Garbageless New Year….

As we enter a new year, I want to challenge everyone to reduce their garbage.  Reducing your garbage is really about reducing consumption – the consumption of disposable, one-time-use products – and has far-reaching benefits.  Read about the many benefits in my previous post, Disposing of Disposables.

According to Heather Rogers’ Gone Tomorrow: The Hidden Life of Garbage, , 80 percent of US products are used once and then thrown away!  Isn’t that a shocking statistic?  It means that 80% of our natural resources have been used up to make something that we will just throw away.  See a list of one-time-use products in my post, Ten Minutes or Less.  This statistic really puts a shameful light on the way our economy is based on creating a need for consumable products.  It doesn’t have to be that way….

When we take from the Earth, we also need to give back to it.  We need to return to the wisdom of ancient peoples, who understood and respected what the Earth gave us, and never took more than could be replenished. That is real sustainability.  That is one of the things I want to explore in this project.   Can I reduce my impact to the point that I am not taking away more than the Earth can give back, and how do I define that?

As the holidays approached, I have gotten busy and a little lazy.  So for the New Year, I am getting back on the bandwagon and challenging myself to reduce my garbage even further than I have.  Can I reduce my garbage down to say, just one bag a month?  How do I define what is garbage and what is not?  Others have already gone down the path to no garbage, so I’ll be looking to them for guidelines.  In the meanwhile, I’ll keep a weekly track and tally of the garbage that I produce, including compost.

And how about you?  Can you find one disposable item to reject, and start reducing your garbage?  Can you look into your garbage bag and see what kind of garbage you are producing and make a change?  Read about all the benefits in my previous post, Disposing of Disposables.  I hope you will join me in my efforts to make this a Non-Disposable Earth.

Happy New Year!

Read Full Post »

Ten minutes or less….

In Colin Beavan’s book, No Impact Man, I read a statistic that really stunned me.  He states that according to Heather Rogers’ Gone Tomorrow: The Hidden Life of Garbage, 80 percent of US products are used once, then thrown away! At first, I thought that this was an exaggeration.  But on close examination, I realized that it was true.

So, I thought it would be great to start this project by first really becoming aware of all the waste we do produce.  I am going to try and list everything that I can think of that was designed to be used only once, including a sub-category of products that can potentially be used for ten minutes or less.  I invite you to really open your eyes and be aware of the waste generated around you, and add to this list as you go throughout your day.

Ten minutes or less:

• fast food/take-out containers (plastic, styrofoam, paper)
• disposable utensils (plastic, wood)
• plastic or paper wrapping for utensils
• plastic sushi grass
• napkins
• paper tray liners
• fast food bags (paper or plastic) to bring your food ‘all the way’ to your seat
• take-out cups (plastic, styrofoam, paper)
• plastic lids for the cups
• plastic drink bottles
• glass drink bottles
• juice boxes
• drink pouches
• straws
• paper wrapping for straws
• coffee stir sticks (plastic, wood)
• paper condiment cups
• toilet paper
• facial tissue
• paper towel
• wet napkins
• make-up removal pads
• disposable plates (paper, styrofoam)
• flyers
• brochures
• poop and scoop bags
• syringes and other sterilized medical supplies
• cigarette butts

Usually tossed out the same day:

• newspapers
• pizza boxes
• frozen food trays and packaging
• sandwich bags
• party streamers
• party hats
• glow in the dark novelties
• diapers
• styrofoam and plastic wrap that comes with meat purchases
• feminine napkins
• tampons
• condoms

Other one-use items:

• product packaging outside (plastic, paper)
• product packaging inside (plastic, paper, styrofoam, metal)
• styrofoam peanuts
• bubble wrap
• envelopes
• price tags
• magazines
• plastic shopping bags
• paper shopping bags
• plastic produce bags
• plastic wrap
• plastic clamshell containers
• plastic netting for produce
• milk and juice cartons
• tin cans
• egg cartons (paper, styrofoam, and now plastic)
• washed lettuce and prepared salad containers
• prepared meat containers
• baked good containers
• plastic cake containers
• cardboard under the prepared cake
• syringes
• packaging for syringes and other sterillized medical supplies
• balloons
• ribbons
• gift wrap
• coupons
• tickets
• receipts
• toothbrushes
• disposable razors
• razor blades
• batteries
• hotel soaps and toiletries
• paper or plastic bags wrapped around hotel glasses
• candy wrappers
• disposable sweeping and mopping pads
• disposable wash cloths
• lipstick containers
• make-up containers
• lip balm containers
• make-up sponges
• ‘socks’ you use to try on shoes
• any bottle/container that was not meant to be refilled (eg. everything from shampoo to dish detergent, to condiments, etc.)

The lists can go on and on and I plan to add to it.  At this moment, I can only think of the things that I come into contact with myself, so feel free to add your two cents to the list!

Read Full Post »