How much trash do I produce and what can I do?

This past week, I was asked to keep track of how much trash I produce in a two-day period. After the two days were up, I researched ways that I can reduce how much waste that I create, then implement several techniques and keep track for another two days to see if there was any difference. And there was, but I just wanted to take a quick second to note that this was no ordinary week for me. I was constantly on the go, out of state, or both. Without these extreme circumstances, during a normal week, I would expect to generate more waste than I did this week, quite a bit more actually, so I plan on repeating this experiment when life has normalized so I can make some changes and reduce my footprint!

Waste accumulated in 48 hours:

-          5 gum wrappers - Trash

-          2 cardboard boxes from amazon - Recycled

-          2 plastic grocery bags - Trash

-          3 banana peels - Trash

-          2 orange peels - Trash

-          Avocado skins - Trash

-          Coffee grinds - Trash

-          Tea bag - Trash

-          Potato skins - Trash

-          Paper plate - Recycled

      After the two days were up, I noticed that most of waste was food scraps, which didn't surprise me. This is something that i've noticed for a long time, but I've never done anything about it. Now, I know it doesn't seem like a lot was produced in two days, but after reading some ways to reduce my waste, I realized that most of my waste could have been either recycled, which I always do, or reused! 

What are some ways I can reduce waste?

-          Reusable shopping bags: easy enough, right?

-          Buy in bulk

-          Reusable glass/metal/BPA Free water bottles

-          Buy fresh, loose fruits and vegetables

-          Compost food scraps

-          Don’t buy more than you need!

-          Repair don’t replace!

-          Buy secondhand: Reuse!

-          Sort and Recycle

-          Storage: proper storage = less waste

Waste accumulated in 48 hours after implementing some waste reduction methods:

-          Plastic water bottle: I’m ashamed! I try my hardest not use single-use water bottles!

-          2 plastic grocery bags

** There was no food waste due to a lack of cooking (not normal).

One of the hardest changes for me is the plastic grocery bags. I have reusable bags, but remembering them is a different story, and when I do forget them, which is more often than I care to admit, it’s habitual to say “plastic” when asked if I prefer paper or plastic. This is something I need to continuously work on changing. All of the techniques that I have listed are things that I already do, or I'm going to start from here out! 

The one thing I’m actually excited to take away from this assignment is composting. I’ve always wanted to learn how, and now I’m more motivated than ever. If most of my waste is food, why not return its nutrients back to the ground to fertilize my garden, instead of having it end up in a landfill. It sounds like a win-win scenario to me!

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