Get Obsessive About Garbage
Spy Hill Landfill in Calgary, Canada. Photo by D'Arcy Norman.
Obsess over your garbage. Minimize the trash that leaves your house, because if you don’t, one day we’ll live in a world filled with post-consumer trash.
Anything you throw away as garbage will eventually end up in a landfill. If that trash is made of plastic or metal, it won’t ever biodegrade. It will just sit there.
Good land is scarce; it shouldn’t be used to store garbage. We’re starting to grasp this in America. But instead of reducing the amount of waste we produce, we’re exporting it overseas to countries like Ghana. This means that people from poorer nations are suffering from illnesses caused by the toxic chemicals in our garbage. We can’t keep pushing our waste problems onto someone else forever.
Recycling is gaining popularity, but it’s still not a permanent solution. While recycling is better than garbage, it’s truly only the lesser of two evils. Recycling is an energy-intense process, and materials can’t be recycled indefinitely, either.
The only true, sustainable way to handle your waste is to avoid producing it in the first place. So I hope you’ll make an effort to cut your waste as close to zero as possible.
Here are 5 tactics for cutting down on garbage:
Shop less. Now you’ll have less things to throw away. Consumer items are often wrapped in cardboard or plastic, and the product itself often can’t be recycled once it becomes obsolete. By not shopping, you’ll reduce waste immediately, while also saving money and time.
Reuse as much as possible. Don’t throw away something you can reuse for another purpose. For example, you can keep old jars to reuse for home-canning, or you can bring old grocery bags when you go shopping. Try to learn the art of makeshift and create your own solutions.
Shop second-hand. When you need to shop for non-perishable goods, buy second-hand online, in-person, or through a thrift store (2). You can get laptops, cameras, clothing, and furniture used instead of new. It avoids packaging while encouraging reuse.
Buy from local farmers markets. They use far less packaging. Vendors will generally let you bring your own reusable bags, and some vendors even let you reuse egg cartons and milk bottles. You can even buy straight from the farm.
Compost your food scraps. You can reduce the amount of food that goes to landfills while producing rich soil amendment. Composting helps recycle nutrients back into soil.
When you minimize your garbage, you will actually save money. By shopping at a farmers market, you’ll save money compared to eating out. When you buy second-hand, it’s cheaper than buying new. Finally, by not shopping altogether, you’ll save 100% of your money. Instead of using extra money for shopping, you can take time off work, or quit your day job altogether!
Financial benefits aside, I think minimizing our own garbage is a matter of personal responsibility. If we don’t take care of our own garbage, who will?
Do you think it’s possible to live a garbage-free life?
1 Photo released under Creative Commons CC-BY 2.0 by D’Arcy Norman.
2 Use eBay, craigslist, and the Salvation Army to buy second-hand.
Unfortunately, I don’t think it is possible to live a garbage free life as much as I would like to. The biggest garbage bag filler for me is plastic and that’s despite being able to recycle a good percentage of it. I do use cloth bags when I go shopping and compost my scraps and try to do as much as I can to care for creation, but there’s some things I don’t want to do; like canning and making my own bread, I would much rather use my time hiking, reading, visiting the sick and lonely, etc. I think I’m going a little off track here, but what I’m trying to say is, that we have to have balance in our lives and try not to feel guilty for what we are not doing and could.
You make some good points and I do agree with you wholeheartedly.
Hi Jane,
You’re off to a great start. Keep composting, recycling, and reusing shopping bags. And when you find the time, take it to the next level.
If you need encouragement, check out No Impact Man. It’s a movie about an average family that commits to an entire year without impacting the environment. No lights, no garbage, no cars; it’s a great story.
If my posts sound harsh and demanding, forgive me. I try to encourage people to do more than just turning off the lights and recycling, because I know we could all do better. Not everyone can carry out the extreme, but if these posts spur even a few people to try, I think it’s worth it.
