Imagine that you are on a spaceship on a journey of exploration and discovery to the nearby stars. Space is huge, so this spaceship will have to support not just you and your crew but many future generations as well. Earth is so far away that it takes over a year just to send a radio message.
What do you do with your garbage?
You could just jettison it out of the airlock into the cold, dark, airless void where it would float along forever, but how long could you keep doing this for? You could only keep throwing stuff out as long as you still have things to replace it in your storage, but clearly this can’t last long. Each morsel of food, broken button, and used toothpick: once it’s gone, it’s gone.
The reality is that the Earth is our spaceship. It’s our permanent home in space. There is no other place that we can go to once we’ve used it all up, and there’s nowhere else we can toss our garbage.
Luckily, it’s a very big spaceship, and we have a lot of resources and a lot of room to store our garbage. So much so, in fact, that it’s barely a thing that we have to think about. The garbage truck comes by regularly to haul it all away to the landfill, and every couple decades the landfill gets full and we have to look for another place.
That isn’t good enough for me. It seems wrong to waste space and materials just because we have them. We should do better.
I’ve decided that for the next year, I’m not going to throw anything away into the landfill. Anything that would go to the landfill, I’m going to keep in my basement. Because, in a sense, the whole world is like my basement. I’ll need to deal with the waste that I generate. By focusing on the waste, I’m force to limit my consumption to only what is sustainable.
At the end of the year, I’ll take a look at what’s been accumulated, and decide what to do next. Probably it will all go into the garbage at that point.
This goes for all of the waste, as much as possible. So not just groceries, but take-out containers, the creamers for coffee at work, bike parts that get replaced, clothes that get worn out, etc.
Waste is not something that is factored in to the price of the products that we buy. There’s no real incentive for the manufacturers to produce less waste and packaging, and none for the consumer either. Sure, I might get a vague notion of feeling like I’m doing the right thing, but it’s pretty easy to make an exception from time to time when it’s convenient.
Now, suddenly, I’m having to account in part for the waste from these products. I’m forcing myself to deal with it. Sure, plastic straws are nice, but are they really so awesome that I want to store them for a whole year? Disposable cups are cheap and convenient; having them hang around for the year: not so much. Suddenly, spending a bit of time to wash up doesn’t seem so bad anymore.
This is just for a year. In the landfill, we store them forever.
Waste that can be recycled or composted gets a pass. I know that recycling does require energy and it’s better to reduce the consumption in the first place, so I’ll do what I can, but it’s allowed by the rules.
Speaking of rules, I’m going to need some to help guide me through this, and no doubt they will be fine-tuned as the year goes on, but for now here’s what I’m thinking:
- I am responsible for all of my waste. None of it can go into the landfill. If I can’t find anything better, then it goes into my basement. Exceptions are made for materials that would be hazardous to store. For example, I do my own bike and car maintenance, but I can’t keep oily rags or empty oil containers hanging out all year. For these items, I’ll keep a record and see what I can do better.
- I won’t include the waste that was generated to produce things before I get my hands on them. For example, if I go to a restaurant, I’ll be responsible for the disposable forks and knives, but not the can that the tomato sauce came in that ultimately ended up on my pasta. If I get beef from the butcher, the waste generated by raising the cow gets a pass.
- The rest of my family is not taking part in the experiment, so if they buy something that goes to the landfill, then that’s on them. If I’m making supper, then I’ll take ownership over all of the waste that goes into the preparing of the supper; but if my wife decides to make pasta that came in a plastic wrap and I want to eat some of it, that’s ok with me, because it wasn’t my decision. I don’t want to always be nagging the family about what they buy and not; but I’m hoping that my example will be an inspiration.
- I can’t just hand off my waste to someone else to throw away. For example, I can’t take the wrapper from a chip bag, clean it off, and wrap presents in it, knowing that the other person will throw it away to the landfill. In that example, I’m still responsible for the waste.
- If someone buys something and offers me some, that’s ok. I can eat chips that someone else bought if they offer them to me and not have to hang on to the wrapper. However, I can’t use this to get around the rules. I can’t go visit friends just to eat their chips.
- Waste products that don’t go into the landfill, such as car exhaust, or sewage, are exempt. I’ll do what I can to minimize them, but that’s it. That said, I can’t just flush things down the toilet or bury things in the back yard that a normal person would send to the landfill (like chopping up plastic bags into tiny bits and flushing them down the toilet).
