More than half of the garbage we’re currently burying in landfills or burning — all food scraps, paper, cardboard, yard trimmings and wood, we can sustainably compost instead.

You are, therefore, making progress in your household on the pathway to sustainability when you collect compostable materials, actually compost them, and keep all organic waste out of your trash bags. And you’re not just making progress in your household but also taking responsibility for the environment. Together, we can make a difference in our communities.

Many local towns provide a means for you to dispose of your compost, so you’re halfway to a garbage-free household if that is the case!

What would a garbage-free household be like, and how close can we get to achieving one when materials that cannot be physically composted or practically recycled are ever-present in the goods that we buy?

If we examine everything we buy, we can make a start by minimizing the purchase of plastic. Beyond that, we can review other manageable household steps. Here are a few:

• Drinking more tap water that you can easily filter with a countertop water filter is a step toward eliminating plastic. Glass bottles and metal cans are recyclable, and a reusable stainless steel water bottle is a good choice.

• Eating more plants avoids meat packaged in plastic and buying products in bulk that come in cardboard boxes avoids plastic packaging. Frequently, you can save money this way as well.

• Supporting local farms, you can buy fresh produce in reusable pint and quart containers and shop at farmers markets with your reusable bags.

• If you get take-out food and the containers are not compostable, you can let a restaurant know you prefer paper to plastic.

These sustainable practices not only benefit the environment but also your wallet.

By carefully separating all organic materials from plastic and other synthetic waste, we can collectively help make sanitary landfills work better as plastic storage facilities. While one person’s actions may seem small, together, we can make a significant impact.

One day, maybe plastic will be able to be recycled well, but we need to focus on other sustainable practices for now.

To achieve a garbage-free household, we can put stinky things in a compost bucket or maybe even wash them down the drain if our sewer or septic systems can handle them. Our determination to achieve garbage-free households is important in our using sustainable practices each day. And the more people each acre of landfill and each garbage truck can sustain, the better.

Improving on those metrics means more people can live on Earth with fewer landfills, fewer incinerators and fewer garbage trucks, leaving room for more nature and peace.

Fred Horch and Peggy Siegle are principals of Sustainable Practice. To receive expert action guides to help your household and organizations become superbly sustainable, visit SustainablePractice.Life and subscribe to “One Step This Week.”