One of the most common sights in a city are trashcans sitting on the curb, waiting for the trash company to come buy, pick up the refuse and take it to the dump.
People who carry their trash out to the curb may have a dim idea that it goes somewhere and then vanishes, or maybe they don't think about it at all. Their trash effectively becomes somebody else's problem.
Tv Dinner Trays
But trash doesn't vanish and the city dumps are overflowing
The solution?
Stop throwing things away.
That's impossible I hear people screaming.
It's not impossible, but in this modern world with its "toss it out" mentality, changing from a "dump it" mindset to a "find a different solution" mindset isn't an easy, single step. There are three areas into which almost all common household trash will fit
It can be reused.
It can be recycled
It can be composted
1. It can be reused
Joe has a harried, hurried life. He's in the habit of popping a TV dinner in the microwave every night instead of cooking. After he's finished, he washes the fork he used, tosses the TV tray and box in the trash, and goes to bed.
Sound familiar? But in the same amount of time it takes Joe to dump the tray and box in the trash, and wash his fork, he could have dropped the tray in the sink too, washed it off and stuck it in the cupboard. The microwave TV dinner trays are reusable and most will go through the dishwasher just fine. They work just as well to reheat home cooked food on as they do food from the store, they stack well, they'll even go in the freezer if covered with plastic wrap. Plus they have the added advantage of being sized for correct portions of food. A huge advantage for someone who might be a tad overweight and used to loading down a large dinner plate with way too much. It also saves Joe money because by reusing his TV dinner microwave trays, he doesn't have to go buy microwave dishes if he needs them. He already has them and he got them for free.
2. It can be recycled
The box from Joe's TV dinner should never have got into the trash. Instead, Joe should have dropped it into his recycling bin. Many things can go into the recycling bin, and cities normally don't have a limit on how many bins a householder can place on the curb. Is it metal? Plastic? Paper? Put it in the recycling bin. Is it food? Don't put it in the bin; drop it in the composter instead.
There are a few things that can't be recycled, and there are things that shouldn't be recycled, but almost 90% of the average household trash which can't be reused or composted CAN be recycled. Check with your city to find out what can't be.
3. It can be composted.
If you're throwing away paper, cardboard or food, it can almost all be composted. Invest in a paper shredder and shred you old bills, junk mail, and any other paper that'll fit through it EXCEPT for paper coated with toxic chemicals. Tear cardboard cartons into small chunks before dropping in the recycling bin. Almost all cardboard cartons can be recycled, including waxed cartons such as whipping cream containers.
If you're in an apartment, there are small kitchen composting units that are smell free, as well as under the sink worm farms that are also smell free.
If you own a home or have a larger area, invest in a larger composting area.
When the compost is finished, either use it yourself, or give it away. Local nurseries will almost always be glad to take it off your hands.
The secret to composting is a 50/50 mix - 50% wet matter (food) and 50% dry - stuff like shredded paper and cardboard, old dry leaves, dry grass clippings and so on - warmth, and oxygen. Research composter units and composting before you start.
The added advantage to shredding your mail for composting is that no one's going to be stealing your identity from the trash can!
By changing your outlook on what to do with the stuff you currently consider trash, and seeking one of the above solutions before heading to the trash can, you can reduce your own refuse footprint substantially. If your neighbors join you, the entire neighborhood can reduce it's collective footprint substantial. Imagine the amount of trash that wouldn't hit the city dump if the entire city changed it's way of looking at tossing things in the trash.