TexasMadness
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Registered: 03-2007
Location: Austin, Texas
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4.6 pounds of trash
Various sources claim that each American produces 4.6 pounds of trash every single day! Wow, that's a lot of garbage.
My parents have always been very conscious of things like that so I grew up being mindful of throwing things away. I've rubbed off quite a bit on my husband as well. But I bet we even produce more trash that I think is 'acceptable'.
And it's not only about filling up a landfill. I guess part of me is concerned more from a thermodynamics standpoint. That sounds silly, but I don't like the fact that I'm "wasting" all of this stuff!
We've talked about it a few times and I think we are going to see just how much trash we produce and see if we can reduce that amount.
4.6 pounds day...
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7/24/2009, 9:46 pm
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muladzh
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Re: 4.6 pounds of trash
as 90% of our waste is recycled, we only discard a small amount. If not for the rebuilding and renovating work going on, we wouldn't fill a trash pail a week - and the dumpster would be lonely.
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7/24/2009, 10:19 pm
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Firlefanz
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Location: Germany
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Re: 4.6 pounds of trash
I have to haul out a big bag of plastic waste every few weeks, and I dislike that.
Fruit juices now come in plastic bottles rather than tetrapaks. I've started to eat more yogurt, and it comes in little plastic cups. There is so much waste that I feel very bad about it.
While things are changing in my life, I'm considering changing some of the wasteful habits myself, especially as I have to save money, too. Sadly, I gave away our yogurt maker several years ago. Now I could use one to make my yogurt myself.
I'd like to experiment with breadmaking, too, and I think I can easily give up drinking fruit juice. It will be interesting to see how the amount of waste changes when I live alone.
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7/25/2009, 8:43 am
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TexasMadness
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Location: Austin, Texas
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Re: 4.6 pounds of trash
Firle, it's pretty easy to make yogurt in glass jars in an ice chest with other jars full of hot water. Or if you have a gas stove, sometimes the pilot light will keep it warm enough in there. There are lots of ways to make do!
I know my trash has more than double since hubby moved in. He wasn't raised to be aware of things like that. It's taken some "training", but now he is really good about buying things with less packaging and recycling whatever he can. Still, I think there's room for improvement from both of us.
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7/30/2009, 3:25 pm
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PerpetuallyCurious
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Registered: 12-2008
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Re: 4.6 pounds of trash
I used to feel pretty good about how little waste I left in my wake. Then I married. Then we had a kid. And another. And another......
I really need to focus on this area again since it is something I feel strongly about!
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8/3/2009, 6:02 am
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TexasMadness
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Re: 4.6 pounds of trash
Hubby and I have decided to get a bit more serious about reducing our trash. It's really hard when you aren't paying attention. Everything you buy has to be scrutinized for packaging! But I decided that we would weigh our trash every week and see what we come up with. We will also weigh compost, recycle and give-away items. Should be interesting - I'll report back!
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10/21/2009, 9:37 pm
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