Garage sales are an old tradition that have been around for decades, offering a simple way for people to declutter their homes, sell items they no longer need, help the environment, and connect with neighbours and their local community in a social setting. They show how far items can go, traveling from one household to another, sometimes crossing towns, cities, or even states, giving objects a second life and allowing them to be enjoyed by new owners rather than ending up in a landfill. The saying “one person’s trash is another person’s treasure” perfectly captures the spirit of garage sales, where items that might seem useless to one person, like old books, clothes, or furniture, can hold great value and joy for someone else. These sales not only preserve the usefulness of items, but also help reduce waste, save resources, and keep countless objects out of landfills and waste-burning facilities. In this way, garage sales show practicality, and sustainability, proving that old habits can still have a positive impact on the environment, our communities, and the way we think about consumption today.

A way some people could get rid of gifts they don’t like after the holiday season is a gift swap. For some people the gifts they receive is actually what they want, but for some people they receive gifts that they probably won’t ever use, which is where this idea comes in. This can be a community event or a school event where everyone comes together after the holiday season and you place all of your gifts on a table or out in the open. Then you  swap your gifts with someone else’s gift they didn’t want. The way you swap your gifts is  adjustable to how  people are there and  what the people want, it can vary. In the end , this a good way to receive something you actually want and will use instead of letting it collect dust on a shelf or worse, throwing it away which would intern more carbon emissions. This idea is also customizable to where you don’t have to swap your gifts for someone. It could be where everyone brings the gifts they didn’t really want or think they’ll use and then you’ll collect all those gifts and then you  could donate them to some charity or organization that could use them.

don't just throw your old clothes out! fast fashion is becoming a big problem and old or ripped/broken clothing items are filling our landfills. But There are many ways to repurpose your old stuff such a donating to thrift stores or charities, or upcycling them into fun projects or useful items. If not they can be turned into rags or donated to fabric recycling center. Making art is super fun and what better way to do it than with stuff you already have that would just end up in landfills, polluting our climate. Get crafting people!

A way that some people will be able to get rid of their old items and some people will be able to get new items without buying brand new things, could be neighborhood item swaps. This idea could help those that are not fortunate enough to still get new things while helping those who over consume, to give back to their community and get rid of things they don't want or need any more without throwing them away (which creates more co2 emission). This would also be way more sustainable for those who are "addicted" to buying and having new things constantly, for them to have recycled/donated things so that they are not contributing to any more co2 emission. Another positive, unrelated, factor that may help decrease co2 emissions would be that neighborhoods could come together and talk. This could be highly impactful, raising awareness of climate change and possibly bringing up new ideas on how to decrease co2 emissions.

We can re-use items like shopping bags, lunch containers, and bring cutlery for eating.  We can use water bottles instead of buying water in plastic bottles.  We can also reuse clothes by shopping at thrift stores.  When we do art, we can use recycled materials for projects.  We can recycle paper, and reuse paper scraps for projects.

I think that using plastic water bottles for just one time, and then throwing them out is really bad for the environment and contributes to climate change. This is because all of the trash in the landfills contribute to pollution, which hurts the growth of trees, and the trees help prevent climate change by producing oxygen. I think that instead of wasting and throwing away plastic bottles after one use, they can be used many times in the future, like normal reusable water bottles.

That is a brilliant point, plastic water bottles and other things that are not reusable can tremendously impact the wildlife and environment. Especially when littered around the streets these things a get washed up by rain into rivers and large bodies of water completely ruining the beauty of nature and when animals mistake these plastics for food can result in a horribly gruesome death. I agree with your idea about using these plastics multiple times an I think talking about these consequences to more people may make reusable water bottles appeal to more people instead of the plastic ones.

Yes, Jigesh. I agree that plastic water bottles should be used multiple times, or should maybe even be discontinued in general. Plastic items take an insane amount of time to break down and take up unecessary space in landfills. They can also end up in oceans where they mess with and even harm the marine wildlife.

I agree with this. Single-use containers, like plastic water bottles, are extremely bad for the environment. Plastic bottles emit greenhouse gasses not only when they are breaking down in landfills, they also emit them when they are being manufactured. This is incredibly bad for the environment.

