What a waste.

I was recently sent a link to an article in the San Francisco Gate about waste. You may have heard of this story, since Ari Derfel was all over the airwaves for good reason. He actually saved all of his trash for an entire year to make a point. Initially, it seems like a pretty crazy idea, but how easy is it for us to ignore how much trash we create in our daily lives. For Ari, its around 96 cubic feet of trash. Things in small amounts rarely seem to impact us very much. Yet, they quickly gain significance when taken over a longer period of time…like a full years worth of trash. Last year, our garbage people (read waste disposal) went on strike for two weeks. Unfortunately, the week earlier I had decided to do some cleaning up and my huge trashcan was filled to capacity. I still had my usual weekly trash, but with nowhere to put it, I had purchased an additional trashcan to keep it out of the sun. Every time I went outside, I stared at my trash and just wanted it to be gone. It actually made me think of how much waste is created and if I could reduce any amount of it. I did a pretty good job of sifting through and putting all recyclables together.

After that week, where I had garbage just sitting around…I started to rethink things a bit. These days, I do my best to buy just enough, eat what I buy and waste as little as possible. A couple of ideas on reducing waste are:

1. Use and re-use gift bags instead of wrapping paper that can’t be saved
2. Bring a backpack to carry your items home when you go shopping
3. Recycle bottles, cans, and all paper products

I often believe that one person can’t make a dent on the collective consciousness of a nation. Then again, Ari has definitely made a difference and brought some real awareness to the issues at hand. I now know that if I change and that encourages others to change…then the we can collectively make a difference. Wishing you wealth in all its greatest forms.