YPSILANTI

Zero Waste City Guide

The best resources in Ypsilanti for reducing waste and its impact on the planet, in communities near and far.

Contents

INTERACTIVE MAP

Find out where you can shop zero waste in Ypsilanti

The land the City of Ypsilanti occupies is the ancestral, traditional, and contemporary lands of the Anishinaabeg – (including Odawa, Ojibwe and Boodewadomi) and Wyandot peoples.


GETTING STARTED

Your Zero Waste Survival Kit

Carrying these items with you will open up a lot of zero waste options. These are just suggestions, so feel free to customize your zero waste survival kit to fit your need.

Do your best not to make any purchases while putting together your kit. For example, you probably already have cutlery you can use instead of buying a new “to-go” set. Most of these items can be found at home or at a secondhand shop, and some of them you can even make!

  • TUPPERWARE OR FOOD CONTAINER
    Essential for to-go food, leftovers, or getting things from a deli counter
  • REUSABLE BAG
    Comes in handy often, especially if you come across an unexpected zero waste store!
  • CLOTH NAPKIN
    Replaces tissue and paper napkins, and can be used as a food container in a pinch
  • REUSABLE CUTLERY
    For eating on the go, or to use if a restaurant only offers disposable cutlery
  • CUP OR MUG
    If you need a drink while out and about

COMPOSTING

38% of Michigan’s municipal waste is biodegradable

Aside from not buying new things, making sure your food scraps get composted is likely the very best thing you can do to reduce your personal waste footprint. Here’s how to get composting in Ypsilanti:

get connected with a neighbor

If you don’t have access to a curbside cart, you can check out the ShareWaste app to see if your neighbors may be willing to take your compost.

start your own compost

If you have a yard, you can consider making your own compost pile! Here’s a good intro how to video:

How to Start a Compost
HOW DO I TRANSPORT COMPOST?

We’ve found that if you need to keep compost in your home it’s best to freeze it in a bag. That also makes it easier to manage when you’re transporting it to your nearest compost.

GROCERY SHOPPING

Build your zero waste shopping routine

Food is where you will find the most friction when trying to reduce waste.

YPSI food coop

Great bulk section, loose veggies, spices, coffee, and grains!

Growing Hope farmers Market

Support local farmers and bring your own bag.

save food from going to landfill.

Olio allows you to list and pick up excess food from your neighbors.

BUY USED

What you want has already been produced!

Buying used items – especially big items like furniture and cars – not only eliminates the demand for the production (extraction, refinement, manufacture, transport) of a new item, but is also cheaper and often means you are giving money to a neighbor rather than a distant executive.

SHOP SECOND HAND

Ask yourself, “can I get this second hand?” every time you think of something you need to purchase.

  • Craigslist
  • Facebook Marketplace
  • Ebay (ask them to ship in reused box)

JOIN THE GIFT ECONOMY

Buy No Things and Olio are great ways to get into sharing and gifting!

CHOOSE USED TECH

A new laptop creates about 400X its weight in CO2! Electronics are so easy to get used or refurbished and they have an outsize environmental impact.

REPAIR

Keep your stuff out of the landfill

Repair – especially for larger items and electronics – is an essential tactic to reduce the pressure to extract more resources.

learn to repair

Join Maker Works or All Hands Active at a community repair day!

iFIXIT REPAIR GUIDES

Check out these repair guides for everything, written by everyone.

tool sharing

All Hands Active has a tool sharing program for members, the library offers some tools to checkout, or  you can list or request tools on Olio to start up tool sharing in the Ypsilanti area.

E-WASTE

Check out Keen Focus Tech’s post on the hidden impact of buying new tech. If your tech is broken and more than 10 years old you can take it to Best Buy for free electronics recycling.

E-Recycle and Repair Database

GET PARTS

Repair Clinic has guides and parts available for all kinds of appliances.

RESOURCES

Additional helpful links

County Trash to Treasures Guide

Comprehensive list of all the resources you could need to rent, repair, donate, or recycle your stuff!

Support Zero Waste in Ypsilanti

Your generous donations helps ZeroWaste.Org maintain this guide and support the circular economy in Ypsilanti. Our projects include Zero Waste Challenges, grassroots organizing, and the returnable container program.

Donate

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