So I’ve decided to take up the gauntlet thrown down by Kmkat and others to reduce the amount of stuff we throw away. We already recycle glass, paper, cardboard, cans and #1 and #2 plastics. We manage to keep our trash down to a couple of small bags each week but there are probably things we could do better if we were willing to try. Cat litter gets added to the trash every week or so but somehow I don’t see Gus learning to poop in the toilet.
It has always aggravated me that our town doesn’t recycle #5 plastic or styrofoam. So for the next month as my challenge I’m going to set aside all the plastics that can’t be recycled and see how much I accumulate. I haven’t found a local recycling center for #5 plastic and the idea of mailing my garbage to an out-of-state processing center doesn’t sound appealing but I’ll make that decision once I see how much we pile up in a month.
And in the meantime, Kmkat has given me an assignment: to find out what’s least worst: throwing tissues in the toilet to enter the sewer system or put them in the trash and have them end up in the landfill.
Homework. She’s such a slavedriver.
You can read the guidelines here if you’d like to join the Zero Waste challenge.
In the meantime I’m switching between Sense and Sensibility on public television and the ending of the Super Bowl. 49 seconds left and it’s too close to call. Very exciting. Commercials are annoying this year.
Oops. Steelers just scored with 35 seconds left. Looks like they take the prize.
Calico beans and corn bread for Sunday supper. I made cranberry-walnut biscotti this afternoon. Not enough flavor, but great texture. And banana crunch coffee cake for Jack’s breakfast for the week. Haven’t tried this yet.
And so another week starts.
Heh, slavedriver. That’s me! Local recycling here is pretty much exactly like yours, and I have decided to do exactly what you did with the #5 plastics and also, the Styrofoam meat trays. I’ll see how much I have in a month and decide.
Funny that you both mentioned Kleenex! I had someone bring up the Kleenex issue to me, as well. I guess they don’t really break down in the sewage system like you would think, and they all have to be dredged up and disposed of some other way.
I will start putting mine in the worm box, I guess. Or using toilet paper instead. Toilet paper should be breaking down in there, right?!
Do you have a shredder? Do you get a newspaper? I’ve learned from the garden group here that if you shred newspaper and spread it around your plants, wet it down and top it with mulch for appearance that it will greatly reduced the weeds. It’s biodegradeable and the farmers around here will use it for bedding in the barns. Bet you could throw tissues into the batch and have it work. Sounds a bit yucky though.
We have the same problem with #5 plastic and styrofoam – try to use it for other things but there’s only so many ideas I can come up with.