The Zero Garbage Challenge

October through December non-garbage:

Here is a group shot of my non-garbage from October through December (excluding holiday garbage, which is in a separate entry).  More of the usual bits of plastic.

Holiday non-garbage:

My friends and family have been very supportive of my challenge.  But still, some of my gifts were wrapped in disposable packaging this year.  This is a grey zone for me (see more about this in my Grey Zones entry). One gift that I received for Christmas is an Autoseal travel mug, which I had featured on my blog in February as an alternative to disposable coffee/tea cups.  It turns out that the Autoseal came with a plastic wrapper.  So in hindsight, it’s probably best to buy travel mugs from a local coffee/tea shop, where you can get them without packaging (see more about this in my Online Purchases entry).

Online Purchases

It’s easy to end up with unexpected garbage when making online purchases.  One way that I avoid this is to buy from local stores, where I can inspect the packaging before buying.  If I have to order online, I email or call the company before placing an order, and ask specifically about the packaging.  Most of the time, companies are willing to package an item in recyclable material upon request.

Grey Zones

Over the course of the year, I’ve discovered four major grey zones - parts of my challenge that were particularly challenging because it was difficult to make a definitive decision.

1) Gifts: If someone gives me a gift, I try not to let my zero garbage challenge overrule my gratitude.  If a gift contains some disposable pieces, I generally try to accept it with grace and then decide what to do with it later!  Sometimes I regift these items, sometimes I donate them, and sometimes I decide to keep them and add the disposable parts to my pile of collage material.

2) Rental house: I rent my house.  Sometimes I make household purchases (such as the toilet float that I had to replace) and my landlords reimburse me.  Technically, these household purchases are not mine, but so far, I have accepted the resulting garbage as part of my pile.  If I owned a house, I would probably have to make similar purchases.

3) Eating out (and bulk grocery shopping): When I eat out, I never throw anything away from my meal (napkin, food scraps, etc).  However, I cannot overlook the fact that in the kitchen of the restaurant, my meal is created using some disposable items.  Similarly, when I buy in bulk, those big grain and bean containers are filled using bags that are probably thrown away.  These are compromises that I’ve been willing to make this year, because, well, it would take some extreme measures to avoid this garbage.  But I will continue to investigate the wiser choices, and I’m also open to suggestions!

4) Friends and relatives: When other people make me a meal, I do not expect them to adhere to my challenge (although some of my friends do).  This is similar to receiving gifts - if someone is making food for me, I try not to let my challenge overrule my gratitude.  It’s an interesting issue.  When I go to a friend’s house, they make a vegetarian meal for me because they respect my choice to not eat meat.  This is because it is relatively easy for people to incorporate vegetarian cooking.  Perhaps one day it will be easier for everyone to avoid trash, so my friends can more easily respect my choice to not add to landfills.

Thanks to Ecelso Zanato from Brazil, for sending me this picture of another great way to reuse plastic bottles.

A creative use for plastic bottles, and a touching story: Indra’s Cloud

Here is an article that lists 75 more items that you might not have realized you can toss into your compost pile.  One that surprised me is Cellophane, a clear packaging that is still sometimes used for food.

Here is yet another cool family, who spent 18 days in Newcastle Australia, picking up beach trash. Read their blog (and see their line of garbage) here.

Here is a website called My Zero Waste, about a UK family of three (plus a cat) who are creating one dustbin of trash (100 litres) this year.

September non-garbage:

A few of the usual items.  Nice shiny gold and silver to go into the collage!

I recently visited my friends Kate and Matt.  They have reduced much of their garbage by recycling and by putting a compost pile in their back yard.  They compost food scraps, paper towels, napkins, bunny bedding, cat litter and more (note: they do not use this compost on a veggie garden).   

Another tip that they shared is that they have stopped using garbage bags.  Since they compost all organic materials, their garbage is not messy or stinky.  They just pile their garbage into the can without the plastic liner.  When it’s time to take the garbage to the dump, they load the garbage can into Matt’s truck.

August non-garbage:

Sometimes you just have to have butter!  The temptation was a biscuit at my favorite breakfast restaurant.  And it was worth it.  As for the bullion wrappers… soup season has begun.  I hadn’t planned ahead, or I could have made my own broth.  So at the store, I looked at my options: I could buy broth in a can, but it’s expensive and does not taste nearly as good as bullion.  I could buy bullion in a box, sealed in a plastic bag - or in these little silver paper cubes.  I prefer the silver for my garbage collage.

Check out the Green Garbage Project, a website about a couple in Oregon who started a year without garbage in July.