{"id":642,"date":"2015-10-29T21:07:14","date_gmt":"2015-10-29T21:07:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sustainability.owu.edu\/?p=642"},"modified":"2015-10-29T21:07:14","modified_gmt":"2015-10-29T21:07:14","slug":"tossing-the-trash-habit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sustainability.owu.edu\/?p=642","title":{"rendered":"Tossing The Trash Habit"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"lets\"<\/strong>by Reilly Reynolds (OWU ’16)<\/p>\n

Imagine if you will<\/strong>: a world without garbage. No landfills, no dumps, and no garbage trucks driving down the street once a week to pick up bags and bags of trash. It\u2019s a nearly impossible world to imagine, but for the past 3.5 weeks, I have tried to do my part to get a little closer to that world. I delved into the lifestyle modernly known as \u201czero waste\u201d\u2026or at least I attempted.<\/p>\n

I made a plan all those weeks ago to take the steps necessary to reduce my garbage footprint. I made a list of what I would do to toss my trash habit. I would:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Collect all the trash I did make in a mason jar so I could evaluate what I used the most of.<\/li>\n
  2. Carry reusable items with me everywhere.<\/li>\n
  3. Create DIY products to replace some of my more waste intensive\/ less planet friendly products.<\/li>\n
  4. Reduce my consumption of packaged\/processed foods.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    \"weliveinatrashyworld\"The first day of my new lifestyle, I bought a hot chocolate without thinking about the reusable mug I had with me. I gained a paper cup to throw in my mason jar. The second day, I realized that every time my school dining hall charges for a meal, an automatic, unrecyclable receipt prints<\/p>\n

    We live in a trashy world. As such, I had to get creative. I started saving my receipts, and I crafted a to-do list note pad. It\u2019s not a perfect solution, but it\u2019s a start. At least those tiny slips of glossy paper will have \u00a0one more purpose before the landfill gets them.<\/p>\n

    My goal was to have only accumulated one mason jar of trash by the time the month was up. With three days of the month left, I have filled two jars.<\/p>\n

    Examining the contents, I see:<\/p>\n