Day 2! - Trash
"Discover how wasting less improves your life."
Today I moved onto the trash phase of the No Impact Project. Yesterday I was told to collect my trash so that I could analyze it a little today, and from today on for the rest of the week I am supposed to cut back as much as physically possible on the amount of trash and waste that I produce.
Steps:
Day 2, Step 1
Empty my special trash bin from yesterday. Separate the items into two columns, stuff that I used for more than ten minutes and stuff that I used for less than ten minutes. How does this make me feel?
More than 10
-plastic straw
-french fry paper
Less than 10
-facial oil tissue (x4)
-receipts (x3)
-plastic sugar and milk container
-hand wipe (unused)
-purikura backing
-piece of paper from bag
-toilet paper
-It makes me sad that almost everything I threw away yesterday was only meant to be used for under 10 minutes! The only reason the two items in "more than 10" ended up there, is because I took my time drinking my coffee and eating my french fries. The second thing that I regret, is that nearly everything on this list could have been avoided. The only thing on there that I haven't (and probably won't replace any time soon unless we install toilets like in Thailand and Cambodia) is the toilet paper, but everything else was simply unnecessary and wasteful. I received the majority of the items unknowingly, and didn't know how to refuse them politely. If everyone in Japan is expected to carry around small hand towels because they don't have paper towels in most public restrooms, why are we given napkins and disposable goods almost everywhere else? Why are so many stores and households switching to disposable chopsticks and paper napkins? The more I think about these things, the more I don't understand how society ever got to be this way.
-It makes me sad that almost everything I threw away yesterday was only meant to be used for under 10 minutes! The only reason the two items in "more than 10" ended up there, is because I took my time drinking my coffee and eating my french fries. The second thing that I regret, is that nearly everything on this list could have been avoided. The only thing on there that I haven't (and probably won't replace any time soon unless we install toilets like in Thailand and Cambodia) is the toilet paper, but everything else was simply unnecessary and wasteful. I received the majority of the items unknowingly, and didn't know how to refuse them politely. If everyone in Japan is expected to carry around small hand towels because they don't have paper towels in most public restrooms, why are we given napkins and disposable goods almost everywhere else? Why are so many stores and households switching to disposable chopsticks and paper napkins? The more I think about these things, the more I don't understand how society ever got to be this way.
Day 2, Step 2
Put together a no-trash travel kit for the week with something for drinking, a handkerchief/old T-shirt rag, Tupperware, utensils, and reusable produce bags. - CHECK-
-I have put together a simple "reusable, sustainable kit." It consists of my personal grocery store eco-bag, reusable chopsticks, a small spoon, a small fork, a square of an old t-shirt rag for general use, a handkerchief, my thermos, a small Tupperware, and old produce bags that I can use again.
-I have put together a simple "reusable, sustainable kit." It consists of my personal grocery store eco-bag, reusable chopsticks, a small spoon, a small fork, a square of an old t-shirt rag for general use, a handkerchief, my thermos, a small Tupperware, and old produce bags that I can use again.
Day 2, Step 3
Stop making trash. Reduce it, reuse it, recycle it. Just don't throw it away. Keep a special bag at home or in the office to keep track of the trash I make during the week. -CHECK-
-I will try to write what kind of trash I create here. Read below for today's. How are you doing?
-I will try to write what kind of trash I create here. Read below for today's. How are you doing?
Day 2, Step 4
Blog about these questions:
What did I throw away today? Why was it hard or easy not to make trash?
-Despite staying at home most of the day, I was able to make a lot more trash than I expected. Here is my trash list for the day:
-toilet paper (for using the toilet, as well as for using as tissues)
-toilet paper roll/tube (recycled into mixed paper bin)
-coffee grounds (no filter, I use a filter-less strainer)
-1 wrapper for vitamin tablet (recycled into mixed plastics)
-wrapper for shiso packaging (recycled into mixed plastics)
-small label from plastic bag (recycled into mixed paper)
-eggshells x2
-moisture reducing packet from a bag of flower
-I don't feel too bad about this list actually. Much of it was able to be recycled. I have eliminated paper towels and tissues (Kleenex) from my apartment, and am able to get by using rags and recycled paper toilet paper instead. The garbage that was produced from the food was all stuff that I had laying around the house and wanted to use up instead of waste. I had to go to the grocery store today, and the hardest thing I found so far about trash is food packaging. Especially in Japan, it is nearly impossible to get food of any kind that does not come already individually wrapped and thoroughly packaged in either paper or plastic. There is a store in my town that offers bulk options for things like pastas, sauces, vegetables and other goods, but other than this one store there is nowhere I can go that does not produce some kind of trash after purchase. For foods that I had no choice, I decided to go with the "bulk" option to at least cut back on the waste. At the vegetable stand, I decided to only buy what I could find not already packaged in plastic, however this limited my options significantly. I brought everything home in the basket on my bike in my own reusable bags.
-I also found it a little difficult to pass by the things at the grocery store that I wanted, but didn't need. For example, chocolate. After his No Impact Project ended, I wonder what kind of items Colin Beavan remained to do without, and what he decided he would make exceptions for?
-I also found it a little difficult to pass by the things at the grocery store that I wanted, but didn't need. For example, chocolate. After his No Impact Project ended, I wonder what kind of items Colin Beavan remained to do without, and what he decided he would make exceptions for?
Day 2, Step 5
Be proud of my efforts and a great start to the week. Write down five things for which I am grateful.
1) I am grateful for my amazingly supportive boyfriend who puts up with all of my new fads, and is being very helpful and understanding about my "rules" regarding the No Impact week.
2) I am grateful to be blessed with the basic human needs - physiological, safety, love/belonging, esteem, and self-actualization.
3) I am grateful to get the chance to do something I love every single day.
4) I am grateful for my loving family and friends.
5) I am grateful for all of the wonderful chances I've been given, and all of the opportunities and experiences I've had.
What kinds of things did you throw away today? What could you have recycled or saved? What could you have replaced with something reusable? Share your comments and ideas below!
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| YES! Magazine - 10 Ways to Change Your Life poster |
(All of the steps are found on the No Impact Experiment Guide PDF. Copyright 2011 No Impact Project)
Read about other people's experiences here.
"42 Ways to Not Make Trash," an article in YES! Magazine written by Colin Beavan, the No Impact Man.
"42 Ways to Not Make Trash," an article in YES! Magazine written by Colin Beavan, the No Impact Man.
Make sure to download (but don't print) the No Impact Week “How to Guide”
More info at http://www.yesmagazine.org/issues/climate-action/annie-leonard-on-life-after-stuff, http://www.yesmagazine.org/planet/no-impact-week-with-yes, and http://www.yesmagazine.org/planet/get-ready-for-no-impact-monday-trash
Live Twitter chat today with Annie Leonard, 5 PM EST
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