Zero Waste Challenge: Week 8

Week 8

This week we made an internal change that we’ve been extremely pleased with. We switched out our garbage and recycling containers.

In the photo above, you can see our new organization. Previously we had used the large white container for trash, including using 13-gallon plastic bags.

We tended to empty that about once every two weeks. But the size seemed to allow for us to toss things we could have disposed of in compost or recycling. This smaller size, which is now in a compostable 3-gallon bag, forces us to really consider what gets tossed.

It is all plastic that can’t be recycled. Facial tissues, the few paper towels we use (we use cloth rags for most clean-up and cleaning), are the previous culprits in trash that we work hard to compost now.

Since we really only use diluted vinegar and water as our cleaning agent for most surfaces, or just water, we are able to compost paper towels when we spray with that.

As you’ll see in our trash photo this week, we had two of these small compostable bags, and dog waste (also in compostable bags).

One thing this Zero Waste Challenge has done up to this point is completely change the way we consider how we package our trash. Reducing the use of plastic bags is a big win.

Here are our totals for the week, rounded up to the nearest 25%.

Trash: 25%

Organics: 50%

Recycling 1: 25%

Recycling 2: 50%