How much of your trash is really trash. I mean REALLy trash, as in not recyclable? With so many companies getting on board with more eco-friendly packaging , much of what we still send to the local landfill can actually be recycled. Though items vary by localities, a quick click on your local department of public works website will tell you what they will and will not take. You just might find it’s time to get rid of your trash can altogether!
In our house we used two tiny recycling containers under the sink which had to be emptied daily and a large butterfly trash can which was only filled once or twice a week. Still, every time I emptied the trash I knew that half of what we were throwing away was still recyclable and it had just become more “convenient” to throw some things in the centrally located, easy to use trash can. So I made the switch, the little can under the sink become “trash” and the big butterfly stainless steel can in the middle of the kitchen became recycling.
In order to change our habits, I put up a sign for the first week or two: “this is not trash- it’s recycling, is what you are holding in your hand recyclable? probably….”. The switch was almost effortless. We quickly realized that almost everything we were throwing away was in fact recyclable. Although it pains me to send another plastic bag out into the world, my husband was unable to put what he perceived as trash into what he had always know as the “trash can” with out a bag. For the time being we have compromised with a clear bag in the large recycling can. My hopes is to one day the skip the bag and dump it all into the large curbside containers. For now though the switch has yielded big results. We have cut our trash disposal by ¾’s sending out a half full trash can just once a week despite twice weekly pick ups. Have you made the switch yet?
Kristen Becker
Patrick S. says:
I have 2 young kids, a wife, a cat, and 2 large dogs. You can guess what kinds of waste we typically generate. Last spring my family and I decided to see how much waste we could cut out of our lives. We now compost all organic matter, including paper towels. We recycle glass, plastic, metal, paper, cardboard, and fiberboard. Plastic bags (what few we actually allow businesses to give us) are either used for pet waste or recycled at our local grocery. If something comes with lots of waste packaging we don't buy it. If it is not durable we don't buy it. If we don't want something we give it away on Freecycle. Guess what? We are now down to 1/2 a bag of garbage per week. If we can do it (with little more work than thinking about what we buy) anyone can.
Kristen B. says:
Inspiring! Compost is next on my list. We also tried that once before using a traditional "compost pile" like I had grown up with but the dog kept foiling our plans ;-). Maybe we should all begin neighborhood initiatives to see who can put out the least amount of trash and recycling at the curb. I have to say too that I LOVE freecycle- great way to keep things in use and we have even saved a ton of money by checking freecycle first when we have a need rather than heading out to the big box stores.