My Zero Waste Plan

If you haven't seen it, you have to go read the Zero Waste Home blog. I was really convicted when I first read about this, partly because I know that she is doing what our ancestors used to do (and until their methods were pushed out by modern "conveniences", there were no landfills or pollution) and partly because I have really struggled with reducing my impact on the earth (in a physical sense) for a long time. I would like to be more self sustaining and produce less trash, as well as simplify our lives by reducing unnecessary clutter.

I recycle. I try to buy things in packaging that can be easily recycled in my area, which in Alaska, means paper, cardboard, tin, glass and #1 and #2 plastics. I compost, or did until we moved, and will start a new series of piles here this summer. I try to use cloth diapers and washable cleaning rags and towels to help cut down on paper waste. I buy second hand and I sew. I forage and I can foods. But as a home of 6 (and #7 on the way) we still make nearly 1 bag of garbage a day. That is a lot of trash over the course of a year!

I would like to move toward a "zero waste" home for my family. I am overwhelmed with the amount of stuff we own and keep around and I am not advocating throwing it all out and just starting over. There are some things that Bea does that I cannot support or are impractical for our lifestyle. They are thing that I have weighed in my pursuit of a simpler lifestyle.

1.The Johnsons are a family of 4 and they are done having kids. We are at 7 and probably still growing.
2.They live in California, where compost breaks down faster because of climate differences. It takes an average of 3 years in Alaska for a compost pile to completely cook and be ready for use as compost. I will feed kitchen scraps to my chickens and compost too, but our compost pile will never be able to take on wax paper like Bea's!
3. In California, fresh produce, milk, and meat are available year round. I live where everything has to be flown or trucked in, often unripe and expensive because of shipping, and that means I have to grow or preserve what I can when it is in season or buy it packaged from the store.
4. In California, natural foods grocery stores that offer bulk shopping are closer and more abundant, offering practically everything in a bulk bin and again, Bea Johnson pays less because of the shipping difference and she can stock up at any time. I know because when I go out of state, I shop at these stores and bring home all kinds of goodies because they are cheap and of better quality than what I can get at home. My local stores offer a limited mount in bulk, I would estimate a 10th of what they offered in bulk here when I was a child, and there isn't a demand for it like there used to be. I, in turn, need to order the foods, supplements and toiletries that are best for my family from an out of state company or buy them during special sales and keep them stocked up, which means I have to keep more of everything in my home at all times to make it affordable and practical. This means more clutter.
5. I have also noticed that Bea does some canning, but not nearly as much as I do (I haven't bought jam since my oldest was 1), nor does she plan for emergency preparedness, something that I am working on for my family and think is essential.

All of these things combined mean that my house has more clutter and, consequently, more waste than a "zero waste" home might have otherwise. I am not discouraged, I will just have to do what I can and keep finding waste free alternatives. I have started some of this and here is an outline of what I can do, now, within my means and region:

1. Talk to my stores about bringing in my own containers. I have already talked to the butcher at Fred Meyer's about bringing in my pyrex containers for meat and he said "No Problem!" I have also talked to one of the managers at my local Safeway and asked the same about using my glass jars for bulk items and she agreed to help me, as long as I come in while she is on shift. That is a good start. I currently use my mesh produce bags for bulk snacks as well, but obviously, that won't work for flours very well :) Just make sure to write down the item number for the cashiers!

2. Bake more bread. We eat at least 1 loaf of bread a day! My favorite is a brand from Fred's, but making my own is very easy and affordable. Really, I could teach the kids to do it when I am feeling lazy! Safeway and Freds both offer rolls, bagels and some other bread items in bulk and there is no problem with me using my mesh produce bags to get these. I've tried it ;)

3. Get a milk share. Make butter, yogurt, cheese and ice cream. I can start buying my cheese much more regularly at the Gourmet Garden, where I can purchase a myriad of cheeses European style. I am sure there will be no protest to using my own glass containers, but I will let you know.

4. Switch to flip top bottles for bottling my homemade wines and beers. I have some growlers with gaskets and it's not difficult to get more, just a matter of investing in them financially. This will mean less glass recycling and no rubber corks to toss and replace.

5. Look for better bulk items. Safeway, Fred Meyer's and maybe even the Gluten Free store? Local stores offer soaps, chocolate, flours, cheeses all in bulk, so be willing to shop at the little guy. Wax, honey, and maple syrup can be found at Cadre. I will try Echo Lake Meats too. And I just noticed that 3 Bears is offering organic and natural foods now, so some of my grains can come from there.

6. Buy more jars. I use these for canning, but also for storing dry goods for my emergency foods and pantry. Preserve more food like cheeses and eggs.

7. Make my own paper. Use the shredder to facilitate. I have all the supplies for this, and again, it can be something we do as a family once in a while. I recently sorted through all our boxes of books and papers as I was unpacking and found that there is enough paper in the house (construction, lined, notepads, drawing or watercolor) for well over a year! I will not be buying any more paper for a LONG time. We homeschool, so I could go paper less and let my kids do everything on the computer, but I dont' think that sitting in front of a computer all day is good for them, nor do I think we are ready to get rid of our book collections, since our kids read an average of 2 to 3 books a day, each.

8. Use my mp3 player more. I could be buying books on cd and downloading them right to it! Also, change the newspaper and magazine subscriptions to e-subscriptions. And we will be exercising that library card a lot more!

9. Cancel junk mail! Call, email, write to magazines and mailing lists when I get some to help reduce the amount of paper waste coming IN to my home to begin with!

10. Rethink recycling and composting. Buy less packaging, use more aluminum and glass, less paper and boxes, NO plastics. Aluminum and glass can be recycled indefinitely, where paper can only be recycled once.

11. No more birthday party junk. No goody bags filled with junky toys, no balloons, no streamers. Birthday gifts can easily be changed to activities or gift certificates, which my kids love and I love because they get individual time with a relative or mom or dad! Best of all, no mess to clean up! I'll be using my silicone cupcake liners more often and I invested in some Silpat mats to eliminate the foil and parchment that I have been using for baking. Maybe we will switch to a special tablecloth that everyone can write on as a family keepsake or maybe quilt squares that can be saved until they are 18 and then made into a graduation gift?
The same goes for eating out - no more junky toys, eat where there are plates, not a package, when possible, and carry snacks and water in the car like we used to (everyone has their own metal water bottle now). We can even keep extra pyrex in the car for leftovers at restaurants.

14. Switch bathroom stuff. Minimize! Everyone can use the same shampoo, but it would be nice to find one that came in bulk. Make more of our products -like tooth paste, home made balms and salves in our own tins. We have switched to cloth potty wipes for the toddlers, and we already do cloth diapers, and I am switching to cloth pads.

15. Pair down clothing. I have done this for the sizes that the older boys are currently in, but I need to do this with the sizes that are stored right now. Same for shoes. I need to eliminate things that are stained or ripped (they will go into a rag box for sewing projects) and donate the extras. Mom and Dad need to do this too, even if we think we will fit into those sizes again someday, the clothes may be impractical or we may not like them anymore and they need to go! Just reducing the boys clothing has certainly made laundry easier to keep up with!

16. Make sure the hubby and I have time to go fishing, hunting and foraging. Our garden is off to a good start this year and I have plans to get it completely planted before the beginning of June. Doing as much as we can for ourselves is probably the single most important thing we can do to reduce our household waste!

As Bea would say:

Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, in that order!

Wish me luck :)