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.

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 4 cans of tuna a month, a few glass jars or olives or mustard with metal lids, 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 the month of February!

Overall, I’m happy with the results and I can see a difference compared to February 2020’s trash audit:

There are many things in my February 2020 trash audit that I no longer use, such as milk or salad dressings, or have found a plastic-free replacement for, like yeast in glass jars!

Let’s break down this month’s audit to see what I learned each week.

Week 1

This month I started off attempting to give up cheese, but there was still a little bit of snacking cheese leftover. So, I finished that on Feb 1 and put the plastic wrap in my pile. We also used up the cheese block that I use to make tacos and mac and cheese for my kids, so I added the plastic wrap from that to my pile.

Also, as I mentioned in my 2020 trash post, I hadn’t previously included contact lens packaging in my trash audits because I was planning to recycle them. But I realized that it defeats the purpose if I recycle anything plastic. So, I’ve started adding these to my pile. However, due to COVID, I mainly wear my glasses, so I end up keeping my each pair of contact lenses longer. This extra waste will motivate me to wear my glasses more until I’m ready to get LASIK.

Week 2

During Week 2, I received an organic cotton sweater dress I had purchased online. I realized the one I initially bought was a little too big, so I bought a smaller one and will use the larger one around the house.

I also purchased some Valentine’s Day themed candy for my kids to bring to school. I normally make some sort of crafty Valentine but felt way too lazy this year. 😛

Last year, I spent a few hours making tissue paper flowers with a custom Frozen-themed card. I thought it would be a fun activity with my daughter. And it was! For the first two flowers. After that she wanted to go play and I spent the next few hours finishing the 15 or so other flowers.

While I’m not a fan of schools celebrating these commercial holidays and I hate the waste associated with it, I have to pick my battles. I didn’t want to spend extra time crafting something. I didn’t want my kids to feel left out and I didn’t want to ask the school to change their policy to match those of other schools in the area. Pick your battles. So, I purchased some paper cards that could be recycled and bought a small bag of foil wrapped chocolates that I could attach to each card. We do the best we can.

Week 3

I didn’t generate much trash in Week 3. Had I checked the box where I keep my weekly trash, I probably would have skipped the gummy bears, but my kids brought home LOTS of candy from Valentine’s day and it looked too good to say no.

This does remind me that I probably eat more sugar than I’d like. Before COVID, our office catered lunch all the time and there were always HUGE cookies or other desserts left. When it’s right in front of you, it’s so hard to say no! So, next month I’ll probably stick to the fair-trade organic chocolate bars that I buy and avoid the leftover candy the kids brought home.

I also gave up on giving up cheese this month. haha. No surprise to me. I’m constantly refining my diet and in giving things up for a while I find other solutions. For example, cheese is an easy snack, instead, I replaced it with some snap peas, which I love. Even now that I added cheese back in my diet, I go for the snap peas or a spoonful of peanut butter first when looking for a snack.

Sometimes, it’s not about eliminating and depriving yourself of something forever–it’s temporarily clearing the slate to find some better solutions.

Week 4

Week 4, I received a necklace I ordered online. I’ve been slowly refining my wardrobe and replacing pieces with ones that I feel more closely fit my style. So, I ordered a gold-plated shell necklace on Etsy and of course, it comes in a bubble mailer and there’s foam and plastic in the box. It’s really tough to win them all. But again, we do what we can and this time I chose a small jewelry maker instead of searching for something in person at a big box store.

I also finished my first tube of David’s toothpaste, which comes in a metal tube.

Previously, I had made my own toothpaste, but I didn’t love the consistency. It works great for some people, but I wanted something closer to regular toothpaste. So, David’s was a great option and I can recycle the metal tube.

Overall, for next month, I’m going to cut back on candy (luckily, I won’t have a made-up holiday where I’ll feel the need to send some candy to school) and try to find items in person instead of online.

What do you think? Can you try a trash audit to see what you’ll learn? If not for a month, how about for a week or even a day?

For related and random posts, check out:

• A Day in My Plastic-Free Life: Part 1
• How to Get Your Spouse to Adopt a Plastic-Free Lifestyle