Reduce Your Waste blog#8

In my environmental science class I was asked to keep track of my waste for two days and to measure it. I was also asked to find other strategies to reduce my waste and try and implement those strategies for two days and this is what I found: I found out that in a two day period I create 65 pieces of trash in my bedroom trash can. I consumed 11 pieces of paper, 2 pieces of trash that can’t be recycled, 17 pieces of trash that can be recycled, 15 pieces of food waste and 20 pieces of plastics and packages. Then I found strategies that can be used to reduce waste. What were in most of my trash were plastics and items that I can recycle, but I don’t. Reduction Waste strategies: - According to the Zero Waste Home Website we need to, Use our “5Rs right: Refuse what you do not need, Reduce what you do need, Reuse what you consume, Recycle what you cannot Refuse, Reduce or Reuse, and Rot (Compost) the rest.” - Also according to the Zero Waste Home Website we need to find, “alternatives to disposables (paper towels, garbage liners, wax paper, aluminum sheets, disposable plates, cups, etc....): Swap paper towels for reusable rags, swap sandwich baggies for kitchen towels or stainless containers, drop garbage liners all together (wet waste is mostly compostable anyways).” - Shop less and buy foods that can you reuse like jars/ reduce package waste. - Shop at farmers market and take your own reusable containers/ bags. - Recycle anything that can be recycled. - Prevent food waste by planning meals ahead and only cook in small amounts to reduce leftover food. - Find ways to restore or reuse old clothes and appliances. For example, you can have a garage sale or take your stuff to a thrift store or organizations. You can also take them to a place where they recycle appliances and electronics. Attempting to Reduce my Waste: For two days I have attempted to reduce my waste. It has been hard. I could only try to attempt a few things that I listed above. My biggest challenge is mastering the 5R’s. I tried not buying package goods from the store it has been hard. Mostly everything comes in plastics. I also went shopping to a farmers market bought only small amounts of food. Less than what I bought at a regular grocery store because I am also wasting food. I am not eating it and I throw it away. I am willing to keep on trying to go to farmers market, plan for meals, and buy less stuff including food. Maybe try not to buy many plastics or packaged stuff. I also separated my trash and put the trash I can recycle in the blue trash that I have at home. In the blue trash can I put like more than half of the items I had in the waste basket. In the end I reduced my waste by only having 25 small pieces of trash in my waste basket. I reduced a lot of my waste in two days. The most difficult trash to get rid of was small pieces of trash like small plastics and food waste. I need to keep on working on my food waste because I realized I’m wasting food. I need to also start using reusable items or start taking cloth bags to the store. Works Cited http://zerowastehome.blogspot.com/p/tips.html http://zerowastehome.blogspot.com/2010/01/zero-waste-grocery-shopping.html http://reduce.org/home/index.html Picture from Zerowaste Home website