Our Entry Into the Foodcycling Pledge
A
wonderful reader of mine suggested I blog about this topic, and after
the Food-Cycling campaign Waste Management facilitated with WSU, I
felt I needed to point a glaring eye towards our waste output. Before
the campaign, we owned a cute kitchen compost jar, and by cute I mean
ceramic and petite, but adorable! I would get annoyed at how little I
could stuff in there and how frequently I had to dump it, so when WM
offered a free Food-Cycling Container, I jumped at the opportunity!
They just handed out over 2000 units to families that signed a pledge
to food-cycle instead of dumping all their food waste in the trash!
Now I have a larger kitchen container, and I keep my cute one for
storing food for my chickens (I keep both on my back deck in warmer,
buggy months)!
Now,
it is estimated that one eighth of all trash is food waste, so
composting and foodcycling are an awesome start to a solution to the
trash problem! But let's back track a bit shall we? How about buying
in bulk so that you are not throwing away multiple containers? This
also happens to be the cheapest way to acquire food! If you buy coffee, why not bring your own mug? How about
keeping a recycle bin in the house for any containers and cardboard
you do collect? I know, that sounds fundamental for some, but now how
about posting the list of acceptable recycle items posted near your
receptacle? I had no idea how much MORE I could recycle until I
posted that little reminder on the inside of the cabinet door where I
keep my recyclables container! Did you know with WM you can recycle empty aerosoles and small kitchen appliances?! That broken toaster, or that empty bottle of hairspray, yep, that too!
Some
other ideas...
In
our house, we have stopped purchasing paper towels. I used to buy the
100% recycled paper, eco-friendly, small sheet size kind in bulk from
Business Costco. I thought I was pretty great! That is, until I
noticed that all of that paper product was still going back in the trash. I
couldn't recycle or compost it due to the chemicals I was putting on
them...but what was a girl to do for kid-licked windows? I know,
first response is, don't put chemicals on them! However, that is a
post for another day! Instead, now I use cloth cleaning towels, which I
launder and reuse! I use a microfiber cloth to run over the surface
of the glass after I have cleaned up the majority of the mess in
order to get that streak-free shine! It has to be microfiber though,
or pure cotton, however the microfiber is easier, and I only have one
of them since I only clean windows once a week, if that! You can also
use old newspaper so that at least you are not using new paper towels
to clean with, which will save you money until you can get some cloth, but those newspapers now
have to go in the trash because they are soaked with chemicals.
Another place we used to use paper towels for was napkins, even
though I had a nice stack of cloth ones, but after seeing just how
much trash we generate, which is thoroughly unnecessary, I have kicked
my lazy bum and picked up those cute napkins again! So you will see our paper towels on our window sill, but you will see that the roll stays full, don't be fooled...they're an unwelcome guest and a reminder to keep on with the cloth!
From Left To Right: Nice Kitchen Towel for Decoration and Picking Hot Things Out of the Oven, Dish Rag for Cleaning Counters Daily, MicroFiber Window Cleaning Cloth, Regular Cleaning Towel for Bathrooms and Such!
For
other cleaning, again I use cloth rags. I have used everything from old
worn out towels, to receiving blankets. Just cut them to size and put
a stack in easy reach! If you don't have access to reusable material,
you can buy a yard of 100% cotton at $10-$12 a yard, and by golly you
better have your 40% off (at least) coupon at handy to score your
bargain! Cut that down into 1'x1' squares and tada! You now have 9
cleaning rags (more than you will ever need) for $6-$7 which is less
than a buck a piece!!! You can also make your own napkins this way
too, which means you get to pick out what pattern you want! Do I hear
holiday napkin themes?!?!
My
lovely subscriber, Cass, suggested all of this to me, as well as scouting
the thrift store for flat sheets to cut up for the same purpose! Now
THAT is penny-pinching at its FINEST!!! And man do I ADORE her
enthusiasm!!!
Here
is a peak at how she handles her trash:
“We
have four containers in our kitchen. 3 small bathroom sized garbage
cans and 1 compost container on the counter. One of the containers is
for burnables-for fire pit or fireplace so it's easier to start
fires. (We also burn material scraps from crafting, and clothing that
is not reusable or donate-able...) The second is for recycle, but we
save a lot of "good jars" for nuts/ bolts/ beads/ homemade
cleaners and beauty supplies... The third is for garbage, which we
double line with plastic grocery bags—so no buying garbage liners!
We use the plastic grocery bags in the bathrooms as well. And the
compost is self explanatory... But for a family of four we use only a
20 gallon garbage can (size matters; smaller is cheaper)... Plus, we
do not rent the garbage can, we purchased it, which saves over the
long run. Well, that's enough "trash" talk...but our
garbage bill is probably as low as it can get!”
Our
family of four currently uses a 32 gallon trash can, that we rent,
which gets picked up weekly. My goal is to lower that to the 20
gallon weekly option, and eventually down to the 32 gallon
once-a-month option! I also want to purchase a can, so I don't have
to rent one anymore! The savings by just moving one step down and
owning my own can would be $7.10 a month...that's a Netflix
subscription! I know another blogger, you should check her out at
Playing House Full Time, who does the once-a-month trash option for
her family of four! It IS possible folks!
I
contacted Waste Management, our garbage company, the brilliant people
who got us our Foodcycler container, and this is the quote they gave
me for my area!
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I
also asked about Yard Waste, but service is a standard $9.55 a month, which is all the more reason to start
your own compost pile, which will do miracles for your yard and
garden, however, they do offer
credit for recycling! We currently put our Foodcycling scraps in the
Yard Waste container, which you can do too! You can take any opaque
bin with a tight lid to place on your counter to collect debris.
These are my favorites:
So
with all of these WONDERFUL tips and tricks to get started, here is
my challenge: By the start of December, I want to see your Garbage
Output lowered by one whole step! My family is going to complete our
goal of moving from a 35gal weekly to a 20gal weekly—ONE. WHOLE.
STEP.
If
you can commit to the challenge, and prove your success, I will award
one random winner a cute Kitchen Compost Container! The choices above are for you to choose from!!! (Unless the winner has something comparable in mind)
For
anyone who thinks they just can't reduce their impact any more,
submit what your trash output is and your family size, and one
randomly drawn winner will receive an AWESOME Vegan Cookbook to keep
you cooking with bulk ingredients for health and eco-friendliness!
Stay
tuned for more tips...YOU UP FOR THE CHALLENGE?!
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