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 trash as a result of my purchases. My husband is not as stringent on plastic as I am, so he buys a weekly tub of yogurt and occasionally some bacon. Also, I’m not with my kids all day, so I don’t have control over what they use while at school or daycare. But regardless, my husband and kids don’t generate 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 a few cans of tuna and clams a month, a few glass jars of 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 March!

I’m happy enough with this month’s trash audit. There’s a lot of the same things you see in previous months, such as butcher paper, cream cheese wrappers, and caps from various glass bottles. I’m still not to a point where I’m ready for my family to go vegetarian and the Whole Foods near me still isn’t allowing me to bring my own containers again.

Next month, or the next time I need specific spices, I will go back to seeing if I can find them in various bulk options. I know my local Sprouts offers spices in bulk but I haven’t been there since the pandemic. So, that should take care of the spice jar seal and cornstarch bag.

I will also start searching for some local refillery options to get things like olive oil, vinegar, liquid soaps, and etc. I can get liquid soaps online through the Refill Shoppe where they send me refills in reusable pouches that I mail back in a pre-paid envelope. But it would be nice to find a place I can drive to and fill my own containers with. And I can’t get food related liquids at the Refill Shoppe. I talk more about online refills in this post:

Finally, the bulk of the plastic this month was, once again, online orders. I go through waves where I need to order things online. Like I ordered organic cotton sheets and a dress, both from stores that don’t have a physical store. It kills me that when you order clothes online they are ALWAYS individually wrapped in plastic. But unless I stop buying clothes, I don’t have a good solution for this yet. Even when I buy used clothing online, oftentimes it still is shipped in a plastic bag.

But for next month, I’ll limit my online orders and see if I can find a local refill shop.

For related and random posts, check out:

• All My Trash for 2021
• 5 Money-Saving Plastic-Free Swaps