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I’m kind of a “momma’s boy.” Really, I have a difficult time saying “no” to my mother sometimes. Aren’t most families the other way around?
My trash from this past week was generously gifted from the fam. Shall we do this again? One more time…
Bread: basically every grocer will supply this in a single-use plastic bag. Try a local bakery which displays their goodies in open cases, in which you can bring your own cloth bag. Or, try baking your own bread at home! Remember to store it in a closed container away from sunlight. I like to put mine in the refrigerator. I don’t eat much bread, and it keeps longer.
Deli-cuts: just say no. Or, something close to no. All deli items are packaged in single-use plastic. They are then cut in slices and put into single-use plastic baggies for you to take home. Try bringing your own container to avoid that additional baggie, or avoid these easy eats and cook with paper-wrapped meats and cheeses. I hear cheese is hard to find without a plastic rind, so your best bet is a small, local producer.
Cereal: bulk grocer, bulk grocer, bulk grocer!
Raisins: bring your own containers to bulk grocery stores. In Manhattan, try People’s or even Hy-Vee.
Bars: candy, granola, snack, and whatever else is packaged individually for single use. You just have to say no. Many of these items can simply be made at home. You can then package them yourself in reusable containers or recyclable foil. What a pain, cooking and planning and shopping for ingredients. Pinterest anyone?
These are all changes I’ve made in my everyday life for this project. Three more days, and it will have been for 60 days. Take a gander, this is my trash for 60 days.
From left to right: (1) plastic seal from contact solution, (1) plastic seal from peanut butter, (1) plastic cap from scintillation vial, (7) pairs single-use laboratory gloves, (1) chocolate bar wrapper, (1) chip bag, (1) snack cracker bag, (2) granola bar wrappers, (2) mini cereal bags, (1) plastic deli bag, (1) plastic bread bag, (1) plastic raisin bag, (1) plastic mail sleeve, (1) plastic check holder, (2) strips plastic packing tape.
This was such an adventure. This was such a learning experience.
We’re almost done here, folks.
This is Trashy.
World Owes Nothing. The world owes nothing and I owe an apology.
Once more, Beth Terry, I have failed you. This is number 70 on her “Plastic-Free Living Guide.” Link below.
I ordered checks from my local bank to be mailed to my place of residence. Silly me, I thought a paper product would simply be packaged in more paper. Instead, the packaging was a plastic sleeve. I also received a flimsy plastic check holder which I will never use. Oh, and I acquired some plastic packing tape. Fantastic.
It could have been so simple to request no plastic or styrofoam packaging.
Instead, I learn the hard way.
This is so Trashy.
I am naive. Not in my nature, but in my relation to the entire world. I therefore write this to you with my limited knowledge of this much over-due topic. My descriptions will be general, and I implore you to research further, as this is a simple way in which to reduce personal waste from consumption.
Compost.
Compost is basically dirt. This nutrient-rich dirt is the waste of hungry, hungry microorganisms which live within organic matter. They require a certain environment to live, and perform this job. They need a certain temperature, humidity, and diet. For more of this info:
http://www.mansfieldct.org/Schools/MMS/compost/microbes.htm
http://www.composterconnection.com/site/ingredients.html
Now, how do ya compost? Let me breakitdown…
If you live in an area which reaches temperatures above 40 degrees Fahrenheit sometime during the year, and have access to Earth’s dirt floor, you can make your own compost pile! There are also a variety of other ways to yard compost.
http://www.composting101.com/building-a-bin-article.html
http://www.composting101.com/compost-bins.html
If you live in an area which reaches temperatures above 40 degrees Fahrenheit and do not have access to a yard, search areas near your community in which you could begin composting. Ask friends and neighbors to compost with. Otherwise, many state counties provide composting and recycling facilities for public use. This is what I have been doing, but do note that Riley County Transfer Station charges $11 per drop-off of food waste. Gross. More info for the Manhattan, KS area:
http://www.riley.ksu.edu/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=197
And if you are limited on space, something such as these may be doable.
http://smallnotebook.org/2008/04/06/how-to-make-a-worm-compost-bin/
http://www.naturemill.com/howItWorks.html
Now, what can ya compost?
Oh. My. Goodness. Almost EVERYTHING can be composted!!! Just remember – no glass, metal, plastic, or poo. And for denser matter like bone, only in commercial composting facilities. They reach the needed, much higher temperatures than any home composting.
http://life.gaiam.com/article/compost
Where do ya put it now, before ya compost it?
