- Jenica
#OneJarChallenge - February 2016
February 2016 Trash Detail:
-2 Top Ramen Noodle Packets
-2 Top Ramen Flavor Packets
-6 Fruit Stickers
-1 Straw
-1 Facial Product Sticker
-1 Hair Tie
-A Month of Floss
-1 Piece of Tape
-1 Piece of String
-3 Plastic Price Tag Attachments
-1 Price Tag Sticker
-1 Decorative Price Tag Attachment
-1 Medical Container
-4 Light Bulbs
The total comes to 10.2 ounces of trash for a whole month. Not bad? Not my best either. I was really quite disappointed when I learned CFL lights aren’t recyclable in any way (or at least that I could discover). But the real question is, how will I take this information and learn from it? What should I have done differently to not create these items in the first place? Here’s my take on it. List #2 – How it SHOULD have been done.
-2 Top Ramen Noodle Packets: Easy. I shouldn’t buy these again. Bulk noodles are so much better even!
-2 Top Ramen Flavor Packets: Again, easy. Don’t buy it.
-6 Fruit Stickers: According to the FDA, stickers placed on fruits and vegetables have to be edible since there is a high risk of consuming them. Soo…I really should just be eating these? [I no longer advice you to eat these. This article provides a detailed analysis of how this rumor got started and why it isn't true. Code Chew.]
-1 Straw: I forgot to say “No straw please!” You might have seen my post about my ruined horchata drink on Instagram
-1 Facial Product Sticker: Buy facial products with paper labels or make them myself! I’m slowly getting around to this, just so you know.
-1 Hair Tie: I have searched Google inside and out and besides literally giving up hair ties, there are no compostable or recyclable options out there. I have not yet convinced myself to make the switch to just barrettes.
-A Month of Floss: Silk floss is compostable. Once I am done with the stack of containers that somehow ended up in my bathroom sink, I plan on investing in some.
-1 Piece of Tape: Switch to masking tape since it’s compostable, which I try to do. I honestly don’t quite know where this little guy came from….suspicious.
-1 Piece of String: I really should re-use this. Like I really, really should go pull it out of the trash and use it for something (that’s basically myself giving myself a pep-talk).
-3 Plastic Price Tag Attachments: This one is hard to avoid – maybe I should stop buying clothes? Only get them directly from friends and family? Honestly, even used clothing stores have to put price tags on them again.
-1 Price Tag Sticker: Again, the options above?
-1 Decorative Price Tag Attachment: And once again, nudity?
-1 Medical Container: Don’t put myself in a place that needs to use medical supplies. See my post “Battling a Cold – Zerowaste Style” for more tips! Hmm…I really should start following those myself. Ooops.
-4 Light Bulbs: Buy florescent bulbs that can later be recycled.
So now that I have written a long piece of advice to myself, can I really follow it? Making changes is hard and honestly, it is hard not to slip up. Or even purposefully turn back to old favorites (see my Top Ramen above!). It is just going to take creativity and inspiration – because discovering new alternatives can actually be really satisfying! Here's to another month!
Until next time!