By the Bronxville Green Committee

April 16, 2025: During Earth Month we’re running a series of articles focused on creating a Waste-Free Bronxville! Waste free is about avoiding or redirecting potential waste so that much less must go in the trash. It’s about REFUSE, REDUCE, REUSE and RECYCLE – and that order matters!

In this second article, we’ll talk about “REFUSE” -- don't take what you don't need! Once we start paying attention to all the unnecessary items we buy, use and take, we’ll realize how easy it is to reduce waste – and clutter--in our lives!  

Here are some ways to REFUSE:

REFUSE Unnecessary Purchases and Sales 

When buying something requires the single click of a computer key, it’s challenging to resist the impulse of a too-quick purchase.  Why not pause and wait a day?  You might find you don’t really need the item after all because you’ve found a workaround or picked it up locally. 

REFUSE Freebies 

If you’re planning an event, don’t offer freebies.  If you’re attending an event, don’t take them.

-T-shirts handed out at sporting events

-Promotional material awarded for making a donation

-Swag and party favors doled out after events

-Dental hygiene products offered after visiting the dentist

-Sample cosmetics given with a purchase

-The list goes on when you start realizing where you can make change

REFUSE Excessive Packaging

-Choose loose vegetables over those in plastic tubs or cling wrap (and better yet, bring your own produce bags instead of using the thin store-provided ones that are a pain to use).

-Choose items like olive oil and salad dressing in glass bottles rather than plastic (glass can be endlessly recycled, plastic only once).

-Choose items like bar soap in paper rather than liquid soap in a plastic bottle with a pump.

-Begin to look for personal care products that don’t come in plastic—including toothbrushes, shampoo/conditioner, dental floss, deodorant (more options are becoming available).

-Laundry detergent is a big one – skip the big plastic bottles and pods (which produce microplastic in our waterways). Instead, try laundry sheets or concentrated tablets or old-school powder that comes in cardboard boxes.

-Again, the list goes on when you start realizing where you can make change.

REFUSE Bags, Plastic Containers, Cutlery and Condiments

-You’ve heard it before—it really DOES make a difference when you refuse the offer of a bag and bring your own from home.

-Bringing your own container for restaurant leftovers reduces food waste AND solid waste.

-The county-wide “Upon Request” law requires that you must specifically ask for plastic cutlery and condiment packets to receive them when ordering food for in-house or take-out dining. If you’ll be eating at home, you can easily refuse them.  If you need them frequently to eat on the go, why not start carrying your own reusable cutlery? 

-Also an option: Choosing NOT to get take-out meals on a regular basis, because we haven’t solved the problem of waste associated with them; or at least ask your favorite restaurant to start using more responsible take-out containers. We are the customers!

REFUSE Magazines and Junk Mail

How many calendars, catalogues, and magazines do you continue to receive even after you’ve declined, called, and otherwise tried to get rid of them? Try these services and give yourself credit for the partial victories you achieve.

-DMAchoice to stop direct mail (small fee required)

-OptOutPrescreen to stop credit card and insurance offers

-YellowPagesOptOut to stop receiving the phone directory

-catalogChoice will cancel catalogs for you, or you can call directly

-first-class mail: According to Zero Waste Home by Bea Johnson (Scribner 2013), don’t open first-class mail; write “refused--return to sender” and “take me off your mailing list” and put it back in the mailbox.

Refusing has its own rewards—a simpler, less cluttered life and a healthier Bronxville! Some of these choices will be obvious; others may take a little thought or time. Start with one action and move to the next. We don’t have to be perfect, just do a little better!

We know the issue is big, but some solutions are small and can be found in simple everyday decisions. Click HERE to read the other Waste Free Bronxville articles in this series.

For your calendar: May 17, 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. is Bronxville’s TAKE BACK DAY! Start saving your sensitive documents to be shredded and used electronics to be dropped off for recycling. Other household items will be collected for donation. Check back HERE for specifics on what will be collected as we get closer to the event.

The Bronxville Green Committee is a volunteer organization that is part of the Village of Bronxville. We work to propose and implement environmentally sustainable programs in our community. Visit our website and follow us on Instagram @bxvgreencommittee to learn more.