- Where it’s not toxic or dangerous, burning things in the BBQ or the wood stove to produce heat is ok.
- Things that I bought from before I started the experiment are grandfathered in. Food that’s in the pantry like cookies get to bypass the basement, but anything bought afterwards is included.
- I’ll try to minimize waste generated from decisions out of my control as much as possible, but I won’t take responsibility for them. For instance, if at work they decide to order in Greek food for everyone for a team meeting, I won’t bring home the plastic containers, nor will I refuse my lunch. That said, if someone brings in doughnuts, I will take the empty boxes home afterwards for composting instead of them going into the garbage, and I’ll bring my own cream for the coffee instead of using the disposable UHT creamers (I’m already that guy at the office).
I’ve been doing this for a bit now as a proof of concept, but I’m setting October 1 as the official start date.
Let’s see how this challenge affects my purchases:
Beer and wine. Starting with this most important of consumables, luckily no change is needed as I can bring the whole package back to be reused. That said, there’s less waste if I make my own, and it’s better, cheaper, and more fun as well.
Chips. The second most important purchase. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to buy bags of chips anymore as the bag can’t be used for anything else and can’t be recycled. Pringles tubes are recyclable, but I’m not a big fan of eating mashed potatoes that have been formed into a chip-like shape.
Meat. No more meat on styrofoam trays, wrapped with cellophane. I’ll start bringing my own containers to the butcher for things like ground beef, and get them to wrap up steaks in butcher paper (which is compostable). Long term, I’m hoping that this will lead to more personal relationships at the stores I go to, where the people start to know me as the “tupperware guy” and they start to know what it is that I like etc. Also, I’ll go straight to the source and order directly from individual farmers, who can prepare whole animals cut up and frozen in butcher paper.
Pasta. I’ll either get fresh pasta and bring my own containers, buy dried pasta in bulk (and bring my own containers), or start making my own.
Vegetables. I never really generated any waste when it came to veggies as we already have a CSA membership and I very rarely use bags when getting them at the grocery store, or use my own. I’ve already contacted the farm that we do our CSA with and they’ve agreed that I can leave any bags with them and they will be reused.
Fast food. Fast food is responsible for a lot of waste. I’ll have to be prepared and bring my own plate and cutlery when I go out for a slice of pizza or a shawarma. At McDonald’s the burgers in fries come in paper / cardboard packaging that I can bring home to compost (and if I’m feeling particularly rich and splurge for a drink, the cup is compostable as well. I just won’t get a lid or a straw). It’s also super important to tell the staff up front that I don’t want any straws, lids, disposable cutlery, bags etc.
Paper napkins / towels / kleenex. Any of these that I use during the day, I’ll have to carry around with me until I get home and compost them. Paper towels from public washrooms are a hard-to-avoid source of waste and where possible (e.g., at work) I can bring my own towel.
Overall the side effects from this experiment are mostly positive. I’ll need to plan more in advance, but I’ll make better connections with people, eat more healthfully, and make better decisions. Take chips: I could make my own from scratch, but the work that’s involved means that they will be a rare treat indeed. Which is as it should be. Something to look forward to and really enjoy.
Not only am I generating less waste, but I’m also saving money, by buying less, making more from scratch, and thinking more carefully about what I need and what I’m going to use. Take, for example, buying toys for my daughter. Toys are notorious for excessive, noxious packaging. Instead, if I buy something used, I save money and there’s no packaging. Or, maybe I need to think more clearly about why she needs or wants the toy in the first place; is it just a distraction to fill up time that could be used more meaningfully, by doing something creative, going for hikes, or playing at the park? Thinking more about everyday things inevitably leads to better outcomes.
Luckily in Ottawa it’s getting easier as there are more and more options to buy things in bulk or with less waste, and there are reasonably strong recycling and composting programs in place. Part of the motivation for starting this experiment was the opening of a zero waste grocery store in Ottawa.
So far, thinking about how to avoid waste has drawn on my creativity in a way that I didn’t expect and it’s been a lot of fun. I’m really looking forward to this.
I’ve started up Instagram and Twitter accounts* where I’ll be posting live, and when I get the chance I’ll be churning out more comprehensive blog posts here.
Wish me luck. Got any ideas? Add them in the comments.
* sorry Facebook friends. Twitter is just so much better.