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Thread: Zero (or minimal) waste

  1. #11
    Moderator Float On's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Chicken lady View Post
    Total actual garbage generated today:
    sticker from my grapefruit
    sharp (collected to drop at vet) and syringe (I have a goat on Abx for a tooth abscess)
    plastic candy wrapper
    piece of plastic tree label found in yard
    napkin and plastic cup (left at restaurant where purchased)

    dh is thinking about it.
    How much did you move to the "I might make use of this later" pile?
    Float On: My "Happy Place" is on my little kayak in the coves of Table Rock Lake.

  2. #12
    Moderator Float On's Avatar
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    I'm still struggling with food waste. I had to put 3 avocados and a whole bag of grapes (I didn't even know my husband bought grapes and he tossed them in the back of the fridge) in the compost. I found a container of cottage cheese we never opened and was iffy and I had to put down the garbage disposal. I miss my chickens!
    Float On: My "Happy Place" is on my little kayak in the coves of Table Rock Lake.

  3. #13
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    I put the very rare bones in the woods and the coyotes enjoy them. My issue is the bloody paper/plastic the meat was wrapped in.

    sounds like you still have almost a can a week? I can recycle any paper without food, wax or plastic, so that helps me.

    today I have a plastic bag from nuts (but I have a plan to buy nuts in bulk when I need more)
    sticker, sharp, and syringe,
    and two type 5 flat plastic lids so far.

    there will be more stickers off the vegetables when I make dinner. Also I'm going to make pretzel rolls, so that will result in a sheet of greasy parchment paper, but since it's cold out, I'll use it to start the fire this evening.

  4. #14
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    Oops, Float on, I missed the second page.

    Yesterday I brought home three little (ketchup cup sized) plastic containers with lids from the restaurant. I took the lids specifically because with lids the containers are used in my classroom and eventually crack and need replacing - costs me about $3 a year from my supply budget. They're washed and ready to go in tomorrow.

    i felt bad about not bringing home the water cup for reuse and napkin for composting, but dh gets annoyed when I do that and he was already frustrated with my inflexible kitchen desires. The cups slid into my pocket.

    Today:
    grapefruit peel, coffee grounds, and egg shell to compost bowl
    plastics, metal, and paper to recycling bin
    saved one piece of string
    and everything else in my life today was eaten, flushed, or already in use and reusable. (Dishes, coffee maker, clothes, feed buckets....)

  5. #15
    Senior Member Rogar's Avatar
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    Coincidentally one of the public radio programs today had a woman who claimed to have only a mason jar of trash from the last four years. She has a web site promoting zero trash. Might be worth checking out. I intend to study it a little.

    http://www.trashisfortossers.com/

  6. #16
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    I've seen her before. She's interesting, but some of her solutions are very location dependent and often pricey and choice limited. The conditioner jar makes me cringe, but maybe she doesn't have a tile shower.....

    I have found a recycling drop! I will be taking the can up on Thursday night, and then hopefully cancelling the trash on Friday. I need to find out if they will refund the $25 for March.

    this should be pretty simple through the end of May and then again starting some time in August (whenever classroom set up starts) but I'm not sure about June and July. We'll see. If I have to sign up for trash service every July I can. $25 a year is a lot less than $300!

  7. #17
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    Well, I didn't get home in time to cancel the trash last night, but they did empty the can, so I am planning to cancel on Monday. I was almost half a can of trash this week because I didn't take the trash up last week, and, knowing I was planning to cancel services, I emptied the wastebasket in the basement that hadn't been emptied in over a year, the one in the laundry room and the three in the barn - which all hadn't been emptied in months, and every other can in the house. I also threw away a broken bucket, and most of dh electric work trash. (Packages, wire insulation, small pieces of drywall)

    yesterday I fed the chickens two tubs of very expired macaroni salad they gave me at the food bank. I was able to wash the tubs and put them in the recycling at school (also recycled a battery and an ink cartridge in the school bins). But I have put the two pieces of film that sealed the tubs into the ziplock bag I saved out of my trash - it used to have a pound of walnuts in it and is the wrong type for recycling.

    the ziplock bag is my new "kitchen trash can" when it is full I will take it to school and throw it away.

  8. #18
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    So today would have been my trash day. My ziploc bag was not quite full, but as I now have a second one from dh deli meat, I went ahead and zipped it shut and dropped it in the big garbage can on my way into the building this morning.

    i didn't drop off the recycling, because I only have one paper grocery bag full and I decided I would wait until I have at least two before making the one city block detour to drop it off.

  9. #19
    Senior Member iris lilies's Avatar
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    This is related to waste:

    I often take, in the store, products that are slightly damaged because I dont want them thrown out, and I think the average shopper is too prissy to take them. For instance, at the small international food store last week I took the three cans of lite coconut milk that were slightly dented.

    I take products that are slightly crished, or that have a label falling off, or etc.

    of course I wont take food products that are damaged in such as way as to risk spoilage.

  10. #20
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    We went the the farmer's share breakfast this morning. I love the event, but we had to eat off of styrofoam trays. That made me sad. About as much trash in one meal as all week. (I think if I had folded up the trays I could have gotten both of them into a quart bag)

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