What types of garbage are you producing the most? Maybe we can figure out a garbage-free alternative that fits your busy lifestyle.
If you’re looking to reduce packaging, but aren’t willing to do the extra work of making things at home, can I suggest finding someone local who would do it for you- and maybe you can even ‘pay’ for your food by bargaining/swapping services? As someone who makes her family’s bread, cereal, crackers, etc. and cans/freezes their produce, I can understand why not everyone would be interested in doing that. But it also seems like everyone I meet knows someone else who does this, too- even if they think we’re crazy. If you belong to a church or other community group, it’s likely that you know someone who does this sort of thing, and you might strike a deal with them. Due to regulations, they probably can’t advertise their services, but if you ask, what’s the worst that can happen? They might say no. Best case scenario? You get a friendship that’s mutually beneficial AND you reduce packaging. I know it’s the type of deal I’d go for!
Great suggestion Elise; stimulate the local economy and reduce pollution at the same time!
I know at our church, there is one lady who loved baking cakes. She did it as a hobby, and would have gladly sold them to friends, but she couldn’t compete with the low prices at Costco.
Hi Aaron,
I love your blog and no you never come across as harsh and demanding, I think it’s the way I worded my comment that may have caused a little misunderstanding there. I’m encouraged by your well thought out posts, I like a challenge!!
As mentioned the biggest producer of garbage for me is the plastic wrapping that alot of our food comes in.
Will check out No Impact Man, thanks for the link.
Hi Jane,
That’s awesome. Keep up the Greenimalist life!
For a long time, plastics were often made of polymers containing BPA (Bisphenol A). Recently, we’ve discovered that this chemical leeches into food, and it’s been suspected to disrupt the normal development of fetuses. More packaging is not as safe or as healthy as most of us believe.
I ended up not shopping at supermarkets anymore. I try to shop exclusively at farmers markets and CSAs. LocalHarvest can help find farmers markets near you. When you must visit a supermarket, buy in bulk.
Most packaged food is heavily processed. Look at the ingredients label for the food you buy; if it’s got chemicals you can’t pronounce, do you really want to be eating it?
Even if the food doesn’t have extra additives, it’s still better to eat fresh when you can. Fresh food contains more vitamins than processed food, since heating can destroy nutrients. When given the choice, always choose fresh fruit and veggies over canned ones.
Farmers markets don’t sell much processed food, which is loaded with plastics, paper, and chemicals. They sell mostly veggies and fruits, so it’ll be more nutritious for your family as well!
Some containers are harder to avoid. Milk and jam, for instance, always comes in glass or plastic. I sympathize with you here; I always ended up just recycling the containers. But if you can at least cut back on fruit and veggie packaging, you’ll reduce garbage by at least 50%.
Good post. I’ve been looking into my garbage output recently. In fact I have a post coming up on my blog about my green habits. My problem is with my pets and their waste. The clumping clay cat litter is strip mined, picking up their poo in bags (both cat and dog) uses plastic bags from the grocery store. Even if I use biodegradable bags they won’t degrade because there is not enough oxygen in the landfill for them. I’m unclear how they are produced, as their production might be greener than plastic. I’ll have to check into it. I also use worms for composting in my basement. All vegetable scraps, coffee grounds, egg shells and shredded paper goes to the worms.
Hi Kat,
Since I came to Taiwan in December, I haven’t had the opportunity to compost at all. It’s a shame, really. I’ve been staying with my in-laws in their 9th-story apartment. They already think I’m weird enough because I’m a minimalist and partial vegetarian. I never could muster up the courage to ask them if I could store rotting garbage in their patio.
I moved out recently to my grandpa’s condo. I finally have permission to set up a compost bin, but I promised him that it won’t smell or leak. It’s a tall order, given that my first compost pile attracted plenty of flies. I want to set up a rotating drum compost bin. I’ll probably make one myself using an old garbage can.
Follow Up: Just got a compost bin! I’m setting it up soon.