One week with no trash

This in an interesting exercise in that a primary outcome might be to simply realize just how much disposable packaging one runs into on a weekly basis!! Pretty staggering. I'm not sure what to do about the stuff that is hard to recycle, but simply investigating products with less packaging (or more easily recyclable packaging) would be one possible long-term benefit.

 

Freecycle would be useful to you

http://www.freecycle.org/

 

You could stop buying certain products.. such as plastic coke bottles or bottled water or whathaveyou.. Bring a reusable canvas bag to the grocery store instead of bagging paper or plastic. Be mindful of the products you buy and the packaging they come in.

As far as personal hygiene,
I sometimes think about the insane amount of tampons and maxi pads in landfills. (Gross I know, but I'm being serious.) A friend of mine told me about a contraption called the Diva Cup instead of tampons or maxi pads. She's been using it for a few years now and has no complaints.

I've yet to try it, though since she told me I'm really considering it.

There are so many ways to cut down on waste.

 

Black Pudding.

 

Is that the only constructive thing you have to add?
"Black pudding"?

 

Also the most amusing thing in the thread. Besides, you said it all...

 

I honestly don't see much of the point to doing this. It is possible to do yes, but a major pain, and it honestly isn't worth it to me. I personally wouldn't get any personal satisfaction out of this. If someone would though, then I would say they should give it a shot.

The issue is unless a great number of people do this it won't have any impact, so there isn't much a reason to do it. Also for the fact that this would be wildly unpopular for most people in the world.

 

My daughter would excel at this. She often goes through our recycling to find boxes and other misc. items to add to her art.

 

Aww Indy. Have a little faith. If everyone thought that, nothing would ever get done. That's why I like to pick worms up off the pavement and put them back in the grass. Made a difference to that one, right?

 

Freecycle is great.

ACD, there's a chapter in the book, "Underworld", by Don Delilo where a character goes down the road of thinking about the inventory of trash sites.

 

Some students in my town did something like this. It was an event announced on the radio where you were supposed to carry around all the trash you were going to throw away that week with you everywhere you go. Of course, it's a great incentive not to throw much away. I think it must help you think of ways to throw away less and get started on the habits you need to actually do it. I think each time someone does something like that it creates a tiny little bit of social encouragement/pressure/motivation on others to do it too. Some people are motivated quickly and some aren't.

 

TMI warning (unmarried boys and boys without sisters, close your eyes)...
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I tried it, but the Diva Cup only works if you have ordinary periods. It doesn't work too well if you hemorrhage too much or if you have overly heavy periods. It got...pretty gross and disgusting. That's all I'm sayin'.

Mm, yeah, NO. You can't flush pads down the toilet. That's how the toilets back up into public restrooms and your homes. And places of business (ladies, please *please* wrap it and trash it. It's your body waste. Don't be afraid of it, and don't destroy the bathrooms of others).

But you could use Glad Rags, if you're really keen. Those are reusable (you wash them after each use). The best bet is to use tampons without applicators if you're going to use them (Seventh Generation makes some that are chlorine free and some brands are more biodegradable). It's hard to use those at night, though. I don't use tampons at night.

Now the sponges sound like an interesting alternative. I might have to try these (I just saw them on this website): http://planetgreen.discovery.com/buying-guides/buy-green-tampons.html

 

omfg sea sponges for all my menstrual needs? Whoa. ::Joey Lawrence voice::

You'd actually save money using those as opposed to the other stuff.

 

I'm seriously thinking about those sponges. The main website is pretty nifty with a lot of feminine (and other) stuff: http://www.jadeandpearl.com/catalog/index.php

And considering it usually costs me about $8/month or so on femmie products, I really like the idea of six months' worth or more for the same price.