I’ve been saving my trash in a “plastic audit” since October of 2019. 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 look to see where I can improve.

This year, I changed the rules up a little. Before, it was just my trash, not necessarily including trash from my kids but I’ve expanded to include anything that I purchase regardless if I use it or not. So, this includes pretzels or cereal for my kids (which I don’t eat). However, this does not include anything gifted to my kids. (I’m trying to keep the peace here. :P) Also, this does not include anything my husband purchases as he’s not plastic-free and this isn’t his project. But even so he doesn’t generate too much more trash than me and I usually purchase all the items for our kids.

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 a can or two of sardines, a glass mayo jar with metal lids, a glass bottle of olive oil, glass wine bottles, cardboard boxes, and junk mail. But even so, I try to reduce the amount of metal, glass, and paper we use.

So, now that we’ve covered the ground rules, let’s dive in! Here’s all my trash for 2022!

Change in Priorities

The biggest change this year is that I’ve started to prioritize ingredients over packaging. A great example is bagels. I used to get a dozen bagels from our local chain and it would come in a paper box that I would use to hold our compost. However, I had no idea what ingredients were in the bagels and whether they used seed oils. So, I switched to One Mighty Mill, a brand I can get at Whole Foods, which uses all organic, whole grain ingredients and their breads and bagels don’t include seed oils.

I did the same with the cheese and occasional deli meat we consume. I used to bring my containers, beeswax wraps, or silicone bag to get cheese or turkey at my local deli but they didn’t offer organic options. Now, I buy the largest bulk packaged organic option available.

While I generate a little more trash, I am 100% okay with this because I know these are better options for my family.

My Online Orders Just Burn Me

The most glaring item on my trash audit is packaging from online orders. I have struggled with this one since the beginning. And don’t get me wrong, I try hard to find what I’m looking for locally but so often, I know exactly what I want and don’t find it in person and have to find it online. Even when I would group orders on Amazon together into a single shipment, sometimes items would arrive separately.

Also, I bought an organic cotton comforter online…which came wrapped in plastic, so that’s the bulkiest part of the pile. In addition, I was still sorting out pieces of my capsule wardrobe but since I’ve settled that I’m hoping there will be less online orders in general.

No Longer a Chip on my Shoulder

If you’re a long-time reader, you know I love chips. Or rather loved. Since going plastic-free, I’d give them up for awhile and then cave and go through a bag in a week. As mentioned before, I’m trying to remove all seed oils from our house and this was one of the few whose siren song I could not avoid.

But something clicked this year and I just don’t have the same craving for chips as I used to! So, I’m hoping this coming year we will only have a few from parties or maybe just an occasional pretzel bag. (My kids love pretzels).

Changes for 2023

To continue to reduce my single-use plastics as much as possible here is my plan for 2023:

• Limit online orders to 1 per month
• No more chips
• Reduce number of bagels eaten in the house
• Switch kids from cereal to oatmeal (oatmeal is available in bulk bins)
• Buy local organic coffee in bulk bins
• Pack vegetarian lunches for my older child (i.e. no more turkey)
• Buy vanilla in glass (or double check the bottle in the paper box is glass)

One more change for 2023 is that I will stop collecting produce stickers. They are a pain to keep around and they’re not the biggest part of my trash. Also, I can generally avoid produce stickers by purchasing items at the farmer’s market which I try to do anyways to help support local famers, so I have a secondary incentive.

Final Thoughts

After keeping my trash and tracking it for over three years, the biggest impact on my daily life is that I am more thoughtful about my purchases and what I eat. I hardly do any takeout, instead, I choose to sit down and eat at a restaurant. Not only that but I bring my own utensils and take-out container…just in case. Otherwise, I cook at home using whole foods instead of heating prepared meals or using pre-cut items.

Over the years, I’ve found that the hiccups along the way where I got plastic I wasn’t expecting helped me build systems to avoid it next time. Tiny improvements over time. That’s what’s important and I hope you’ll find something in my posts what will help make tiny improvements in your life.

What do you think? Are you interested in trying a trash audit? Maybe not for a whole year but how about a month or week?

For related and random posts, check out:

• A Day in My Plastic-Free Life: Part 1
• All My Trash for 2021