Garbage Can Challenge – December Update
My heart is full and my garbage can empty…well, not quite, but I have fun news to report! This past month, we met our challenge goal of filling only half of our garbage can for the entire month! Woohoo, celebrate!
I hope you too are finding ways to feel empowered and satisfied by your own trash reduction efforts. Feel free to fill me in on any progress, large or small, in the comment section below.
This month, I have begun to implement some new sustainable methods in our home. For one, I’ve committed to making hummus from scratch, starting with dry beans, and it’s been coming out totally amazing. I’m about to make my own toothpaste for the first time, we’ve been buying bread from the farmer’s market each week, and I have been consistently bringing my big glass storage jars with me when I shop so I can fill them with bulk items.
This morning I was at our local food co-op, The Hungry Hollow Co-op, which some of you may know, and the friendly cashier let me snap his picture with my jars at checkout.
All you need to do when bringing your own containers is take them to the register before you fill them up, and the cashier will weigh your jars (Tip: you don’t have to wait until your jars are completely empty to fill them up. They can just as easily be weighed with some food still in them). Then proceed to fill them up as usual. Very satisfying indeed. I had another experience this month where I brought a glass container to Fairway to try to buy fish without the plastic bag the butcher usually puts it in. It took a little longer, as it was a new experience for the butcher and there was some trial and error in figuring out how to tare out the container, but all in all it worked!
The experience of going into larger stores vs local co-ops is obviously different. I love to support my co-op and I do also purchase some items elsewhere. In those bigger stores, I’m learning it’s okay to ask for these more sustainable modifications, even though it might feel a little uncomfortable to do so. I’ve noticed that if I go in with a super positive, friendly attitude, the accommodations I request might get a funny look or two, but they are happily met.
A note on stickers….they are everywhere. In both of my pictures this month there are little stickers on each piece of produce. So annoying, right? Well, it drives me crazy! My only suggestion here is to buy more produce at farmers markets. I also try to pick through the produce and find some pieces without stickers 🙂
Temptations: This time year, the stores are full of trash producing temptations. Just today, I was so close to buying lovely organic mint chocolate truffle candies. They were on sale, right by the door when I walked in to the store. They were in my cart in two seconds flat. Then, I thought, “Wait…look at the packaging, Ayla!”… Each piece was individually wrapped and then all of them were in a non-recyclable package. Sadly, and a little proudly, I put them back on the shelf. I told myself there are lots of options for goodies that I can make. Speaking of which, Daniel’s birthday is this week and I have been trying to figure out what to make him for a dessert treat. In addition to a cake, I am planning on busting out my ice cream maker that has been sitting in a box since we got it as a wedding present! Did you know you can’t recycle ice cream containers??!!!? 🙁 I’ll let you know how my homemade experiment turns out!
While we did reach our garbage goal this month, we have not relaxed into a groove yet. It’s important to me that we maintain this goal and I would like to see if we can reduce even further. I know the longer we focus energy and efforts on this, the easier it will get and the more sustainable it will become. Thanks again for going on this journey with me!
Until next time!
Ayla