Reducing Trash

Periodically, I take an inventory of what is still ending up in our trash and think about what changes I can make to reduce it. I buy in to the notion that sending things to the landfill is ‘bad’ from the perspective of right now and for the future. No one wants to live on or near a landfill now and yet they are ever growing; how will our children and grandchildren avoid living on our trash heap if we continue as we have in the past? And who wants to be wasteful? It isn’t about being rich or poor. It is about being good stewards of our home.

The inventory was a great project for a cold winter day when the best plan-for-the-day was to stay indoors. Here’s what I found (grouped by the action I am taking…or plan to take)

Tissues and paper towels - The only way I can imagine to reduce this trash is to avoid creating it. In the past I have considered using handkerchiefs….but only for a few seconds; the tissues are just too convenient. Using a dish cloth or towel rather than a paper towel reduces our paper towel consumption but I still keep a roll on the counter for extra messy or contaminating jobs like wiping up chicken juice or cleaning the inside of the microwave of oily residue (from microwave popcorn). So the amount of tissues and paper towels in our trash will stay about the same. We have very few napkins because I switched to washcloth napkins after a previous inventory.

Small pieces of paper - There were all kinds of small pieces of paper in our trash until recently:  stevia packets, wrappers from tea bags, paper used in other packaging that is not recyclable, and Post-it notes. I’ve made it a point to collect it in a small box (like the box the stevia packets came in originally) and then put it in the recycling. It does not reduce the trash by very much - but every little bit that does not go to the landfill is a good thing. I’ve even started emptying tea bags into the gold mesh basket of my tea maker (a coffee maker that has never seen coffee) so that the tab and tea paper goes into the small paper box too!

Fruit and vegetable parings - In the summer time, I try to compost these directly into my garden but the only thing I compost in winter is tea leaves (which go into houseplant pots). On the plus side, the county is expanding the curbside compost program; hopefully it will come to my neighborhood within the next year.

Egg shells - Again - I manage to compost these in the summer. Should I save a few to use as mini-pots for sprouting garden veggies indoors before the last frost?

Microwave popcorn package - We are using up our last box of packaged microwave popcorn. I bought a bowl with a vented lid to pop the corn in the microwave (without oil or other harmful chemicals). It works with the least expensive popcorn in my grocery store (which comes in a recyclable plastic bag that makes many servings of popcorn).

Dryer sheets - I did a little research and am going to look to see if my store carries any that are recyclable.

Worn out underwear - Clothes that can still be worn are candidates for donation. Items with holes and rot still end up in the trash.

Used cat litter - There does not seem to be any other possibility….it stays in the trash.

Plastic wrap - If it’s clean it can go into the same recycle as the plastic bags! I just learned this from reading my county’s recycling list. If it has food on it, then it still is a trash item.

Clam shell type package - I try to avoid these because they cannot be recycled. It is better to use the plastic produce bags for tomatoes, for example. Unfortunately, some products (like small electronics, kitchen knives, etc.) tend to come in this kind of packaging and there often is no other packaging option.

Frozen food bags - These are not recyclable in my county. Even if they were it might be difficult since they often end up messy on the inside. I do try to buy the largest bag that I can us in a reasonable time.

Foil lined packages- I seem to have more of these that I realized from cat treats,Christmas chocolates, and tea bag wrappers. I’m going to look to see if there are any alternative forms of packaging. The tea bag wrappers are probably the easiest.

Pre-cut veggie containers - I have just recently noticed that the pre-cut salads and veggies come in clam shell packages or a material that is different than the plastic produce bags….and neither one can be recycled. Maybe grocery stores will help out by changing the package. I can buy bell peppers in a package of pulp paper with plastic wrap….which can be re-cycled.

Flip top lids of cat food - The recycler recommends putting sharp lids into the trash. Perhaps it is a safety issue?

Straws - The recycler does not like very small items in the stream they are processing…so straws are relegated to trash. Maybe I’ll use up the straws I’ve already purchased and simply stop using them.

Everything else I found in the trash was an infrequent item. Nothing stands out as an opportunity to reduce the trash volume dramatically so the main action I am taking from this inventory is a tweak to my grocery shopping:

Avoid clamshells and other non-recyclable containers.