Americans tend to be a wasteful bunch. The United States, home to only 4% of the world population, is responsible for 30% of the planets total waste .

Youd probably like to contribute to that problem less. Not only would you help the environment, but youd probably save a ton of money , too. But the countys waste problem can seem like such a big issue that its tough to know where to start.

Thats where your local Buy Nothing group on Facebook can help.

The very first Buy Nothing group was founded in 2013 on Bainbridge Island, a 35-minute ferry ride from the heart of Seattle, by Liesl Clark and Rebecca Rockefeller. The two women spent a lot of time early in their friendship wandering the beaches with their children, and were stunned by the amount of plastic that washed up along the shoreline every day.

I dont mean just a few plastics, Clark said. Every square foot of the high tide line was covered with anything from plastic bottle caps and straws, to cigarette lighters, to car bumpers.

Both Clark and Rockefeller were home schooling their kids at the time and wanted to turn this observation into a larger lesson. They decided to conduct a citizen science project with their children and attempt to solve the mystery of where all these plastics were coming from. They spent a few years documenting, collecting and categorizing the plastic waste.

Out of this investigative work came a troubling realization. The plastics are coming from us, Clark said. Theyre not just from people spending time on the beaches or on boats theyre coming from our homes, theyre coming from our cars, theyre coming from our workplaces, and theyre washing down with every rain event.