I’ve heard some call it a “compost bin.” But, that’s actually referring to the container in which the intended composting processes occur. This is the big bin usually outside the home. What we need is a “compost storage bin.” This is the intermediate container. This is usually a 5-gallon (or smaller) closed container which sits in the kitchen (where the majority of home compost material is produced). When it is time to empty, its contents are then transferred to the big “compost bin,” or “compost pile.” Isn’t language glorious?
There are so many links, and no pictures, and I do apologize. This was the big one for me. With my limited purchasing of packaged foods, I mainly rely on produce for convenience. This convenience produces food waste. In relation to recyclables, I produce alot of compost material. Isn’t that awesome?!
And ya know what’s more awesome? I don’t even have a picture to show you, because this week…
I DID NOT PRODUCE TRASH.
Here we are, it’s been 30 days! I haven’t posted in a while so I have a LOT to fill you in on, bear with me.
Let me start with last weekend, Fake Patty’s Day!!! It was a really long day. I was up from about 8:30 to 3:30 and spent a solid 10 hours in Aggieville, but not just partying…recycling! For the first time, Students for Environmental Action (of which I’m vice president, let me know if you want to get involved!) took on the challenge of recycling at the bars on Fake Patty’s Day. We had bins in about 21 of the bars that were supposed to be used just for aluminum, glass, and #1 plastic, but of course many of them just filled up with mainly non-recyclable plastic cups or were hardly used at all. Because of this, we spent a lot of time taking recyclables out of the trash cans in bars and putting them into our bins. We collected a lot of green aluminum beer bottles and glass that way, but the real jackpot came from dumpster diving! It was far more time-efficient to avoid the packed bars and just take our bins to dumpsters and sort through the endless supply of cans, bottles, and cardboard. We ended up recycling 278 lbs of Cardboard, 59 lbs of #1 plastic, 1052 lbs of glass, and 579 lbs of aluminum. The aluminum alone brought $318.45 to campus. It was definitely a very successful first time and also really fun since we had so many people helping out!
My last two days of silence haven’t been perfect. I didn’t have too much trouble staying off the computer, which is surprising since I usually spend a ton of time on the internet. I did however use my phone each time, but for semi-necessary reasons. If I would have been really good about making plans the day before I might have been able to avoid it, but I didn’t want to burdensome on others and make them set things in stone the day before when they didn’t know what time they’d be doing things…(I’m just making excuses) Our society isn’t good at planning, but I don’t know if that’s completely a bad thing. I think this exercise has really decreased my dependence on computers. I no longer immediately open up my computer upon arriving home to check my email even though I probably checked it within the past hour, and I think I probably spend less time on Facebook, but not by a lot. I don’t plan on doing regular days of silence anymore, but I really do want to become less attached to electronic devices, as well as all material possessions in general. Maybe I’ll set certain hours when I can’t use a computer, or make a rule that I can only get on a computer if it is to do something “important”.
My nature meditations have been going very well. At first I had to make myself go out and do it, but as I started to get used to it and like it, and the weather has gotten warmer, it’s been easy to go out and experience nature most days, or at least lay in the yard. This has been a great stress-reducer and I plan on continuing it for sure!
In the last two weeks, I’ve taken three showers, two the first week and just one this past week. I can really tell that my body has been adapting to my decreased shower frequency. For example, my skin and hair are less greasy after three days without a shower now than if I went three days without one a month ago. Going three or four days without a shower has become pretty easy for me, but going a full week is a long time! In this last week I’ve started taking sponge-baths: hitting the key areas and washing my hair. This is a great water saving tactic, and will get you basically just as clean as a full on shower at a fraction of the water use. I estimated using three gallons for a sponge-bath compared to 25-50 gallons for a shower. I’m not planning on only showering once a week, but I’ll try to limit my showers to twice a week and supplement my hygiene with sponge-baths as needed.
I did some calculations to figure out how much water I saved this month. By taking 10 showers instead of 30, I saved 500 gallons of water. For about a week, I kept track of how many times I used the bathroom and didn’t flush the toilet. My average was about 8, multiplying that by 3.5 gallons per flush and 30 days, I saved 840 gallons of water just by letting my yellow mellow. That’s a total of 1340 gallons of water saved this month by doing/not doing these two things! This may sound like a lot, and it is, but when you look at how much water it takes to produce various things and foods it doesn’t look like much. You can save the same amount water just by not eating half a pound of beef (2500-5000 gallons of water per pound), as long as you don’t replace it with chocolate (2847 gallons/lb)!
Most people (myself included) don’t realize how much water and energy go into the things we buy. People can save a lot more water and energy by changing their diet and lowering their consumption than by directly cutting water and energy use. In general, it takes far more water and resources to produce animal products than plant foods. Here are some staggering statistics from the book “Diet For A New America” that will make you think twice about eating meat, even if it’s local and organic.
