All My Trash for September
I’ve been saving my trash in a “plastic audit” since October of last year. I live a generally plastic-free lifestyle but I’m not 100% plastic-free…yet. So, to see where the last 1% of my trash was coming from, I started keeping track of all of it. At the end of each month, I take a look to see where I could improve.
A few reminders of the rules. This is just my trash not my whole family’s (although they don’t generate too much more than this). My husband is not as stringent on plastic as I am so he buys a weekly tub of yogurt and occasionally some bacon. But again, my husband and kids don’t generate too much more trash than me.
Finally, the city I live in provides compost and recycling along with trash pick-up. Now, given the state of recycling, I only recycle metal, glass, and paper. This generally includes an occasional food can, glass jars with metal lids, and junk mail.
So, now that we’ve covered the ground rules, let’s dive in! Here’s all my trash for the month of September!
Overall, I’m stoked that this is my smallest monthly trash pile yet! I have a goal of eventually becoming one of those awesome people who can fit a whole year’s worth of trash in a mason jar and I feel like I’m so close! Let’s break it down week by week to see what I learned this month.
Week 1 & 2
I combined Week 1 & 2 since I usually take my weekly photos on Saturday and last month ended on a Monday.
One of the pictures on my wall started tilting, so I had to replace a Command Strip. I love these things. They’re not plastic-free by any means, but it saves my wall from having a hole in it and they’re so easy to use.
Other than that, I just have produce stickers and bags from cheese. Not going to lie, I’ve been indulging in a little more cheese this week. The local grocery store where I buy cheese has the best fresh Mozzarella and I couldn’t resist.
Honestly, cheese is the major thing holding me back from becoming Vegan. I could give up meat but cheese is my weakness. But I understand the carbon footprint of cheese so for the rest of the month, I’m trying to limit the amount I use in different dishes.
Week 3
Week 3 had more of the same. Normally, during pre-COVID times, I would take my beeswax wraps to the deli counter and order cheese there. I’d have them wrap the cheese in the beeswax wraps and then they would put the printed label on the wrap.
Now that I can’t do that anymore, I buy a large amount of cheese that will last me a while–but not too much that it will spoil before I finish it.
Also, in my long-term project to replace all my synthetic fiber clothes with natural fibers, I’ve been searching for a cotton bra and finally found one that I liked! But of course, it was mailed in plastic. So hard to win them all!
Week 4
Week 4 was more of the same. I miss the days when I could bring my own container to the deli and had them fill it up. But until then, I’ll order the largest amount I can eat before it spoils.
Overall, I’m pretty stoked at how my trash pile has shrunk despite the pandemic! Next month, if the trash pile remains this small, I’ll consider showing my recycling as well.
What do you think? Are you interested in doing a trash audit? Let me know what you learn?
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