I've been kicking this idea around in my head for awhile now:
Don't throw anything away for a year.
"WTF," you say?
In the U.S., 4.39 pounds of trash per day and up to 56 tons of trash per year are created by the average person.
- Only about one-tenth of all solid garbage in the United States gets recycled.
- Every year we fill enough garbage trucks to form a line that would stretch from the earth, halfway to the moon.
- Each day the United States throws away enough trash to fill 63,000 garbage trucks.
- Almost 1/3 of the waste generated the U.S. is packaging
- Seventy percent of U.S. municipal solid waste gets buried in landfills.
- U.S. landfills are closing at the rate of 1 per day
- Every year, nearly 900,000,000 trees are cut down to provide raw materials for American paper and pulp mills.
- America is home to 5% of the world's population, yet it consumes 1/3 of the Earth's timber and paper; making paper the largest part of the waste stream at 37.5% of the total waste stream.
- Producing recycled white paper creates
74% less air pollutants, 35% less water pollutants, and 75% less
process energy than producing paper from virgin fibers.
- Sixty percent of the world's lead supply comes from recycled batteries.
- It takes 90% less energy to recycle an aluminum can than to make a new one.
I'm motivated to see how little trash I can produce, and I can't think of a better way than to just not throw anything away. I'll either recycle, reuse, compost, donate, or store everything I bring into my house. I'll need to take my own drinking containers everywhere. No more wax-coated cups from Taco Bell or cardboard sleeves on my coffee cups.
I think it's time I step up to the proverbial plate and take full responsibility for my choices.
There are a few minor things to figure out.
1. How do I dispose of my cats' waste? Here's what I found.
2. How do I dispose of my dog's waste? Here's what I found for this, too.
3. What happens when I go out to eat (which is all too frequently)?
4. What about things that can't be recycled?
I'm off to make some preparations.
I need to get at least 2 more recycling bins, a composter, and a container for my kitchen to temporarily hold compostables. And I'll need to decide if I'm really ready to create a septic system in my back yard for pet poo.
Ick.
I'll be checking in about my progress. Wish me luck!
