What can you do to not throw away trash?

Question

I know about recycling and re-using, but still, we make too much trash. How could I decrease that/it so that my family and I would only have to throw away a maximum of a medium about-1-foot size grocery bag filled with trash per week, or decease it to the extent that I wouldn't have to throw away trash at all (hopefully there is a way and you could explain this way to me)? I don't want to have to pay the city for the ability to throw away trash, because I really don't want to add to landfills and I don't want to make trash whatsoever.

Please give me good, simple ways to do this that are unexpensive, not time-consuming, easy to do, etc. Sorry this message was so long, and thanks for your time!=)

Answer 1

Start at the beginning, don't buy trash in the first place. Unwrap the product in the store and ask the cashier/ shopkeeper for somewhere to dump the wrapping. It sounds unbelievable but my dad's been doing it for over twenty years to my knowledge, especially with things like shirts, which come packed with more stuff -by weight than the shirt itself. This way, it's the store's problem, not yours, and they're in a better, corporate, position to do something about it. They also have a legal responsibility to do something about it, and they're more likely to get a visit from the inspector than you are.

Second, sort out organic stuff which you can make into compost. If you don't have a garden yourself, then somebody near you will love you forever if you pledge all your leftovers, kitchen waste, dead flowers etc. It's amazing how much landfill is recyclable in the oldest way known to nature.

Third; What you think is junk might be someone else's livelihood. Check sites like Freecycle.com where you can give away things you think are no longer fit-for-purpose. Someone else will come and take it away. Free!

Lastly, the obvious stuff like glass, steel, aluminium, plastic. Separate them and take them to the local recycling point. It takes a lot less energy/ raw material/ water (yes- water!) to recycle these things than it does to drag them from the Earth in the first place.  Then go home feeling smug.

Just thinking about the amount of garbage you generate every day is a step in the right direction. The more effort you have to make to get rid of it responsibly, the less likely you are to generate it in the first place.

Answer 2

the solutions have always been there

and it is simple ,but the cures start at home

clasification of trash

composting all organic material at home

the worst you can do is throw it with the trash

70% of contamination is due to organic waste that is mixed in with the garbage .

and it is just as bad in the sewer where it helps to breed rats and in the landfill it poisons the ground

and it is the easiest to take care of

o first of all we have to clasify trash at least keep the organic to one side ,like in a plasic bin with a lid

if you got a few meters of ground ,you only need 1 or 2 square meters in a shallow hole ,in the shade ,that you can wet now and again ,where you dump everything that is organic ,from toilet paper,bones vegetable cuttings ,eggshells,,dead bodies ,excrement ,and cover regularly with leaves to keep humid and to hide any smell

the worms will come and decompose the wastes truning it into beautifull blck soil for the garden of flower pots .

if you are in a apartment ,if you have a balcony get a big plastic bin drill some holes in the side and lid ,

and add a few buckets of sand now and again to put over the trash ,you should realt stir or move the stuff at times to airate it and ensure that the decomposition is overall ,keep moist

the rest of the trash should be recycled as much as is possible ,and will be economically viable if only people would clasify their trash ,it is the seperation and sorting that is labour intensive and costs the money

but human Nature ,as well as antisocial behaviour and people just not caring is the biggest obstruction to this idea ,so mixed contaminating trash is put into land fills which slowly poisons the ground for centuries to come

Chief Seatle , said over a 100 years ago

;those who sleep in their own filth will die of it ,

and it is happening.

Answer 3

Well the only way to do it in the manner you ask for is not to buy anything that you will have to throw away.

Or you can crush everything down and form it with concrete and make bricks to build a big wall around your house.

All of your trash you buy.

so dont buy it.

Buy only food in its raw state so that you have no packaging.

do not buy anything that can not be recharged. re used or composted.

good luck. most every thing comes with trash. and if you want it to be simple and easy you have to change your life around. live on a farm grow and make every thing your self.

Farm life has never been easy or simple.

Answer 4

Burn It.

Answer 5

Make a compost pile, buy more biodegradable things. Eat things that don't come in containers. Don't use water bottles, but use the tap water and a cup. Use your own bags to carry groceries in (non paper or plastic bags that can be reused(canvas)). Some things you just cant avoid throwing out (i.e. pads or tampons). You could sell things at tag sales as well instead of throwing them out. Reuse paper and print things double sided. I hope I helped.

Answer 6

Avoid buying products in packaging.  Packaging accounts for about 1/3 of landfills.  And/or look for packaging that is reusable/biodegradable.  

Buy commonly-used products in bulk size to reduce packaging.

Answer 7

Buy a trash compacter..