If The Shoe Fits...

Ignorance Is Bliss.

Ah...to be able to take the blue pill and plug back into the matrix. Forget all this tree-hugger crap and just consume with reckless abandon. Fill landfills with my waste without a concern.

Bliss...

So far, not much luck on being 100% free of producing trash. I'm saving more than ever, but still manage to make a bag of trash every few weeks.

I've not had the cash to get a composting bin, nor a container for my kitchen. I suppose I could temporarily use a soup pot with a lid, huh?!?

Anyone have experience with worm composting?

Having the intention in my mind, though, has made me notice so many little things.

How many plastic straws are used worldwide every year? What are they made from? How about the wrappers?

WTF is up with Starbucks and their unwillingness to let me reuse an old plastic cup - that I've washed out, mind you - for a cold drink? They say it's a health code issue..but they let me use my own thermal cup or a reusable plastic cup that I bought from them. Sounds like bullsh*t to me.

What am I supposed to do with wax-coated cups from Taco Bell? Maybe I'll make a sculpture.

And, as much as I'd like to admit otherwise, I'm just not ready to make a septic system in my back yard for my pet poo. I just don't have the stomach for it yet.

More as it happens. Thanks for following along.

Cat Poop. Recycling. Composting. Oh My!

I've been kicking this idea around in my head for awhile now:

Don't throw anything away for a year.

"WTF," you say?

Here's some data:

• 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!