My quest to be vegan and eat more organic and local foods went pretty well overall. The things that tripped me up were things like baked goods that I know are hiding milk and eggs, but since they can’t be seen, it’s easy to ignore that fact. I did a good job at not buying these things, but they’re just everywhere! For example, there was no way I was going to pass up my mom’s pumpkin bread when I went home. That stuff is truly to die for, but somehow I had the strength to resist washing it down with a big glass of milk. Denying myself the satisfaction of milk after sweets is probably the hardest thing I did this month!
I bought way more organic food than I normally would have this month and definitely spent more money. By the end of the month, I stopped buying any food that was not produced in the U.S., but I wouldn’t say even 10% of my food qualified as local. I learned to cook with some new vegetables I’ve never used before and definitely ate healthier than normal. It took my body a couple weeks to adjust to the dietary change, but I’m definitely used to it now and I feel really good!
I plan to continue to minimize my animal product intake and food miles and increase the organitude of my food, but not super-strictly.
I’ve been planning on making some “How to be Eco-Tight” videos for this project, but I keep putting it off. I’m going to South Padre Island for spring break and I plan to do some filming there. Traveling will certainly decrease my eco-friendliness, but I’ll do my best and let you know how it goes!
Thanks for reading and commenting, I really appreciate it!
J
Do you wonder why? Do you wonder? I am always wondering. And sometimes, I am in wonder.
It’s little things for me. Like, going for a run without knowing the time. Or, waking up to the chatter of birds. Visiting home for a weekend is nice, too.
That’s what I did last weekend. It was very nice, and seems to have been much needed. I would pronounce to you my troubles as a college student, but they are truly not troubling. My perspectives on why I do some of the things I do is changing. This is more of what I wonder…
I am not rude. Or at least, I try not to be. Everything is culturally defined. And, I think this is one reason why we, as an American culture, to me, seem trashy. It’s not that we don’t care. I am a part of this “we,” and I do care. To me, it’s that we don’t wonder.
I wonder why this sort of packaging is being used. Even with Frito-Lay, which is producing biodegradable packaging! In 2010, they introduced the world’s first compostable chip bag with SunChips. This bag was very noisy to consumers, and was later pulled from shelves. An alternative bag was developed, which equals noise levels of other chip bags, but it is used to package only Original flavor SunChips.
And currently, this is all the information I am able to find. From viewing today’s stores’ snack shelves, I think all of those extra-crinkly chip bags are biodegradable, but I’m still unsure…
The other packaging pictured is from Wonka chocolate and Wheat Thins. There are other chocolate bars packaged entirely in paper and foil, which are recyclable. And for snack crackers, there are also others packaged entirely in paper. These are just a few common snack items which have less trashy alternatives.
I have all this packaging in my trash for this week because I love my mom. I went home last weekend, and when preparing to leave, she always goes through her kitchen and donates to me her unwanted groceries. I’m a poor college kid, and I couldn’t tell her no! That’s just rude, and I try not to be!
Some social situations are just trashy. And, this was one I couldn’t didn’t fight for…
And, this is Trashy.
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/food/2010-10-05-sunchips05_ST_N.htm
http://www.fritolay.com/our-planet/steps-to-a-healthier-planet.html
Be excited. This post contains two trashy webcam pictures.
For this week, this is the amount of trash I have created. I feel sad about it…because…this was completely my intention. I refuse to not wear contacts, and this plastic seal was from my purchase of saline solution. So anti-climactic, I know…
But, here we are! Tomorrow, we will be at the end my 30 day minimum for this trashy project of mine. It was phenomenal, but is surely not the end. For your joy (and mine even more) I will continue to post weekly for some unknown duration. This has been such a journey, such an adventure.
On this day of near nostalgia, let me provide you with an understanding. Of how, through all the days we live in a capitalistic and consumeristic society, we are pressured into consuming. We consume and this becomes trash. I’m not proclaiming that consumption is trashy. It’s just that the way in which our products are available to us is trashy. We consume and that becomes trashy.
I chose this idea as my project because I wanted to do something. I wanted to do something which I could do. I wanted to show people that it is possible to not be trashy. It is possible to not feel like trash. And for me, I do feel less trashy. I am, have been, and will continue to be, less trashy. The way we, as a society, package products needs to change. The way we position, all alone, trash bins, with no other form of disposal nearby, needs to change. We need to change. We need to change?
