How to Reduce Your Waste

Chances are, you know garbage is bad. Landfills are the smelly armpits of humanity, and everyone knows it. So why are we still wasting so much stuff? Dragging that huge plastic garbage bag out to the curb every week is not, in fact, mandatory! Who knew? You can go weeks and weeks without taking out the trash, if you tweak your lifestyle just a little bit. It's not even hard to do, and the only sacrifice you'll have to make is the physical workout you get when you haul trash to the curb.

If you tend to participate in the buy & toss culture we are a part of in the Western world, here are some things you can do to reduce your impact (in no particular order).

1. Always use 100% recycled paper for home printing, and learn how to print on both sides with your printer. For most, you will have to print odd-numbered pages, and then re-feed the paper in to print the even-numbered pages.

2. Sign up for online banking and paperless billing. Avoid printing at all, but also keep a collection of scrap paper for those times when you have to print things at home for your own use.

3. Make packaging and product lifetime important decision factors when you are shopping. Keep in mind that many products these days are "designed for the dump" (See The Story of Stuff by Annie Leonard).

4. If you have a cat, switch to wood pellet, wheat, newspaper, or some other biodegradable kitty litter. Clay cat litter is absolutely not environmentally sustainable, and it can cause respiratory issues for both your cat and your family. Clumping clay litter is also dangerous for kittens, who ingest some when they lick their paws after using the box. The clay clumps, creating cement inside their little bellies, sometimes causing serious gastrointestinal problems that can be fatal. On the flip side, biodegradable cat litter can be composted in your backyard (don't spread it on your veggie garden though!) and used for flower beds. This significantly reduces the amount of heavy waste you bring to the curb.

5. Discover your local farmer's market. Less energy went into transporting the food to you, there will absolutely be less garbage produced, you are more likely to only buy what you NEED, and supermarkets waste astronomical amounts of food.

6. If your town doesn't have a farmer's market, try to buy food (produce, but also processed food!) that was made or grown close to home.

7. Buy as little processed food as possible. Seriously, it's crap anyway and the amount of energy and packaging that goes towards selling junk food is frightening.

8. Keep a clean travel mug or two in your car for impulsive coffee stops. If you must use a paper coffee cup, either recycle it or bring it home for the green bin.

9. In the bathroom, keep a separate container for green bin items like tissues, cotton balls, and q-tips, then empty that into your kitchen green bin each week. This will help you remember to divert those things from your landfill trash.

10. When you’re not including food, containers and other plastics, and paper products in your regular waste, the small amount of stuff that does end up in those bins will typically be clean and dry. Reconsider whether you really need to have a plastic bag lining each trash can. Particularly in the bathroom and the office. The stuff will already be dragged to the curb in a heavy black plastic bag, so why not just dump the bin right into the big bag?

Many towns have green bin programs these days, so the advice I give here is mainly directed towards those citizens who choose not to participate, or those who do but could be doing a lot more.

i. My town doesn't collect kitchen waste

If your municipality does not have a composting program, seriously take the time to find out why not. Make a bit of noise, talk to your friends and neighbours about it, and push your local government to start a municipal green bin program. In the meantime, set up a compost bin (you can even build your own) in your backyard if you have one.

If you live in an apartment, call your landlord and ask if they have any plans to implement a green bin program. If you're really ambitious, see if your landlord or neighbours would be interested in setting up a community garden. That way you can collectively compost your kitchen scraps and use them to grow your own fresh produce. It's a great way to do something productive with your community and turn neighbours into friends.

ii. I live alone, so I hardly put anything in the green bin..it's not worth it.

This is the craziest reason for not composting. Food waste should never end up in landfills. I'm a single student, living alone, and I know from experience that even if I tried my absolute hardest to fill that big outdoor bin each week, it just would never happen. But there are two answers to this.

First, nobody said the bin has to be full...but I do see how if you use bin liners it is wasteful to take out a nearly-empty bin, and leaving the bin for a few weeks until you can justify taking it to the curb can be pretty slimy. So all you have to do is use a smaller bin, and bring that out to the curb. I keep a little 2 gallon container under my sink, and take it to the curb each week. Maybe it looks a little funny sitting out there among all the other houses with their big green bins, but hey.. it does the job, and taking it out each week eliminates any odour, slime, or fruit flies from my kitchen.

The second solution is to take another look at what your town will accept as compost. You might be surprised at some of the things they allow in the green bins, such as hair (eg. from hairbrushes or pets), tea bags, paper coffee cups, popsicle sticks, and tissues. It's not just about apple cores and orange peels anymore! I've found that when I divert all those other items into the bin it's actually quite full near garbage day.

iii. Compost stinks

Yes, compost smells if you let it decompose into a slimy mess in your kitchen (yuck!). If you take the compost out each week, putting the little kitchen bin on the curb if that's all you have, you shouldn't have any problems with smell. Also, including all the non-food items like tissues, hair, and coffee filters helps absorb the moisture and smell. Trust me, you won't even notice it.

iv. Fruit flies?

If you keep the compost in a bin with a tight fitting lid, and empty it each week, this won't be a problem.

v. I don't want to clean a nasty, slimy, stinking compost bin.

Line the bottom with a thick layer of newspaper to absorb the moisture, and each week when the compost is collected, toss the damp newspaper (if it's still stuck in the bottom) in the recycling and insert a fresh piece. This does wonders for absorbing compost odour and keeping the box fresh.

I won't go into much depth about recycling... I think most people get it by now. Just take a good look at what you're throwing away (eg. empty toilet paper rolls) that could easily have gone into the recycling. Re-read your city's waste guidelines and make a habit of checking yourself before throwing anything into the trash.

Recycle even little things like receipts, envelopes, and sticky notes. They seem insignificant, but they add up. Paper is paper, and it should never go to the landfill.

If you only have the recycling bins in your garage or outside, perhaps add a smaller bin to your kitchen and home office so that you can just toss things in there temporarily, and periodically empty into the outdoor bins. Making it easy to recycle is an important step towards reducing the amount of recyclables that end up in your landfill bag.

See how long you can go without dragging a trash bag to the curb! So far, my record is seven weeks (and counting!). Can you beat that?

My municipal garbage flyer (look for yours at your city's website!)

Annie Leonard, The Story of Stuff (the book and videos at www.storyofstuff.com)

Mike Nickerson, Life, Money, & Illusion

Tristram Stuart, Waste

Various lectures, guest speakers, meetings, and first-hand experiences :)