainless steel or BPA-free plastic. You can also fill them up with tap water of drinking quality when you are out and about. This not only avoids waste, but also saves money.
• If possible, use reusable packaging and reusable cutlery for "to go" food and drinks.

• Unsubscribe from printed catalogs
• Attach a"no advertising" sticker to your letterbox to prevent brochures from being posted
• Unsubscribefrom free newspapers if you don't want to read them (by placing a sticker on the letterbox)
• File documents digitally instead of printing and filing them. This not only saves paper, but also space on the shelf.
• When buying paper products, look out for the Blue Angel - the seal stands for environmentally friendly material.
• Shop locally instead of ordering online: Products ordered online are usually delivered in cardboard boxes, which then end up in the waste paper.

• Think carefully about every purchase: Is the item really needed?
• When buying products, pay attention to durability and the possibility of repair.(Quality before quantity)
• Buy devices with rechargeable batteries instead of batteries .
• Use up the contents of tubes and cans completely.

• Buysecond-hand products and resell or give away products that are no longer used.
• Usedigital swap markets, e.g. for clothes, accessories and tools.
• Our tip: Try out the city library's library of things .
• Organizeclothes swap parties or take part in flea markets.
• Borrowbooks and media instead of buying them, e.g. from the public library.
• Repair things if possible . Repair cafés provide support.
• Reuse fabrics: Cleaning cloths, handkerchiefs and the like can be made from old towels or bed sheets.

Waste can only be recycled and the resources it contains reused if it is disposed of correctly.

• Collectbatteries separately and return them to retailers. Do not dispose of in residual waste as toxic heavy metals could escape.
• Hand inelectronic waste at the recycling center or register for collection
• Glass bottles with lids and spoons can also be sorted by color and thrown into the used glass container.
• The environmentally friendly wooden toothbrush belongs in the organic waste, but separate the brush head first and dispose of it in the residual waste.
• Separate the plastic from the paper bag and dispose of it separately in the yellow bag and waste paper.
• Hygiene articles, dog waste bags and cat litter belong in the residual waste.