During Tuesday’s #holisticmoms Twitter chat I confessed that I’m not a very good recycler. Someone in the chat reminded me that reducing is actually better than recycling – there’s no need to recycle what you don’t use – and that recycling what’s left doesn’t have to be a huge task. I wasn’t totally convinced, but it did get me thinking: what if I tracked everything that I throw out in a single day? Would I be more motivated to reduce, reuse and recycle?
I had to know, so I made a list.
My trash (in chronological order!): Wednesday, March 23, 2011:
Coffee grounds
Ice cream bar wrapper from last night
Paper plate, napkin, plastic spoon and knife
A handful of used Post-it Notes
Banana Peel
Envelopes from the day’s mail
66 sheets of paper from various projects throughout the day
Cupcake wrapper
Another paper napkin
Junk mail delivered to the house
Two foot long piece of tinfoil used in cooking
Leftover bits of the cauliflower used in cooking dinner
Potato peels
More coffee grounds (we drink a LOT of coffee)
Assorted table scraps
That’s a lot of trash. What could I have done differently?
Lots, actually. Reducing and recycling are the two big ones here, and the recycling part really is small once you start reducing and reusing. Let’s revisit that list and categorize:
Reduce: Paper plate, napkin, plastic spoon and knife, another paper napkin. I used all of these at work, where I have a nearly endless supply of throwaway utensils. But each of these things could easily be replaced by a non-disposable alternative. I can keep a plate, bowl, set of silverware, and a few cloth napkins at work and reduce this kind of trash every day.
Reuse: 66 sheets of paper from various projects throughout the day, junk mail delivered to the house. The backsides of the paper is perfect for writing notes. I could cut them down into small sheets and reduce the number of Post-its that we use around the office. The junk mail delivered to the house can be used to get a fire in the fireplace going at home.
Recycle: Coffee grounds, banana peel, leftover bits of the cauliflower used in a dinner dish, potato peels, more coffee grounds, assorted table scraps. Compost! Our compost pile is sort of dormant during winter, but it would make a lot of sense for us to have a compost bin that is accessible throughout the year. All of these items could have been composted.
There are plenty of sources on the Internet for learning about composting.
What does that leave? The ice cream bar wrapper, the handful of Post-it notes, tinfoil, and the cupcake wrapper. Is there anything I could have done with those? In any event, that’s a tiny fraction of what I actually threw into the trash today.
Have you ever tracked the amount of trash your household generates in a day? Want to try it?
sounds like you're doing an amazing job at making conscious pre-cycling purchases and reducing the amount of waste that your household generates!!! that is MUSIC to my ears!!!!! great job mama!!!!
Jessica @ clothdiape recently posted..Convenience Part 2 The Flipside Wordless Wednesday
goodness! I kinda want to do this but am terrified of what I will find. IOn any event this has definantly made me more mindfull and I will definantly watch what I am tossing now
p.s. depending on the type of cupcake wrapper it can be recycled as can the tin foil nd post it notes
I asked for recycling stuff for Christmas and to start my own compost pile, but since my husband and I are the only "environmentally" friendly family members I got nothin!
ThaiHoa recently posted..Stylish Blogger Award
Sounds like you are thinking ahead – pick up a compost bin for the organic materials, Farm& barn has them, as does Menards. Toss stuff into it all year.
Using a covered trash can, toss kitchen scraps in it for composting, a different container for dry waste ( look at stuff in the least amount of packaging) , and paper stuff goes in the tinder box. Any glossy paper is treated with a silicone spray ( used to work for Quad, it's true ) and not fit for fire starting, so toss that. Clean paper is ok – just toss in a box.
Anything not going out that evening, should go out in the morning.
Wash the cans out to prevent odors, at least twice a month. Avoid plastics as much as is practical for your home. Reducing is by far the better choice. Keep up the good work!
Great exercise! Some days I throw out SO much stuff, it's ridiculous!
We do have a year-round compost in our yard for gardening (and yard waste/food waste/compost bins that the city picks up as well, which we rarely use). It's easy and great! I don't always remember to compost some things, though, like soiled paper (cupcake wrapper! paper napkins! ), but am trying to be better!.
Around here, the tin foil would go in the recycling, as would the post-is. I think it's actually illegal to put those in the garbage — ha! — but I doubt the follow up on that much, on single family homes, at least!
Kristin @ Intrepid M recently posted..Love