October 19-25 is National Waste Reduction Week this year.  Resource Conservation Manitoba offers this list of ten actions you can take to reduce your environmental impact. Try them for a week.  Good habits can be hard to break.

1) Leave Your Car at Home

If everyone chose an alternative form of transportation just one day a week, traffic congestion and exhaust emissions would be cut by 20%. Enjoy the physical benefits of walking or cycling, or relax and let someone else do the driving by taking transit or carpooling.
If you must drive, check your tire-pressure and keep your car well-tuned to maximize fuel-efficiency. And remember, ten seconds of idling uses more fuel than restarting your car.

Check out RCM's Green Commuting Guide for Individuals for more great tips.

2) Turn Down the Thermostat

Nearly 60% of the energy used in Canadian homes is for heating. For every 1°C that you lower your thermostat, you save 2% on your heating bill. Consider buying a programmable thermostat. These automatically adjust the temperature in your home for day and night levels.

3) Buy Local, Buy Organic

The average meal in North America travels an estimated 2400 km to reach your dinner plate. Buy choosing to buy local you reduce the amount of greenhouse gases emitted during the transportation of your food, and you support your local farmers! When you choose organic, you are also helping to reduce the negative costs to the environment of artificial fertilizers and pesticides.

4) Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Compost!

Composting can reduce your household waste by as much as 40%! There are many different ways to compost, and you can do it at home, work school or in the office!
For more information on composting, check out the Compost Action Project.

5) Eat a Meat-Free Meal

Did you know that Canadians eat more than twice the amount of meat than the global average? Livestock production uses much higher amounts of energy, water and land than other types of food production, for an equal nutritional value. Try choosing at least one day of the week to eat a meat-free meal.

For great vegetarian recipes, visit: www.ivu.org/recipes

6) Do it yourself!

The next time you're looking for something to do, try inviting friends over for a games night or go for walk in your neighbourhood. Finding activities that don't use electricity or require new materials is a great way to have fun and learn something new! Tell stories, play an instrument or invite your neighbour to have a chat, and save energy and resources while you're at it!

7) Read Your Water Meter

Find out if you have a leak at home by reading your meter before and after a 30-minute period when you won't be using any water. If the readings are different, you have a leak! For a list of ways to save water at home, click here.

8) Turn it Off!

Turn off lights, TVs, and appliances when not in use. Turn off your computer at night, and use the 'sleep mode' for your monitor during the day. For other energy saving tips, click here.

9) Cut Paper Consumption, Not Trees!

Buy paper with recycled content and recycle it after use.

Remember to print and photocopy on both sides, and save one-sided paper for draft printing and notes!

10) Learn More and Tell Others

Educate yourself on other ways to reduce waste, and encourage your family and friends to do their part. Together, we can make a difference! For other easy waste saving ideas, click here.