What a Waste!

When I decided last month to rent out 3 bedrooms in my house, one of the most important things to me was that my tenants conserved water, electric and waste. So, I drew up a lease that outlined what should be recycled or composted and where the closest drop of centers were. The guys have tried, but I had to do an intervention. Since I started recycling and composting, I'm lucky if I get even 1/8th of a bag full by the end of a week. When I walked through their kitchen the other day, their trash can was brimming to the top, and I had seen them take out the garbage only 3 days prior!! So, one of my roommates (who actually got me to start recycling in the first place) went through their garbage with me and sorted everything that could be composted, recycled, reused, or worse... still worked! This is what we came up with: Seven grocery bags full of NON TRASH!

From left to right: recyclables (glossy paper and cardboard), compost-ables (non-glossy paper, and food), reusables (plastic cups, plastic forks, grocery bags, cloth sunglass holders, a large sheet of packing material, etc), and recyclable plastic bags (recyclable at Kroger).

From Left to Right: Clothes (mismatched socks and old t-shirts that can be used as rags), styrofoam (can be recycled at Publix), and recyclables (#1-7 plastic, tin, aluminum, etc)

I also found 4 pens and a highlighter that still worked. What we were left with at the end was not a trash can brimming to the top, but rather a trash can with only 1/8th of a bag full, as it should be! Items remaining in the trash can include mystery plastic and rubber items, candy wrappers made of unknown origin, a cd (which I'm sure can probably be recycled somewhere, and food soaked glossy paper (which can be neither recycled nor composted). How much of your trash are you wasting?

Say you take this challenge and sort through your trash, and come up with the same proportion of reusable, recyclable and compostable goods? What now? Well, don't throw them back in the can and say "that was fun!" If you do not have Metro Curby (curbise pickup) at your house, you can call Earth Savers Recycling at 481-9640 and pay only $48 every 3 months! They will pick up your recycling twice a week (compared to once a month through Curby). There are also drop off centers all over Nashville. Many of them are located at Metro Schools. There is even a place for your hazardous waste, large appliances, carpets, and more. Convenience Centers are available in three locations near Nashville.