8 Sustainable Ways You Can Support Utah’s Economy
Around the world governments, businesses, schools and individuals are all trying to help better our world by implementing sustainable habits. The community of individuals looking to reduce waste and the businesses making it easier to do so in Salt Lake City continues to grow. Here are 8 ways that you can support our local economy and be more sustainable.
1. Bulk goods: Animalia
Located just west of the 9th & 9th area, Animalia offers lotions, soaps, shampoos and conditioners in reusable containers. Once you make a one-time purchase of a glass container, you simply go to Animalia and get your container refilled as needed. Not only does this one-time purchase make shopping so much easier, but it also helps to significantly reduce plastic use since you are reusing a glass container each time. Animalia as a company also works with vendors that have similar sustainable goals to help create a closed loop economy. The simple and affordable process makes refilling your products so easy!
2. Secondhand Shopping
Whether you are looking for a new outfit or to properly dispose of those jeans you never wear anymore, thrift and consignment stores are a great place to help keep perfectly good items out of the landfill and reduce production demand for new things. These exchanges will help to reduce & reuse before even having to recycle. Throughout Salt Lake City, individuals have a variety of thrift stores to choose from.
Here are a few to consider:Â
*All of these stores work with Momentum Recycling to limit the impact they have too. Â
3. Bulk Foods
One super easy and sustainable habit to start is to buy foods in bulk instead of small and individually packaged items. When buying in bulk, you can help to reduce unnecessary package waste. If you are interested in giving this easy switch a try, Hello Bulk Market offers a great variety of bulk foods.
4. Reusable Bags
When grocery shopping, using reusable bags is a great way to eliminate paper and plastic waste. In particular, Harmons Grocery offers customers the opportunity to purchase reusable bags and reuse them every grocery visit. If you do forget your reusable bags, the second-best option is to opt for paper bags over plastic. Paper not only is easier to recycle on the environment, but it is also easier for you to recycle from home. In the Salt Lake City area, individuals thankfully can recycle paper in the blue recycling bin at each home, but with plastic bags, they must drop them off at select locations. Next time you are at the grocery store, consider making that easy switch to reusable bags to help reduce your impact each visit.
5. Food Waste Recycling
Individuals and businesses in Salt Lake City both can help to divert food waste from the landfill. In Salt Lake City, you can actually compost certain food waste in the brown bin, drop-off food waste off at Wasatch Resource Recovery, or drop-off food waste at Animalia’s public drop-off location. Businesses can enroll in a food waste collection service that is provided by Momentum Recycling.
6. Recycling Glass
As you probably know, recycling glass is very easy and affordable in the Salt Lake City area and beyond. Residents have the option of registering for a home collection service for a small fee or can drop-off glass at a variety of locations for free.
7. Public Transit & Biking
As we all are well aware, Salt lake City struggles with poor air quality frequently as a result of inversions. Little things like walking, biking, or taking public transit can help to reduce how often you drive and thus reduce unnecessary pollution.
Here are some easy tips to help reduce your impact:
- Bike to your destination: Level Nine Sports and Lone Pine offer great varieties of bikes to choose from.
- Reduce unnecessary idling, wood burning, candle use and incense burning.
- Turn down the temperature in your home.
- Shop for and use cleaners that have the EPA’s Safer Choice Logo.
- Plan a day in nature: skiing, snowshoeing, hiking, biking – just head to the mountains.
Support green initiatives and look into incentives on the DEQ’s website.
8. Buy Local
Choosing where you shop can have a large impact on the local economy and the environment. Typically, products that are made locally have less impact on the environment due to a variety of logistics and help to support local jobs.
- Neighborhood Grocery Store: Liberty Heights Fresh
- Local + Ethically Sourced Coffee Shops: Coffee Garden & Sugarhouse Coffee
- Brewery: Uinta Brewing Co.
- Floral Shop: Beehive Floral
- Medical Needs/ Dispensary: Dragonfly Wellness
- Juice Shop: Vive Juicery
- Art Shop: Harvey Shop, Utah Arts Alliance & Clever Octopus
- Energy Conscious Gym: The Front Climbing Club
With a little dedication, we can all help to move our community towards zero waste by making these efforts a habit. If you have any ideas on how to live a more sustainable life — especially here in Utah — make sure to go comment on the Momentum Recycling Instagram. We would love to hear!
This article was written by Momentum Recycling Marketing Coordinator McKenzie Steward and Account Manager Liz Rainey.
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