trash talk

As I've stated before, my first goal in adopting a greener lifestyle was to cut back on the trash I create. I give a lot more thought to the proper disposal of everything I touch. It's only been a couple weeks, but I see a big difference in the amount of trash I collect in my house. At this point I'm confident that I will only have to set my trash cans out at the curb once a month.

Kitchen compost

All kitchen straps have been going into my composting bucket which I hung on the inside of the cabinet under the sink. I haven't had any issues with odor and it takes about 4-5 days to fill it up. If the bag is in pretty good shape I empty the contents into my outdoor compost and reuse, but if it's really soggy or torn, I throw in the entire thing (obviously I bought compostable bags.)

Other Stuff to Compost

The reason I opted to start my own compost pile is because I wanted to compost other "brown" materials that the city doesn't accept. They prefer to stick with yard waste only. These items include used tissues, paper towels, cotton swabs (with cardboard sticks only...not the plastic ones), cotton balls, dryer lint, the "tumbleweeds" of cat hair that appear under my furniture, to name a few. Since I'm still using bleached paper products I don't intend to use the humus (if my compost pile is even successful) to maintain a vegetable garden. Maybe once I run out of my Costco stock of Kleenex and paper towel I'll switch to an unbleached version.

Recycling

I've always recycled, but I really pay attention now. Some things take a little extra effort. Plastic bags for example are recyclable, but I can't put them in my curbside bin. I collected hundreds that I had shoved in a box in the basement and drove them to SOCRRA. I try not to accept plastic bags from stores anymore but sometimes it's inevitable, so when I collect enough of them I'll drive them over.

Styrofoam is another one. It is recyclable, but not all communities accept it. The City of Detroit recycles it, so I will collect cups, restaurant take-out containers, packing peanuts, etc. from my office as well as home and will send it with my sister (who lives in Detroit) every month or so.

Pets
This is a "post in progress." I'm slowly introducing a biodegradable kitty litter into my litter box. We'll see how it goes. The brand I bought is made from corn (I'm not advertising the details until I know if I like it or not.) I've read mixed reviews, though one opinion is consistent...it's expensive. In order for me to keep spending the money I'll have to REALLY like it, so I will be sure to post an update when I have a firm opinion. I hope I like it because I feel really guily everytime I throw away a bunch of cat crap, knowing that that left over litter isn't going anywhere anytime soon. One has to be leery of Internet research. One source I found said that 2 million tons of cat litter ends up in landfills each year...another source said 4 million. Regardless of which number is accurate, it's too much. We have decided to domesticate these animals, and we should do so responsibly. I guess I shouldn't get on my soap box until I commit to making the change, huh? Well, just another reason to try to make it work.

I'm Saving $$ Because...
I've had to spend some dough to get started. Compost bin, Bio-Bags, the afore mentioned pricey cat litter, but I know in the long run I'll save some money. First of all, just changing my lifestyle will stop me from buying certain things just because of the waste it might produce. Individually wrapped snacks for example (not good for my waist line either).

No more:

• kitchen garbage bags
• Swiffer Cloths (am using dollar store rags instead. Wash & Reuse!)
• Ziplock baggies (and when I do use them, they're for dry items only and I reuse them)
• Tampons
  

I won't elaborate on that last one. Don't want to make anyone uncomfortable. I'll just let those who are interested read more about it on their own. I just want to say that I've just made this change and I'm really, really happy with it. MAYBE I'll blog about it in detail at a later date. Still a little shy.