Green Living Naturally Reduces Trash
As I was rolling my trash bin to the curb earlier this week, I grinned from ear to ear. I was incredibly happy over its contents. No, I had not completed my spring cleaning nor organized my garage … I was just nearly “trashless.” For the last several weeks, the amount of trash my husband and I generated could be held in one hand.
Had I not had the occasional nasty plastic wrap from meat or miscellaneous bones that caused odor, I could probably – at least at this rate – go a year or more without having to empty the bin. But my accomplishment wasn’t intentional. I mean, I didn’t set out specifically to see how little trash I could generate. What I did do, however, was being vigilant about living green.
Fewer Consumer Goods – I have made a vow to delay purchases as long as I can. Not to save money necessarily, but to reduce my carbon footprint. For example, just because my toaster oven has a chunk broken out of the crumb tray and the glass has discolored over the years, I continue to use it anyway. When I do have to purchase something, I often buy used. Unless you’re talking about underwear or toothbrushes, used is just as good, and you do save a lot of money in the process.
Kitchen Waste – I’ve almost always had some sort of composting operation at my house, but this past holiday season I got uber-serious. My husband bought me an awesome toy that allows me to compost virtually any kitchen waste, including small bone fragments. I LOVE it! About every two weeks, I’m able to harvest a wonderful batch of nutrient-rich compost that is keeping my garden and landscaping looking fabulous.
Recycling – I’ve been one of the recycling police for years, so I haven’t seen a lot of incremental improvement in my actions here. Thank goodness my community lets me recycle just about everything, which dramatically cuts down on my trash output.
Donations – When it is time to clean out the garage (and believe me – I’m way overdue), very little will be trashed. It will either get donated or freecycled at the curb.
So even though I didn’t make it a priority to reduce my trash volume, by living a green lifestyle, it just naturally happened. Seeing the synergies that come from making green decisions is incredibly gratifying, and I’m still grinning from ear to ear.
Cherri Megasko
Latest posts by Cherri Megasko (see all)
- Green Living Naturally Reduces Trash - May 9, 2012
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That is so amazing and totally awesome Cherri!! I have such a long way to go! But at least the bones can go to the dog here. I try so hard, but still end up with way to many glass jars and bottles that I can’t possibly use, nor does anyone else want them. I can say tho that we have virtually no cans, since we grow most, but plastic still seems to be a problem and I hate plastic. I’m talking about plastic containers and some packaging. I try not to buy anything like that, but it really hard sometimes. xox
Pam – I am lucky to be able to recycle all my glass and plastic. .. besides plastic bags, of course, and I rarely get any of those since I always have reusable bags with me. And I agree – it is hard to not buy extra packaging. I hope that manufacturers will get on track soon and start packaging their products as minimally as possible.