This is the amount of trash I have produced during my 30 days. What you are not seeing is the amount produced from products I purchased from before my 30 days. You are not seeing the amount I have recycled. You are not seeing the amount I have composted. And thank goodness, you are not seeing the amount of toilet paper I have used…
This all took planning. As I write this today from out-of-town, I had to plan my traveling. I had to plan to not stop for food or drink packaged in single-use materials. I had to plan to take my own container for composting. I had to plan for recycling. I had to plan for not being rude. Not everyone can do everything all the time. This is why I share with you my trash. This is less, and this is doable.
And this is still Trashy.
GRAWRRR!!! I am reckless!!! I am so reckless! Do you see this nonsense?
Around 3p.m. on Friday, during my last shift at work for the week, my Tyrannosaurus strength broke the lid of a vial. You probably can’t see the massive crack in it, but trust me, it’s there… And then, that lovely, sinister ring of plastic…
It’s forcing me to confess to you an obsession I have. I like to think of it more as a love, but maybe I’m more in love. I’m in love with peanut butter. I love peanut butter! It goes with everything, and it doesn’t even have to.
I love PEANUT BUTTER.
The last time I went shopping at a large superstore, I purchased a glass jar of organic peanut butter. I thought this wasn’t trashy, but apparently it was. This ring of plastic was sneakily hiding itself, hugged between the lid and jar’s opening.
But now, I will refill this glass jar with freshly-made peanut butter. There are multiple stores in the Manhattan, KS area which offer this service. But there’s another love I have. People’s Grocery Cooperative. This member-owned grocery store operates through a democratic model, supplying only organic and locally made products. If you have not visited, I highly recommend. To me, this is a unique store which supplies many unique products.
I bring my own cloth shopping bags. This allows me to avoid plastic ones when checking out, along with the ones at the produce and other sections. I bring my own containers, which I reuse. After having them weighed at the register, I fill them with the many dry goods supplied in bulk. I purchase local eggs and milk which are packaged in returnable containers. I even scout for the cuts of meat packaged only in paper. There are also many other products offered in recyclable packaging. People’s is very helpful, and has been to me, very useful.
It’s so weird, for me, to think about eating organic. To be eating natural, to be eating local. I was not raised with these ideas. These ideas are recent in our American, western society. We associate these ideas, these eating behaviors, with an ideal – of being at a higher level of income. In the past, these eating behaviors would have been considered for the less wealthy. That if you could not afford packaged, processed foods, you were poor. Ecofeminist, activist, and author Vandana Shiva acknowledges this in her book Staying Alive. “People are perceived as poor if they eat millets (grown by women) rather than commercially produced and distributed processed foods sold by global agri-business.” These words are all about “perceived poverty.” That if somebody lives in a way different from your cultural norm, it means that they’re not living in a way which is comfortable and happy to them. No… Cultural ideals are not universal.
This is Trashy.
This is Day One. This is day one of breaking it down, of how I am drastically reducing the amount of waste I produce in my everyday life.
Let’s begin, again, with work. I work for a research program associated with the Biology department. This is where my trash for the past two weeks has come from. But, not any more. I have the best supervisors and they have given me the option to use a heavier pair of gloves which can be used multiple times. And yes, I say best, not just for brownie points (mmm, brownies), but because I believe it.
The best supervisors like to celebrate their workers’ birthdays, holidays, and other days with one of my favorite things. Food. Let’s describe the typical office celebration: There are people. There are chairs. There is sitting. There is standing. There is conversation. There is beverage. There is food. (Like brownies!) To avoid the disposable materials this food and beverage is usually served on, I have placed my own reusable bottle, bowl, plate, and silverware at the office. This way, unexpected or not, I will not make use of the disposables. I do want to note that the paper-based disposables can be composted, but I don’t expect most work places compost… When bringing my lunch, I pack everything in a reusable, washable, food-storage container. And, when eating somewhere else, I am careful of what I order, and never accept disposable, plastic straws.
Oh, no! My hands are messy from being gluttonous. Better go wash them. Step, step, step…wash, wash, wash…wait. No hand dryer – only paper towels. Again, compostable, but do I really want to stuff wet paper in my bag until I get home to my own compost bin? Nope. This is why I have brought my own hand towel from home to work. Or, you can try this next part with me…
You are standing near the sink from just washing your hands. Put both your arms down, with your hands at your sides, some distance away from the rest of your body. Now alternate your hands from in front of your body, to behind your body, as fast as you can. This should be, to some lesser effect, close to that of a hand dryer. I call it the “Hand Dance.” You’re welcome.
