I've spent my holiday break at home with my son who is back from college. We have been taking care of some long overdue chores including purging the ping pong table of all of his belongings so we can play again. Happy to say the basement now looks fit for a college student and I can still beat said student at ping pong!
Then there's the practice room where he spent countless hours drilling on the cello. Since leaving for college I had turned that room into a "catch all". Clearing through the maze of music, tai kwon do belts, art projects, tools, linens, etc... has me practicing some Marie Kondo-esque letting go. I filled the dumpster and borrowed some space in the neighbors with things that weren't worth donating. I said a small silent good bye to the things thanking them for their role in our lives.
What surprised me the most was the amount of dead electronics I had stashed EVERYWHERE. I was pulling cords and screens out of drawers like a magician pulling a rabbit out of a hat. As a working sustainability professional I have written waste management plans for owners to organize building space for the inevitable slew of things that will be discarded. Yet, here I was in my home with no plan at all for what to do with the special waste streams that are generated in the domestic sphere.
The state of Indiana isn't exactly known for its environmentalism (love to all the hard working sustainability professionals in the state). I pay a monthly fee to have recycling picked up at my home. I have a single stream collection point for the materials mostly generated from my kitchen and household under my kitchen sink. I subscribe to the "when in doubt, throw it out" approach that I learned about through educational content put out by Circular Indiana. Much of what ends up in the recycling bin is "wish cycling" and actually harmful to the process.
Now that I have collected all the dead electronics in one place I plan on making a trip down to Recycle Force where they safely handle electronic waste. Many electronics contain hazardous materials that have to be handled separately so they don't end up in the landfill leaching chemicals.
Some other waste streams that I have found to take up space in my home are: plastic bags, cat food bags, clothing, and compost. I usually bring my own reusable bags to the store, but somehow those things are like tribbles (Star Trek reference, you're welcome) and just seem to multiply in thin area. I use them for cat little waste and the ones that I don't use I collect and take to Kroger and drop them in the bin near the front door. I've heard these bags are shredded and used to make those hard plastic outdoor benches.
Cat food bags are my version of wish cycling. After doing some research there are select companies that will recycle their own waste. How amazing would it be if every company offered a responsible disposal option! For now it looks like mine are going in the trash.
Clothing can be dropped at Goodwill or consigned. Except, I wear the heck out of my clothing so by the time its reached the end of its life I don't think anyone will want it. Kids are often hard on their clothes too. I know my kid has spilled many a thing on many a shirt making them unwearable and trash bound. H&M websites says they will recycle all fabrics, but to call before you drop off.
This blog post has inspired me to break out my compost bin again. I collect food scraps on my countertop in an old soup stock pan. Then it goes out the back to a recycling bin. I collect leaves throughout the year to throw them in with the food scrapes to keep the carbon and nitrogen in balance.
It can be hard as an environmentalist to let go and put things in the landfill, but at some point it becomes necessary. As the year 2022 approaches I make a renewed effort to walk the walk in my own life through waste reduction and sharing my at-home sustainability journey through blogging.
Do you have any resolutions to be more sustainable?
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