Last year, we produced one kitchen can of garbage about each 7-10 days or so. Our goal going into this was to produce one kitchen can of garbage for the entire year. A month and a half early, this is the accumulation of our household trash for the year:
In the spirit of honesty, there are a few things that this does not include:
1. We went on a vacation in March and tried to save most of our trash, but ended up throwing a few things away (ice cream cups and plastic silverware, etc.)
2. Mulch and birdseed packaging
3. Napkins at restaurants (we tried to remember to take these with us when we left, but sometimes we forgot).
(This DOES include a gallon ziplock bag that I kept at work full of wrappers from all the candy I stress-ate out of the office kitchen this year. At a certain point I began to feel like a trash hoarder, which I suppose I am, oops. I should have taken a photo of the *extremely full* ziplock bag to share.)
There are some things from this year that we will absolutely keep doing from here on out:
1. Always carrying bags with us to the grocery store.
2. If we forget to carry our bags to the grocery store, we just carry the goods out in our hands or if our hands are full, get paper bags. I cut up paper bags and then use them to wrap gifts (like so) so we don't buy wrapping paper. (Also, this Christmas, don't throw away perfectly good bags and bows! Keep and reuse if you don't already)3. Making things from scratch that could easily (but often more expensively) be purchased in packaging at the store, such as soup.
4. Brewing kombucha (although we need to replace the "mother" SCOBY)
5. Making bread, protein bites, oatmeal, etc. at home for breakfast food rather than eating breakfast bars. Yesterday morning, I found a protein bar in the pantry as we were cleaning it out to move, and I thought I might as well get rid of it. I couldn't eat the whole thing and I'm not sure how I used to. It was very hard and artificial tasting. Down with prepackaged breakfast. The most important meal of the day deserves more attention!
6. At the beginning of this year, I was worried that ZW would prevent me from painting, since I usually paint in acrylics, which have kind of bulky and wasteful packaging. So instead I began painting in watercolor, and it has become my favorite medium. I've found it to be an incredibly flexible and therapeutic way to paint.
7. Eating fish very rarely and taking our own containers to pick it up from the meat counter (as opposed to buying it in styrofoam)
8. Drinking 99% water and tea rather than packaged drinks. It takes 132 gallons of water to make a 2-liter bottle of soda, not to mention the resources expended in producing and recycling the aluminum/plastic. I've kicked my caffeine habit too, so I don't get crashes in the afternoon anymore.
9. Donating regularly to the Environmental Defense Fund. Our daily habits matter more than we think, but the EDF is fighting the big fight. Setting up a recurring monthly payment is a great way to take part in the ongoing battle to protect our planet and all the creatures living here. https://www.edf.org/donate-online
10. Being vigilant about turning off lights in rooms we aren't using, and not using indoor lighting until it is dark outside.
11. Composting organic waste! We have composted all of our food waste, tea bags, coffee grounds, etc. from the past year and as we speak it is only half way full. If all of this had gone to the landfill, it would still be sitting there, rotting, as food does not decompose properly in landfills and releases methane. The majority of waste in landfills is food waste. Composting saves landfill space and prevents tons of methane from being released as greenhouse gas into the atmosphere. If you are thinking about composting, please try it!
12. Letting it mellow when it's yellow. 41% of indoor water usage is used by flushing the toilet! This is a massive waste. We don't need to flush every time. When we're done, we close the lid, and only flush when a sufficient amount of waste has accumulated to merit a flush and the use of that precious water!
13. Using cloth napkins at home, and rags/towels instead of paper towels.
Some things, on the other hand, we will not continue doing:
1. Buying all items in bulk. Some items are just way too expensive to buy in bulk. For example - A pound of mushrooms at Kroger costs around $2 or less. A pound of mushrooms in the bulk bin costs $4. There are some items that are just too expensive to buy in bulk and don't fit into our budget.
2. Not using the dryer (all the time). We are fine with air drying many of our clothes, but drying towels on the rack is too slow and they now have a mildew smell that we have not been able to get out, despite our best efforts. We are trying to use the dryer only when we have to (e.g. for towels and slow-drying fabrics), but it's so convenient that sometimes it's hard not to take advantage of it.
3. Trying to make tofu at home. Seriously, I tried this several times and could never get it right and wasted a lot of soybeans while I was at it. Some things are best left to the professionals.
4. Using single-ply recycled toilet paper. I am sorry to say that this is not something we see ourselves doing long-term. Using the bathroom at someone else's house (or even at work) is almost a spa-like experience compared to what we use at home. I know it's called toilet paper, but I think we all agree that we prefer the feel of cotton to paper on our unmentionables. We will finish using up what we have of the single ply and will then seek out another option for toilet paper moving forward.
5. Trying to make everything from scratch. I mentioned that we nixed our homemade toothpaste after about a month. We also stopped using homemade dish soap this summer because it was so thin that we went through a batch every week.
This year was very interesting for us, full of growing pains. In September, I received my certification as a Holistic Nutritionist. Austin has been in school studying his ass off (and will graduate next month). I was rejected from one graduate program for Fall 2017 before being accepted to another for Spring 2018 (hence our relocation). And we continued to have a lot going on in our lives with family and friends as well. We did our best to make this a priority, but of course it was not the only priority. There is definitely something to be said for balance. In weeks where we didn't have much spare time, we sometimes subsisted on pasta and stovetop popcorn because ZW precluded us from buying convenience meals that may have had a few more nutritional components. When we ended ZW last week, I bought several bags of frozen veggies which we've been using in soups and as side dishes for dinners. As we've been furiously preparing our home for sale over the past week, having conveniences like that are valuable.
Eating and living without producing waste is certainly time consuming, which is obviously why convenience foods and other items are so popular. We all have busy schedules and sometimes just don't have the time to make a meal from scratch, or soap from scratch, or take the extra steps to make sure that our purchases don't create more waste than they should. It would be helpful if manufacturers understood this as an issue and did their best to minimize waste in production and packaging. And we are seeing more and more trends to this effect. I hope it continues. We can put pressure on companies to make their products less wasteful and more environmentally friendly, to use resources that cause minimal harm to animal habitats and vulnerable ecosystems (Down with palm oil! I'm talking to you, "vegan" products!).
Just last month, my parents installed solar panels on their roof. My aunt and uncle did the same earlier this year. Today, my dad showed me the app on his phone today that indicates how much C02 emissions they are saving by sourcing their energy from the sun. Since yesterday, their panels have saved 23 pounds of C02 from being released into the atmosphere. One day! Granted, not everyone can afford solar panels. Not everyone can afford to do Zero Waste, for that matter. We do what we can, and will continue to. With privilege comes responsibility.
I doubt we'll create only one can of garbage next year. But we will also not revert to our prior habits, creating one can of waste each week. We are aiming for one can per month next year, a more measured approach which will allow us to indulge on occasion and utilize convenience items on occasion, while still doing our best to live out our values.
If you've read this far, thanks for following along this year. It's been an adventure and a learning experience. I'd definitely encourage anyone to try it just for a week or even a month - you will certainly learn a lot! Keep fighting the good fight to keep our planet green, skies clear, oceans blue and ecosystems thriving. We are stewards of this good earth. May we be compelled to behave as such.
