October 7th - 13th 2007 Garbage Tally

Notes: Unfortunately I haven't come up with a good alternative to toilet paper, so that will remain an unquantified material which i will continue to waste every day, however, most TP is designed to biodegrade in the wastewater treatment process.

Day 1

Garbage:

• 1 handfull of dust bunnies & carpet bits collected near the cat scratching post

Recycling:

• None

Day 2

Garbage:

• Paint that peeled from a plastic tub i washed
• 1 plastic milk carton cap

Recycling:

• 1 empty cat food can
• 1 half gallon milk carton

Day 3

Garbage:

• 1 cat food can lid

Recycling:

• 3 toilet paper rolls

Day 4

Garbage:

• Cap + foil seal from top of broth carton

Recycling:

• 1 quart broth carton
• 1 grocery receipt (the cashier said it was impossible to complete the transaction without printing the receipt)

Day 5

Garbage:

• Bits of dried meat cat food
• Plastic seal from earth balance tub

Recycling:

• Cereal box

Day 6

Garbage:

• Foil from office lunch
• Paper wrappings from some office lunches - some sent experimentally to compost

Recycling:

• None

Day 7

Garbage:

• 2 squares of waxed paper (due to miscommunication with pizza seller)
• 1 2" square sticker label
• 1 q-tip
• 1/4 lime, sliced onion, 2 slices of jalepenos (forgot to specify pho order to be made without those food items)

Recycling:

• 2 receipts
• 1 milk jug return slip

List of stuff I used that came from packaging but didn't run out during the week

• Toothpaste - could have been home-made
• Butter - don't have a good alternative solution
• Spices - could have been bought in bulk
• Sugar - could have been bought in bulk
• Dry cat food - don't have a good alternative solution
• 1 mint leftover from a free airplane snack bag - could have asked to not be given the food, perhaps fewer packages given out would result in fewer being bought in the future
• Cereal - could have been bought in bulk, purchasing of more bulk cereal could increase demand and encourage stores to increase the variety of bulk cereal available
• Leftover pizza - box could have been composted
• Peanut oil - may be available in bulk, not sure...
• Cheese - don't have a good alternative for cheddar cheese
• Tortillas - could have been home made
• Matzo meal from cardboard canister - not sure how else to get this
• Rice from 25 lb bag - could have been bought in bulk, not sure if the bags used to refill the bulk section of the grocery store are larger
• Earth balance - don't have a good alternative
• Deodorant - unsure if alternate types actually work
• 1 mixed drink - don't have a good alternative
• Chapstick - may be possible to make at home
• Shampoo - could have been bought in bulk
• Chips - this is a delicious vice
• Milk from returnable glass jug - comes with plastic seal, not sure how better to get milk

Back to No Trash Week main page.

For questions and suggestions, email info -at- notrashweek -dot- com.