Reduce, Reduce, Reduce, Reuse and then Recycle

In my position at reCREATE, we visit thousands of kids and talk to them about waste reduction.  As part of the presentation, we show them a video that explains how our garbage is processed here in Western Placer County at the Material Recovery Facility (MRF).    

Did you know, if we took all the materials recovered for recycling at the Western Placer MRF, and placed it on a football field, for one year, it would go from one end zone to the other, and be about 200 feet high.  (If a building is over 200 feet, it is officially considered a skyscraper.)

No football fields were "trashed" in the making of this image.

While these materials will be used again, it does take resources to convert these materials into new paper, cardboard, plastic, glass, metal or aluminum.  Some materials recycle "better" than others.  For example, glass can be recycled forever, countless times.  Paper and cardboard can be recycled several times, but eventually it is an end product (no longer recyclable).  Aluminum cans can find their way back onto a store shelf in as little as 60 days, quick and easy!  To see how plastic is recycled, here is a video from Recycle Bank. 

It is interesting to note, that recycled products often take fewer resources to make than new products from virgin resources.  I will talk more about this in a future blog post!

That said, I still feel a responsibility to make less waste, recyclable or not.  What about you?  Want to help shrink that skyscraper a bit?  

We encourage the idea of Reduce (make less garbage) first.  
Reuse (use things over and over) second,
And Recycle as the third option. 
Ways everyone can reduce and reuse: 

• Buy snacks in bulk, and pack them in reusable containers
• Invest in a reusable water bottle
• When shopping, look for options with minimal packaging 
• Shop thrift or reuse stores
• Need something short-term?  Borrow or rent it. 
• Take your own shopping bags.
• When you are out eating, do you need a plastic lid and straw or can you forgo them?  

All of these ideas help make a little less trash.  Thanks for stopping by!  I'd love to hear how you reduce your waste. 

What's For (Zero-Waste) Lunch?

Challenge:  Send a nutritious and delicious meal that gets packed at 7:30am and eaten at lunchtime, without any excess garbage.

Challenge accepted:  I am all about making zero-waste (no garbage) lunches.  It has become a bit of a game for me each day as I pack up lunch for the kids and myself, to see if I can make it without generating any waste.  We have tried different types of containers over the years.  Sometimes  we use reusable bags. We used to use plastic containers, but they seem to break down and not hold up over time.  A couple of years ago I bought Sanctus Mundo Stainless Steel Oval  food containers at Whole Foods.  There were about $12. each.  We use them practically every day, and I LOVE them.  The first thing I did was slap a little dishwasher safe sticker on the containers, with my kids names on them, so they didn't get lost at school.  My kids like their food compartmentalized, so I use over-sized silicone cupcake liners to hold their food.  Lunches are packed in their reusable lunch bags, with a reusable ice pack, and a reusable water bottle.

Here are some samples of lunches from this week:

 This is our version of a "Lunchable" - without all the plastic waste (plus fruit and veggies, minus the preservatives!)  I have a small circle cutter I use for their cheese and turkey, and use the excess in an omelet for breakfast. Carrots and hummus are a favorite with the kids.

 "Club sandwich", berries and an apple.

 Pieces of chicken, a container of BBQ sauce for dipping, spiral cut apple, 

and some warm mixed veggies in the green container.  

Changes we have made:
1.   We have stopped buying the "yogurt pops" - those are the yogurt snacks packaged in individual tubes - we used to freeze them and toss them in their lunches. Half the time they would come home uneaten, and then I would have toss both the yogurt and the wrapper.  Now, the kids have fresh fruit instead. 
2.  Make extras at dinner time, so we can pack a thermos of leftovers.
3.  Pack a cloth napkin. 
4.  We don't buy individually wrapped cheese sticks anymore.  We buy a bigger piece of cheese, and cut it for their lunches, as needed.  
5.  We pack a real fork or spoon if needed.  The kids know to bring them home. 


You might be wondering how we are doing on our zero-waste journey.  We are now only putting our waste bin out every other week.  (That includes our recycling - because we have our One Big Bin.)  Even with putting it out every other week, our garbage bin is never full.  We might have to try seeing it we can make it to every three weeks!

Have you made any changes to reduce the amount of garbage you make?  Can you share your favorite waste reduction idea?  I love comments!!