The reduction of household trash as a direct result of composting and increased recycling efforts has been amazing. The goal to reduce to one bag of trash a month has been successful to date.
While one bag of trash is great, it’s becoming apparent that the bulk of our waste is now comprised of soiled paper products like Kleenex, napkins, paper towels, Q-Tips, etc. Our city launched a pilot program in one of the neighborhoods (not mine) to recycle this type of waste and if this program is implemented citywide, I would estimate our trash would be reduced to one bag every quarter. But what to do in the interim or if this program is abandoned?
The county will let constituents bring this type of trash to a recycling center located just a little too far away. A decent option if we had a place to store and accumulate waste in order to make a quarterly trip, but since space is limited, onto the next plan.
The fancy washing machine has a sanitary setting that could be the conduit of change to cloth napkins, and to reduce paper towels in favor of old rags to dust, wash the windows, clean the kitchen, and parts of the bathroom. But alas, a quick search for ‘alternatives to Q-tips’ yielded nothing worth repeating and handkerchiefs sound like a really bad plan during cold season, so those may remain vices for the time being.
A friend has also raved about the Diva Cup and while it’s an attractive idea from the waste and toxic shock syndrome standpoint, but for now, we’ll consider that ‘extreme green’ to my adventures in Green 101.
reducerenewrecycle 