Halfway point and reflections on the project
So we're over the half way point of our waste reduction project and here's a little summary of our ups and downs.
Ups
Waste reduction: check! We can pretty much keep our waste to the pail each month, barring unforseen sources of waste. Still haven't solved the dog food bag problem so every other month or so that becomes a problem, but with our general day to day waste, we can do it.
Connections: It's been fun to "run around" finding waste free products. We've enjoyed talking to store owners and makers of products about our project. Mostly folks are on board and encouraging. We've made a lot of new relationships and we've enjoyed the chance to talk to others about our project. People are curious about how it is working for us and it's led to a lot of interesting conversations.
Downs
Guilt: Guilt isn't helpful for anyone so we've been fighting with this one. We feel guilty quite often and I fear that we make others feel so too. People want to hide their shopping carts from me at the grocery store which makes me chuckle. What we're doing is so far from perfect that no one should feel badly about what they're doing, or not doing for that matter. We're all just where we are and we all have our next steps in life. No judgement. We're getting better at letting ourselves off the hook too. It's just a great big experiment.
Futility: The most frustrating part by far has been the feeling of futility. "Is this really helping?" Choosing unpackaged tomatoes instead of the bagged ones, only to notice that the tomato box is lined with a plastic liner just makes one want to give up. Grocery shopping has been a constant lesson in compromise and we're not unaware of the fact that all kinds of waste is being made on our account no matter what our consumer decisions are. It's complicated and convoluted.
Our recent musings have been that it might be time to start making some more "noise" in terms of letter writing or informing companies that their practices matter. Our consumer choices alone aren't going to make enough difference. Stay tuned for that part of the journey.
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| June 2017 |
Ups
Waste reduction: check! We can pretty much keep our waste to the pail each month, barring unforseen sources of waste. Still haven't solved the dog food bag problem so every other month or so that becomes a problem, but with our general day to day waste, we can do it.
Connections: It's been fun to "run around" finding waste free products. We've enjoyed talking to store owners and makers of products about our project. Mostly folks are on board and encouraging. We've made a lot of new relationships and we've enjoyed the chance to talk to others about our project. People are curious about how it is working for us and it's led to a lot of interesting conversations.
 |
| Waste Reduction Shopping Trip |
Guilt: Guilt isn't helpful for anyone so we've been fighting with this one. We feel guilty quite often and I fear that we make others feel so too. People want to hide their shopping carts from me at the grocery store which makes me chuckle. What we're doing is so far from perfect that no one should feel badly about what they're doing, or not doing for that matter. We're all just where we are and we all have our next steps in life. No judgement. We're getting better at letting ourselves off the hook too. It's just a great big experiment.
Futility: The most frustrating part by far has been the feeling of futility. "Is this really helping?" Choosing unpackaged tomatoes instead of the bagged ones, only to notice that the tomato box is lined with a plastic liner just makes one want to give up. Grocery shopping has been a constant lesson in compromise and we're not unaware of the fact that all kinds of waste is being made on our account no matter what our consumer decisions are. It's complicated and convoluted.
Our recent musings have been that it might be time to start making some more "noise" in terms of letter writing or informing companies that their practices matter. Our consumer choices alone aren't going to make enough difference. Stay tuned for that part of the journey.
 |
| July 2017 (notice way less floss than other months, we are using silk which can be composted) |
Interesting shopping cart! How do you have them weigh your products?
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