Zero Waste?

Yesterday's post explained why the word "tightwad" is part of my blog URL, but what about the "zero waste"?

I've always been environmentally conscious, even if I was... somewhat lackadaisical about actually doing anything about it. I may have grown up in Ohio, but I've always been a "hippie". Part of the lackadaisicalness came from frustration at not being able to do anything to make a difference - especially in Ohio! I wanted to keep stuff out of the landfill, but how?

Since moving to California in 2002, I've been able to do more. Here's what I have been doing for a few years now:

1. Composting -- I have a compost bin in my back yard, into which I dump all my (non-meat/dairy) kitchen scraps. I don't garden, so this is simply to keep things out of the landfill. We also put whatever yard waste we have in it (mostly grass clippings from mowing the front lawn -- we live in a desert! Why does the HOA make us have a lawn?!?).  Instead of just simply recycling paper, I shred it and add it to the bin. I also add coffee grounds, teabags, tissues, paper towels, cardboard tubes from toilet paper and paper towels, egg cartons (not the styrofoam ones, of course), q-tips (the ones with paper sticks), and other stuff like that. Like I said, I don't garden, so I don't have to worry about stuff like whether or not the ink or toner on the paper is bad for food plants. If you do garden and want to add other things to your compost, you should definitely research that.
2. Recycling -- We are lucky that our community not only has curbside recycling, but that they accept a very good assortment of stuff. Many different plastics, all colors of glass, cardboard, paper, even window envelopes.
3. Yard waste recycling -- some yard waste can't be added to the compost bin, such as thicker twigs and branches. We don't have many of these, but when we do, they go into the yard waste recycling bin, which gets picked up the same day as our regular recycling bin and the landfill bin.

About a year ago, I ran across the concept of "Zero Waste," mostly through the blog Zero Waste Home. The woman who writes that blog, Bea, is very VERY dedicated to zero waste. Her family of four has less than a handfull of landfill waste per year. She is HARD CORE! Inspirational, yes, but also somewhat intimidating. Intellectually, I know she didn't get that way overnight, but it's tough to see the progress someone who has been doing this for many years has made & not think it's just too much work! 

So, I'm using this change in our life situation as an opportunity, not only to save money, but also to try to reduce our impact on the planet with regard to landfill waste. I know there are some things we're not going to be able to do -- I'm not going to give up my contact lenses, for example, nor am I likely to find a non-landfill-wasteful way to filter my fish tanks (though if you know of one, by all means tell me!) -- but that doesn't mean we can't examine our lifestyle and see what changes we *can* make!

To that end, I've started doing some more things:

1. Reusable bags -- both of our cars have a cache of reusable grocery bags. While we were using some of these before, we are trying to be more conscientious about it. When we forget to bring them into the store, we either go back out and get them, or we don't bag our groceries in the store, but rather just put them into the cart and bag them out at the car. We are also trying to remember to bring them into other stores with us, not just grocery stores. Drug stores, hardware stores, Target, etc.
2. Buying bulk items and produce -- in addition to the reusable grocery bags, I purchased some muslin and some mesh bags for bulk items and produce. Now, instead of using the plastic bags the store provides to put my oatmeal or almonds in, I pull out one of the muslin bags and fill it instead. I write the bin/PLU number on the bag with a washable marker (which I got at Goodwill). I don't write the PLU on the mesh bags, but since they're mesh, the cashier can see what's inside & ring it up. I bought my bags, but if you can sew (I can't), they could easily be made from an old pillowcase or sheet. 
3. Paying attention to packaging -- I'm starting to pay attention to the packaging that things come in. That's one reason why I'm buying more things in bulk now; I want to avoid the packaging. If I can't avoid the packaging, I try to at least find it in recyclable packaging.
4. Reusable items -- When I was in Japan this past winter, I "did as the Japanese do" and carried a small hand towel with me. They do this because most public bathrooms do not stock paper towels. I also began carrying chopsticks around with me - and even bought a "tip saver" thingy which goes on the ends so they don't get broken off in your bag. Since coming back, I've kept using the hand towel, plus I've added a bamboo utensil set (spoon, knife, and fork) and a stainless steel straw. I keep all of these wrapped up in a cloth napkin with my chopsticks in my purse. I also now carry a metal water bottle around with me and refill it as needed. 
5. iRecycle -- this is an iPhone app which tells you where in your area to recycle various materials. For example, my local BevMo store will take wine corks! (real ones, not synthetic) Who knew? It tells me when a material is accepted by my curbside service, or if I need to do something else with it. This app told me that the plastic wrapping around my paper towels and toilet paper packs is recyclable with plastic bags at the grocery store, so I've started keeping them together under the sink. The next time I go to the grocery store, I will take them with me and put them in their recycling barrel.

I really do hope to expand on the "3 R's" -- not just Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, but also Refuse, Renew, and Restore.  Little by little, I hope we can reduce our impact even further by making intelligent and deliberate choices about what we purchase and how it is packaged. 

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