Baby Steps

Trash: Everything you put in here is going to the landfill and landfills have liners, so even if what you toss is biodegradable (like paper or food) it will take much longer to degrade in a landfill. Also, rotting food and other decaying organic waste creates decomposition gasses that are flammable & potentially explosive. Most landfills are properly vented for this, but if you can compost your biodegradable waste it will save space in the landfill and biodegrade faster and more usefully.

I think the most important detail for the trash bin is what NOT to put into it:

• Electronics (cell phones, computers, monitors, TVs, remote controls)

• Compact fluorescent light bulbs (those spiral light bulbs that take forever to warm up)

• Paint cans

These are really important to try to adhere too, because this is the sort of stuff that everyone thinks, oh, it’s just this one bulb, paint can or cell phone. But if everyone thinks that and still drops it in, then that’s a lot of hazardous waste that shouldn’t be in the landfill. Remember that landfill liner I mentioned up above? They have a lifespan and will eventually leak. Meaning that the landfill will eventually contaminate the soil and/or water supply in the surrounding area. So, our goal with trash should not only be to reduce it, but to keep as much hazardous waste out of it as possible.

Compost or Yard Waste: We’re lucky in SLC that our yard waste is “recycled” into mulch and wood chips that can be purchased. We can put all of our food waste in this bin. This is awesome, not only because my yard is way too small for a compost bin, I'm just not cut out for backyard composting. So, I just keep a small trash bin in the kitchen for food scraps that I empty every night. No need to buy a fancy kitchen composter if you’re willing to take it out every day.

Also, important to note is that the SLC compost facility cannot process anything that is branded as having biodegradable/compostable packaging and I would bet most city facilities are the same. So, buying those compostable paper plates for a picnic or garden party might not be as environmentally friendly as one thinks. The goal should still be to move away from single-use items when and where possible.

Recycling: This is a complex one. I’m sure you’ve heard the stories about how China won’t take our recycling anymore. This doesn’t mean you should give up on the system. I looked into it and the SLC facility said that for them this meant they could no longer recycle plastic bags, plastic film and Styrofoam. I also found that it says right on my bin (and was reconfirmed on their website) that our recycling bin accepts all plastic #1-7 (which is highly unusual, but awesome!). This all sounds well & good, but most of what goes to the recycling facility still doesn’t actually get recycled or reused as much or as well as we think. Sometimes this is because of contamination, but the main reason is because recycling just isn’t that profitable. I’m not saying don’t recycle, just trying to point out why our end goal in creating this blog is to reduce our “plastic intake” instead of just how to recycle.

So what about the other stuff? The hazardous waste – cleaning chemicals, pesticides, electronics, CFLs and paint cans. What can you do with this stuff? First – try to cut some of it out of your life (try more eco friendly house cleaners like Mrs. Meyers or Ecos) OR use it until the container is clean enough to recycle. For everything else reach out to your waste management service to see how to handle those items. For SLC it’s explained here.

Here’s a few links for those of you not in SLC looking for more info:

recyclebycity

keepamericabeautiful

findrecycling