Hey Jigesh, I also believe that "one time use water bottles" aren't really one time use bottles. They can have so much purpose and potential instead of being used for 20 minutes and being thrown away. Yes, of course, you can always put water in it again but there are other uses, like when I was younger, we used plastic water bottles as plant pots in a way to grow sprouts, helping us garden at home instead of buying vegetables from stores. You can also make a use of the bottle as a watering can poking holes in the cap for gardening instead of buying a new watering can. I also bet you can look online and find so much more uses for old water bottles from TikTok or YouTube. Plastic water bottles are so harmful towards our world so reusing is an amazing thing, or another solution is to buy a reusable later bottle so you can use the same bottle without throwing it out for years!

Recently people started to use trash for fun crafts and decoration. Decoration can be expensive but when you make it yourself it’s free! Crafting is a cheap way to make things that can be useful in your home. You can use anything to make useful things, a way to repurpose things is using trash. Parents can use their crafts as DIY toys, making the lives easier.  It is a cheap way to distract their kids for a little while. The trash you are about to throw away could be something you could use for years, so try your best to make the most out of it.

Exactly! This is a great point. There are so many things we recycle and throw away that can be turned into something really useful. I saw earlier someone said they turned an old milk jug into a watering can. Not only does that reuse something that was gonna be recycled, but it also saves money. Same with arts and crafts. I had an awesome time using old popsicle sticks for fun crafts when I was younger, it was one of my favourite things! When we reuse and repurpose items we can almost always get the same outcome of using something brand new.

these are great points! a lot of people will buy new Halloween decorations every year. my family makes Halloween decor out of old cardboard from our recycling bin and makes signs out of scrap paper. often times, it looks even better then store bought because it adds that homemade charm that you can get from just putting work into things. same goes for homemade cards and gifts, i know that i like a nice handmade birthday card from someone, then a generic one from the store. Old scrap paper can look great if we put the work in!

There are many items we either misplace in the wrong bins or could use for better purposes. Several of these purposes include turning old fabric scraps into small wraps/covers for things we use every day or turning reusable scraps into containers. For example, torn shirts or leftover cloth can be tied around jars, bottles, or small containers to protect them or give them a better grip, while egg cartons could be used as containers for small items like beads and more. It is a very simple way to reuse something that would normally be thrown out and away. Another simple idea that could be implemented is using scraps as padding for fragile items instead of buying and wasting bubble wrap/packing paper. I came up with these ideas after looking into my own life and what I believe would be the most beneficial. There are tons of cardboard boxes that I could turn into containers, and many scraps of cloth I could use around the house as well. Reusing scraps and other materials like this is beneficial to the environment because it reduces the total amount of waste we throw away and cuts down on the need for new materials to be manufactured and produced.

In my area, there is no recycling. One thing I've done to help lower my carbon footprint is take my recycling, when possible, to my local Publix and Target where they have recycling bins available! When possible, too, I reuse glass jars to store dry goods such as beans, lentils, flour, sugar, etc. Not only does this help fight against microplastics in my food, but I'm also repurposing the jars, and not having to go out and buy empty glass storage bins.

love how you're finding ways to recycle items, that truly is great and admirable of you but the fact that your area has no recycling makes me think that this is an issue that you should call change for in your community. Although is is better to try to repurpose items as much as possible rather than just tossing items in the recycle bin, According to the EPA (US Environmental Protection Agency),having a recycling bin in your area would be beneficial as,"the recycling and composting of municipal solid waste (MSW or trash) saved over 193 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2018". Not only you but the community around you should start recycling in order to make a huge difference against carbon and greenhouse emissions.

One effect reducing and reusing would have on our environment is that it would decrease the amount of pollution and energy waste that is caused because of making new products. Simple ways of doing this include recycling materials such as paper and plastic. Another way more people can help with reducing and reusing is through donating used products such as electronics. Several people around the world buy the iphone model that comes out every year. According to New Tech Recycling, billions of phones are thrown out. Instead of throwing out the old phone, it would be smarter to donate the phone so that way, less phones need to be produced to satisfy the demand. This would save energy and therefore help decrease CO2 emissions.

An idea for reusing and repurposing that I have done before was turning a plastic milk jug into a watering can. It is extremely easy, and you do not need to buy a new plastic watering can. All you need to do is unscrew the cap, clean the jug, remove the cap, and make several small holes in the cap using a hammer and nail or a drill. Then, reattach the cap, fill the jug with water, and water your plants. It is truly a great solution!

Participating in the internet trend "Project Pan" helps people combat overconsumption, and encourages them to be more resourceful. "Project Pan" is a trend that gained popularity in the early 2010's where people use up all of their beauty and hygiene products before buying new ones. This also helps eliminate waste, and teaches people to only buy things that are necessary for them and that they will likely use.