chelsea@recycleutah.org

“Paper or plastic?” You’ve probably heard this question at the grocery store. Or—if you’re like me—you haven’t, because you brought your own bag.

I used to never bring reusable bags to Trader Joe’s. I’d walk out with four giant paper bags and no plan for what to do with them. They’d get stuffed under the sink until there was literally no room left. I told myself I was saving them to reuse someday… but that day never came.

Once I started bringing my own bags, I realized I’d been doing it the hard way for years.

The average American goes to the grocery store at least once a week. If someone leaves each time with just two plastic bags, that adds up to hundreds of plastic bags a year—for one person. Multiply that by an entire community, and it’s a staggering amount of waste. The good news? It’s completely avoidable. A $3 reusable bag can replace thousands of single-use bags over its lifetime. It reduces plastic waste and frees up space in your trash can—and under your sink.

My trick is simple: I leave my reusable bags in the car after every grocery trip so I never forget them.

I can imagine a future with “bagless” grocery stores—and I think it would be a good one. Or at least a future where stores charge a hefty fee for bags. States like California and Delaware already do this, and it works. I grew up in California and saw first-hand how it influences people to bring their own bag. If Utah adopted a similar policy, we’d likely see the same shift.

So next time you head to the store, bring your own bag. It’s a small habit that makes a big difference.

By Sean McCarthy

Living in Utah, the 2nd driest state in the U.S., means that we think a lot about water conservation. Responsibly managing our water use is essential to the longevity of the Wasatch Back, which nearly 90,000 people call home. Common water uses include agriculture, lawns, and industrial and commercial users–but what are some of the hidden water uses we see in our daily lives? 

Almost every product we purchase requires water in its production, some far more than others. For example, the average pair of jeans requires between 3,000 and 4,000 liters of water to make, as reported by the UN Environmental Programme. For the example of jeans, this water is typically consumed during the growing of the cotton for the jeans. We do not see or inherently think about water being a requirement for our jeans–or our burgers–but any time we grow a product (or raise an animal), we see significant water consumption going into the earliest stages of production. Some plants or animals require significantly less water than others, which is why we see products emerging made of less water-intensive crops, such as bamboo. 

We also see significant hidden water use in many of our electronics and other products, which require specialized metals. The average smartphone in 2025 requires roughly 12,000 to 13,000 liters of water throughout its production. This water is primarily consumed through the mining of raw materials, where ore is rinsed extensively throughout the production process. This produces wastewater, which can be highly toxic and dangerous to the natural environment, and must be diluted or cleaned before being returned to the water stream. Sometimes the water used for mining is greywater to begin with, being diverted from local residential wastewater streams, which allows for a less energy-intensive process. 

These are just some of the examples of ways our waterfootprint can grow significantly behind closed doors. In general, whenever you are purchasing something made of a virgin material (especially a rare metal), you can be certain it came with a high water tax. Purchasing second-hand is one of the best ways to lower your water tax, as well as your general carbon and environmental footprint! The website watercalculator.org provides a great tool to calculate your personal water footprint, as well as some recommendations on how to cut down on superficial and hidden water use.

By Mia Moore

We’re all starting to wonder about water this summer–are regular snowstorms a thing of the past? 94% of Utah is in a drought and currently, the Great Salt Lake is at 35% of its capacity and healthy level. Is this year a genuine wake-up call to get prepared? 

Imagine this. You wake up to a glorious two-minute shower since you only take them twice/week. Your shower greywater fills buckets needed for cleaning and to fill the toilet, unless you’ve converted to a self-composting toilet. After eating a low-water breakfast, you travel to a natural spring to get in queue for your restricted quota to fill jugs for drinking water – hoping that another fight doesn’t break out today. Your car is filthy, and all pools and fountains are dry, as there are bans for such luxuries. 

You return home to your brown landscape and authorities checking your neighborhood for leaks and to remind families of water quotas – ⅓ of the usual before the drought. They reveal water map posters revealing which of your neighbors are overusing water. You look forward to flushing your toilet that night for your family of four as you try to keep it to two flushes a day. 

True story. In 2014, Cape Town, South Africa had six full reservoirs of water for their 4 million residents. Drought evolved, and four years later, they were at 26% capacity. Once 14% was reached, city officials would cut all taps to reach ‘Day Zero.’ Fortunately, rain arrived, and dam levels slowly recovered. Water restrictions were eased, but the water-scarcity threat still looms today–people and government have changed their ways. During the crisis, the city implemented ways to capture water, including desalination of seawater, in addition to aggressive water management with agriculture, leaks, and more. While they were able to avert Day Zero in 2018, they are now better prepared for Mother Nature in the future. 

