Waste Reduction : Background

The Farmer and I have been on a waste reduction journey for about 2 years now as we desire to become better and better stewards of Creation. While the zero waste people out there are super inspiring, ain't everybody have time (or money) for that. We're far from perfect on this journey, but we try to at least notice moments and places where we could reduce our waste a little at a time.

Our aim this year was to have just one grocery-sized bag of trash per week. For the most part we have been able to recycle, reuse, or compost much of the rest of our waste, but this is where the reduce part of the tagline comes in--how can we reduce the amount that has to be recycled/reused in the first place? Just because we have a filled to the brim recycling bin and a small bag a trash doesn't mean that we've reduced our waste creation. We've just shifted which bin it goes in. And what actually happens to the mixed recyclables anyways?

The statistics are kinda scary. 25% of the stuff in recycling bins is contaminated and thrown into the landfill anyways. Yikes! 70% of the world's recycled plastic used to be shipped all the way to China...except in 2018 China began decreasing their trash importation. It was already problematic that we are used fossil fuels to ship trash around the world, but now they don't even want our trash anymore. Now what? Unfortunately, that waste is being sent to other countries that are unable to recycle or dispose of it safely. So my suburban recycling bin could be polluting the developing world. Not exactly the moral high ground. If I just put the recyclables in the trash bin, at least most of my waste would remain a more regional problem.

To top that off, if my attempts to recycle don't result in polluting more vulnerable parts of the world, the other alternative is it gets incinerated and pollutes the air. Sure, recycling is definitely a step in the right direction. But we have another problem--there is a decreasing market for our waste. Glass is not recyclable in our county because there is no buyer locally interested in using it. (Entrepreneurs out there, here's a wide open market with no competition!)

Unlike glass, plastic is not a perpetually recyclable material. With each recycling it gets downgraded to less honorable uses until it gets trashed. So when purchasing new items, it's great to favor those made from recycled materials increase the market for recycled goods. But also keep in mind that your reusable bag made from plastic bottles is not recyclable. It's the end of the line. It goes in the trash as soon as it breaks. Catch-22.

Maybe we need a revised moniker in a new order of preference...

Reduce. Reuse. Repair. Re-gift. Recycle.

Reduction to minimize the amount of waste items coming into our homes. Finding alternatives with less packaging. We can buy a bar of soap shrouded in plastic wrap placed inside a plastic-coated paper box with a plastic window. Or we can buy it with zero-packaging or maybe a little bit of paper that the compost worms will find tasty.

Reuse those glass jars, plastic tupperware, and bags. My first tupperware collection was mostly made of cool whip containers, deli meat packaging, KFC to-go containers, and gelato jars. (Obviously my diet was unenlightened college student, but you get the idea.) Many of the glass jars sauces come in are mason jars. We've reused them successfully for canning tomatoes, pickles, and applesauce. Those condiment bottles work great for homemade salad dressings and sauces.

Make it last. Would a little time & effort increase the longevity of an item's usefulness? Keep some glue, thread, screwdriver, or duct tape on hand to patch up items. I have a cracked plastic bucket that is still water-tight with duct tape 3 years in! Also made my last pair of sunglasses last another year with a bit of glue. The less often I have to buy something not only saves me moolah, it also means I use less environmental resources over a lifetime.

Donate and give away useful items to someone who will use them. We have a spot where we put items that we don't need or want anymore. Stuff to re-gift. Stuff to re-home. Stuff for Goodwill.

As a last resort, recycle the remainder of the waste. Learn what can be recycled and where. In addition to our basic curbside recycling we have to go to 2-3 other drop-offs to recycle our waste. It's definitely more labor intensive than just not letting the waste into our home in the first place. We have a big pile of chicken feed bags in the garage waiting for a special trip to a #5 plastic recycling center. There's an overflowing container of plastic bags + styrofoam in the kitchen awaiting the next time we go to Publix and simultaneously remember that we need to take a load.

....And what was supposed to be an introductory paragraph or two morphed into an entire blog post. Since I obviously have more to write on the matter than I initially thought, I'll make this the first in a series of how we try to reduce waste at Kilby Cottage. We don't have it all figured out, but as we've been asked by folk lately what we do or what we would suggest for someone just getting started, I decided it was a good time to write down some of the baby steps on our own journey. Next up, the kitchen!