This dance can also be fun at home! Yep, you got it, I’m again transitioning to the potty-room. But this time, let’s discuss it in the aspect of getting ready for each of my adventurous days. I usually start them by waking. I then shower. Shampoo, conditioner, face wash, body wash – they all come in plastic bottles. I have discovered most of them to be recyclable. But, I do know there are more organic cleansers and soaps which contain paper-based packaging or no packaging. I am again putting the link to Beth Terry’s “Plastic-Free Living Guide” below. This topic begins at number 41 on her list, and is a must-read.
Most hygienic products are packaged in recyclable bottles. Unfortunately, many also have a non-recyclable plastic seal around their opening, or the package is surrounded with stretches of non-recyclable plastic. I have many of these products to use up before trying other alternatives, so I don’t know if I’ll ever get a convenient chance to tell you about any changes I’ll be making. I definitely will be attempting many of the suggestions from the “Plastic-Free Living Guide” when the times come. For now, I will mention one area I am not changing. Contact lenses. I am near-sighted, and as much as I do love my glasses, I don’t like wearing them every day, especially when exercising. Am I a quitter already? I like to think not; contact lenses are a phenomenal invention, and one of those which requires sterility to produce and use.
I’m picking my battles. You’ll see the outcomes. Eyesight is a loss.
This is Trashy.
I work.
I work for a research program extended from the Biology department. Rather than boring you with any details, I’ll just give you the short version. I do science.
Well, I kind of do science. I’m more like another pair of hands to help with all of the plant and water samples we collect and sort, along with cleaning various laboratory materials. The latter is where I have failed this week. This is Trashy.
This is the amount of trash I have created this week that wasn’t from products from before I started this project. IknowIknowIknow, but I wanted to show you what I am doing, not what I did do… Anyway, what you are seeing are three pairs of single-use laboratory gloves. I wear them to protect my hands from strong acids while cleaning various laboratory vials and what-nots. Even though I didn’t purchase them, I had direct contact in using them, and am therefore including them as part of my trash. To me, they seem unavoidable, as this is a part of my job.
And this brings us to my first point: businesses. I am sure there are many regulatory rules and possibly laws which I am uneducated about involving certain procedures of cleanliness, or in my case, strict sterility. My thoughts may be hinting towards major food companies and manufacturers of materials which require precision to operate. These would include your staple restaurants and fields of science, both of which I speak from. My past work experience includes a solid five years with the restaurant industry. During that time, I have tossed so many “trash” bags into dumpsters, all mostly containing food waste, packaging, and single-use restroom materials.
And here we go, to point number two: potties. Yes, “potties,” because I feel a little childish when mentioning something too close to bathroom humor. When conducting my business, I opt to flush all waste, including the single-use toilet paper. Now, it is compostable, but I’m sorry. With mild justification, I am not always able to conveniently compost with the use of public restrooms. This is another step I have not taken, and most likely will not ever take. My apologies to the humorous, bathroom-savvy idealists.
I have, I think, successfully managed my first week, creating a minimal amount of trash. And still, this is Trashy.
Thanks for visiting and welcome to my ‘No more plastic bags!’ Blog. Here I want to talk about why need to save our Manhattan, Kansas community, but also how this can influence and help our country as well.
How many times do we go into stores and walk out with plastic bags? How many times do we mean to bring our own bags into the store and just forget? There are so many different instances where we use plastic bags that we don’t even need. I will talk about the usage of plastic bags and why they aren’t needed in our communities and how we don’t even realize how many we waste. We need to understand that each reusable bag we use can eliminate hundreds and maybe thousands of plastic bags! It is up to us!
To get started, here are some (not so) fun facts about plastic bags!
We use approximately 1 million bags every single minute in the U.S.
The U.S. consumes 30 billion plastic grocery bags per year.
Only 1% on plastic bags are recycled annually in the U.S.
Plastic bags are made from petroleum and therefore contribute a great deal to diminishing natural resources.
Plastic bags are non-biodegradable, taking up to 1000 years to decompose on land.
Bags end up in our ocean and cause harm to marine life!! L The bags can be mistaken for jellyfish and eaten, killing an estimated 100,000 marine mammals each year.
Every square mile of ocean has about 46,000 pieces of plastic floating in it, and this plastic litter is the second-most common type behind cigarette butts.
As I thought to myself about these facts, I knew I wanted to relate my topic towards animals. Because we live in Manhattan, near no oceans, people probably don’t consider how they are helping or hurting marine life. I want to make sure people know that it’s just not the local community we should be concerned with. I care about animals a lot, whether if it’s in the community or not. So I think that by conserving and not using plastic bags here locally, I will know I am making a little bit of a difference even in the oceans!
As a college student’s we may not understand how much we contribute to each and every one of those plastic bags we use per minute. In all reality this problem may never stop, but people like me can help decrease this problem in our community.