In Utah, over 70% of water is used for agriculture, 15% for municipal and industrial and 5-10% for miscellaneous. So what can we do as individuals if so much is used for agriculture? Check out growtheflowutah.org to learn of ways to get involved. In the meantime, plan wisely for this summer by reducing your turf and conserving around the home–in the kitchen, laundry room and bathroom (including peeing in the shower). We all have personal bank accounts – that money is ours. But, as citizens, we share our air, water, and land. We need to do our part to prevent a water crisis before it gets worse–this could be the summer to start.  

By Mary Closser

So you think your individual sustainable choices won’t really have an impact on climate change? Actually, research shows they do. According to Robert Frank, author of “Putting Peer Pressure to Work” (2020), our voluntary environmental actions are significant for two reasons. First, they have the power to shift how the people around us behave. People who see you using reusable shopping bags may consider doing the same. Park visitors who are using throw-away plastic drink bottles may see you filling your water bottle and decide to purchase one and do the same. 

Second, and perhaps more importantly, our sustainable choices change who we are, making us much more likely to vote greener and to support large-scale programs and policies needed to slow climate change. 

Here are some more highly visible green choices you can make, model, and have conversations about. 

• Make sure you recycle well and help others do the same at the curb and the recycling center. Keep in mind that recycling errors can contaminate large amounts of otherwise recyclable material.  
• Walk and cycle to travel around your community; doing so on popular trails, especially those along roads, may inspire drivers to ditch their cars and do the same.  
• Participate in community clean-ups in a group or by yourself. Removing litter helps keep stormwater clean. Others may notice how nice trash-free roadsides look and participate.  And, never again chuck their stuff out the window.  
• Participate in activities, attend events, and join organizations that advocate for climate change practices and policies. Go public by wearing their clothing and using their swag.
• Keep up with information about our climate crisis. Make some sustainable choices and get passionate!

By Bev Harrison

Throughout the day, I catch myself constantly ripping paper towels off the holder in my kitchen. It wasn’t until recently that I realized why my roommates and I were buying them so often—we were using them when we didn’t need to.

Paper towels can be convenient to clean up spills and messes, but do you really need them to dry your hands? Probably not. If your hands are clean, it makes more sense to dry them off with a hand towel or rag. Adding a hand towel rotation into your kitchen isn’t only more sustainable for the planet, it also makes your life easier. Another alternative or substitute to paper towels are flour sack towels. These are a cheap option that will last you forever. All you need to do is wash them, and they are good to go again. I recommend keeping 2 flour sack towels in rotation in the kitchen; one for hand and dish drying, and one for cleaning up spills and messes. 

Still skeptical? Here are some reasons why a hand towel in the kitchen will benefit your life and our planet: 

• Fewer trips to the store for paper towels
• Cheaper
• Your kitchen trash won’t fill up as fast
• Less emissions connected to paper towel manufacturing
• Less extraction of natural resources
• Reduces landfill waste

Using only paper towels may seem like the more convenient option, but it’s not; it only seems more convenient because you rip it off and throw it away immediately without having to wash anything. Imagine only using plastic forks, knives, and spoons instead of using real silverware. While this is a more extreme example of using single-use materials, it’s not so different from using only single-use paper towels. Both are more expensive than their reusable counterparts and produce unnecessary non-recyclable waste. When you start to consider the impact these products have on the environment, it’s clear that switching to reusable towels and rags in the kitchen is the environmentally – and economically – friendlier option.

By Sean McCarthy

Did you know it takes 25 years for a single head of lettuce to decompose in a landfill? While that same lettuce would break down in just 2-3 weeks in a backyard compost bin, landfills compact waste so tightly that oxygen cannot reach it, preventing the microbes needed for breakdown from doing their job. As food waste rots in the landfill, it decomposes and emits methane gas, a greenhouse gas roughly 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide. In Utah alone, approximately 600,000 tons of food goes to waste every single year, emitting harmful greenhouse gases, but also wasting the land, water, labor, and resources it takes to produce food. Reducing food waste is one of the most impactful ways you can take climate action today.

Check what you already have in your pantry, fridge, and freezer before heading to the store. Decide on your meals for the week based on what you already own. Then stick to the list you make! WasteLess has a Meal Planning Template to help you organize your kitchen and your shopping list. 

The average family of four wastes $1,500 worth of food every year, which is the equivalent of throwing away $125 every month. WasteLess offers a self-paced online course for individuals and businesses to master strategies for a waste-free home. Individuals can learn creative cooking, food preservation, proper food storage, composting, and more! Your investment in this course will empower you with the tools, habits, and knowledge to prevent that loss. With ongoing education and simple, practical strategies, most households can save $1,500 or more each year simply by learning how to store, cook, plan, and use food more efficiently. When you complete this course, you will receive a certificate of completion and lifetime access. Your payment is a tax-deductible donation that supports WasteLess’ programs to divert food from reaching the landfill, instead getting it to individuals facing food insecurity. 

By Laila Hakkarinen, Community Engagement Manager at WasteLess Solutions