- Cut back on meat consumption. If you cut back on meat you can help to prevent heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and cancer. This act alone can save you a boatload of money in future medical costs.
- Plastic water bottles create small-scale environmental disasters. American demands for plastic water bottles requires the use of more than 1.5 million barrels of oil annually, enough to fuel approximately 100,000 U.S. cars for a year. Use filtered tap water in a reusable bottle, and you’ll save money as well as show the world that you’re green. Switch to a glass container at home or in the office, stainless steel when biking or bungee jumping.
- Move away from plastic food storage containers. The problem with plastics is dependency on this non-biodegradable material despite its possible toxicity. Save money and protect your health and the environment when you purchase foods in glass containers and then reuse those containers for food storage (but not in the freezer!).
- Learn how to compost. Even if you live in an apartment, you might find a ways to use food waste as compost in a personal or community garden. But you might need to learn how to compost first. Go to American Community Garden to find or to create a community compost project. You can learn about how to conduct group efforts from sites like that one, but don’t expect to make a living from a small compost project. Instead, you can enjoy the organic local veggies for health benefits.
- Learn to love worms. Another "in" food waste management program involves worms, or vermiculture, even in urban areas. But, go small before you decide that this is the green money-saving and moneymaking project for you (yes, you can sell your worms, and prices vary by area and weight). Two warnings about vermiculture: 1) The worms are noisy, so keep them in a place where the noise won’t creep you out (from personal experience); 2) Beware of Ponzi schemes that offer to buy back your worms.
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