Week 4
My update this week may be a bit brief as Week 4 of our project passed in an utter whirlwind of activity with no end in sight. We’ve reached a landmark, however - one month without garbage!
As I noted last week, we had our two nephews visiting us, which could have thrown our project for a loop. Our nephews, Taylor and Hunter, live in Washington and had a great week visiting Uncle Adam and Aunt Amy. Taylor, 12, and Hunter, 11, surprised and impressed me throughout the course of the week as we lived as garbage-free as possible with two kids around.
Our week was filled with typical vacation-type activities – lots of swimming to escape the 107-degree heat, ice skating, visiting the Evergreen Aviation Museum, a double feature at the drive-in, and several trips to the beach. Whew. I was (and still am) exhausted from all our activities, but we had a great time.
Since Adam and I don’t have kids, I wondered what to expect garbage-wise when it came to Taylor and Hunter. For the vast majority of the week, the boys were not only okay with helping us avoid garbage, they embraced our lifestyle to an extent that truly impressed me. Both boys, during the course of the week, offered to avoid buying new souvenirs to avoid garbage, they helped sort our recycling, were good sports about the compost pile, and asked many intelligent, thought-provoking questions in the way only a child can ask. For example, when I referenced the Pixar cartoon WALL-E as a prop to help explain our project, Hunter said to me point-blank, “I really respect your project and don’t want to hurt your feelings, but isn’t WALL-E just a cartoon?” This led to a great discussion about whether the earth could actually run out of space for garbage. I was so proud of him I wanted to burst; like I tell my students, whether you agree with me or not isn’t the issue here, I care that you can think about this critically. The boys definitely demonstrated excellent critical thinking and led me to some new perspectives about our project.
We produced a teensy bit of plastic garbage this week in the form of two more safety seals, this time on the recycled/recyclable Preserve toothbrushes we ordered. We also added a foil wrapper from a bee-sting swab to the box. Additionally, we used more band-aids during the week than I think Adam or I have ever used during our entire marriage, but ironically, none of the used band-aids ever made it back to me. Hmmm – they could be on a beach or in a swimming pool somewhere, I suppose. So, inadvertently, we may have been responsible for the accidental displacement of a few band-aids into the environment.
Also, the universe proved just how ironic it can be during Week 4, when our landlord notified us that our rental property is now up for sale. This means a move is in our future – a garbage-free move. To be honest, one of the reasons we’re doing this project this year is because we thought we might avoid a move, which generally generates a lot of trash. Well, now we’ll just have to find a trash-free way to get our stuff from one place to the next. Luckily, we found a house only a few minutes away, so the move won’t be difficult. Adam is friends with our new landlady and she welcomes pets and our garden, so we’re all set. We’ll be moving over Labor Day weekend.
I’m spending this week with my mom in Washington, where we’ll be making soap and cheese, canning, crafting, sewing, and baking. I should have lots to write about next week, too. Cheers!
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What a great thing you’re doing! We are a family of 4 (2 little kids) and we’re trying to reduce our garbage and it is a good challenge! Keep up the good work!
Do you have a place to recycle #4 plastics (thin film plastics like saran wrap, sandwich bags, grocery bags)? You can put plastic safety seals in with that.
Saw you guys on CNN and I admire your project! We recycle quite extensively as well but with 4 kids, sometimes it’s a challenge. This post made me think about all the fastfood gimmes that kids get for ordering their meals. They only play with it for a good 20 minutes, then it ends up on the floor of my car, to be thrown away at some point. What a waste. Wouldn’t it be nice if McDonald’s (or another ff equivalent) just skipped the Kid Toys and just asked the kids to make an origami out of the paper placemat?
Look in your local craigslist to get and recycle moving boxes. When we moved from Louisiana to Georgia last year I posted our boxes on craigslist and they were gone in less then 10 minutes!
Loving your blog and project so far. I am planning to get my kids to join in reading it with me each week. We are fairly low-waste compared to the average American already, but I really want my girls to see just how far you can take it. Little things, like being aware of band-aid trash, can change one’s whole outlook. I love it!
Amy in NY
keep up the awesome work amy!!!…i’m loving all the posts about all your media happenings…keep posting them here and on facebook so i can continue to follow the country’s love of your project!!!
I appreciate what you’re trying to accomplish, but I wander if you’re relying more on one kind of waste in order to minimize another.
I read that your grocery shopping now takes twice as long as it used to (http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/aug/05/korst-garbage-free). I’m sure finding resources and shipping details for all your new recyclable products prompts my question: How much gasoline are you using now, as opposed to before ya’ll started, and how much fuel is being used to ship specialty things like recycled toothbrushes?
Also, on cat poop: my cats will use the biodegradable stuff, but is smells horrendous. No matter how much baking soda I mix in, it still smells. We had to switch back to clay, too.
I am realy impressed and influenced by your effort.Heart congrats and all the best fot our green future.
You mentioned a couple of times about recycling of razor blades. They will last a lot longer if you soak them in olive oil when not in use. Hope this is helpful.
Great inspiring project.
How wonderful that the kids were so accepting of the garbage free commitment! Think of the lifelong lesson you were able to plant. As for the soapmaking, cheesemaking, etc – please post about it! I have wanted to try both and can’t wait to hear how you did.
Shellie
Amy and Adam: Best wishes for your project! I came across the Guardian article (reprinted in the Globe and Mail here in Canada) while – appropriately – using the page to line the kitchen compost bin.
Jessica J.: You raise some valid questions. I don’t know about the fuel that Amy and Adam themselves may be using, but…
Preserve (the company that produces the toothbrushes) addresses the issue vis a vis their Brita filter recycling programme in particular: “Preserve has calculated that the benefits of keeping Brita® filters out of landfills and making them into Preserve products outweigh the impact of shipping them for recycling through this program”; And re. their recycling process in general: http://www.preserveproducts.com/ourprocess/ They hired an environmental consultant to calculate the net benefits.
Hope this helps.
I have recently developed an interest in making homemade soap. My first “experiment” resulted in simply melting down a base soap product from the craft store, adding a bit of fragrance and an exfoliating agent. Not what I had in mind but it was a start. I’m really interested in the “from scratch” method including the use of lye. I’ve read “no lye = no soap” on several websites. Would like to hear about your soap making experience when you’re back home. Good luck.
Speaking of moving boxes, several months ago I saw in my local Albertsons store a stack of flattened, previoulsy used cardboard boxes and they were selling for a buck a piece. Darn – I had just bought a box for shipping for more than $3 at the local UPS store. And it hadn’t been “previously owned.” But I was very happy to see this at the grocery store.
It is the coolest site, keep so!
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