Trash

Being wasteful is not something I aspire to. In this neighborhood, it also costs money. We live in a community that doesn't provide trash service. If you want someone to take your trash, you have to pay a collection service to come pick it up.

I like those towns that offer free curbside recycling and composting and charge you by the bag for trash disposal. That seems like a good way to keep trash down. So much of what we put in the garbage is mindless. We don't have to think about where it goes after we put it in the dumpster or at the curb. But our trash has a life after the garbage truck picks it up. It's not a pretty life either. Way back when I was little, I was in a speech contest and I wrote a speech about recycling. That was over 20 years ago and here is one thing I still remember: landfills aren't designed to allow stuff to break down. Landfill excavations have unearthed 40-year-old newspapers that are still legible. If you've ever left a newspaper in your back window or outside for even a small amount of time, you'd know how ridiculous that is.

So, for starters, we try not to create trash. I use reusable Tupperware-type containers to take my lunch. We use cloth napkins. I'm a fan of the old man handkerchief. I've been known to reuse zipper bags and aluminum foil. We have reusable plastic stuff for picnics. I try to remember my shopping bags. Like most of you, I'm sure, we do what we can and what we can think of to stop trash before it starts.

We try to compost as much as we can, too. Any uncooked, unprocessed food waste goes into the compost bin I made last year, along with "brown material" like shredded paper, leaves, egg cartons, etc. Next spring I won't have to buy soil amendments at the box store because I'll have my own.

We also take everything to the recycling place that we can. It's a hassle but I cart recycling around in my car trunk for weeks until we can make it to the place to sort all our treasures. But it is worth it, to me, to keep stuff out of the trash.

I also research what to do with typically non-recyclable stuff--stuff our recycling place won't take. You can take number 5 plastics and Brita filters to most Whole Foods stores. My running shoe store will take old shoes and wash them up and give them to needy people. If something has value (even if it's only a nickle), we try to put it in a garage sale.

Only at a last resort do we take stuff to the Goodwill or other thrift stores. Here's why: sometimes those stores have too much stuff. If they can't process things, they might end up throwing it in the dumpster. No joke. And that's ok--they're limited by how much storage they have and how much stuff they can sell. But don't think that just because you take something to a thrift store that it is going to find another home. You may have just dropped stuff off for someone else to do your dirty work. (I've heard the same about recycling, too. I have possibly optimistic and limited faith in our recycling place, though.)

And lastly, we don't pay for the trash truck to drive down our street. We have an arrangement with in-laws, who live down the road and also have to pay for trash service. Because we try to keep our trash production low, the four of us can get by with one can a week, saving a lot of money.
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Breakfast: I ran out of time this morning and ate a gas station sandwich $1.84
Lunch: Non-awkward work lunch
Dinner: Free food Mother-In-Law left at our house on Monday.

Total: $1.84