The three step check to save the world
Have you ever really taken a look at what you throw away? Chances are pretty good that there are some useful things that anyone could find in your garbage can; in fact there are entire cultures based around the treasures you can find in trash. One very simple, close-to-home check can really reduce the size of the bag you consider to be junk. I call it my Three Step Trash Check.
Before you throw a piece of “garbage” away, ask yourself these questions.
- Can I reuse it? If you can use it for another purpose, that’s the best case scenario. Plastic and paper bags can often be reused multiple times to hold various stuff. Plastic, glass, tin, and steel containers – sour cream, cottage cheese, peanut butter, coffee – can be rinsed and can be used as good storage for little things that would otherwise end up in a pile somewhere. Consider even reusing good tissue and wrapping paper. It might even save you some money.
- Can someone else reuse it? If you’re lucky, someone else might pay for an item’s reuse. If not, think of who else may benefit from having the item to use. Take clothes to Goodwill or a second-hand resale shop. Try to sell the old toys or electronics you have on eBay. Donate items that might be helpful for crafts to local schools or organizations. Look around; there are people and organizations in need around you.
- Can you recycle it? The final check’s effectiveness may surprise you. Most locations (at least where I live) have easy recycling facilities or pickups for newspapers, corrogated cardboard, tin, glass, #2 plastics (milk jugs), and bottles (around here, worth $0.05/each). Often facilities may exist for other items in a place you travel every couple of months; think about having a box in the corner for your next trip there (I recycle paper and paperboard in Orono, for example). If you own your own land, consider starting a small compost pile for your food scraps.
The check isn’t that painful, really, and after a while it seems automatic. I’ve been amazed by the amount of trash I’ve spared from the landfill. Depending on where you live, reducing your trash load could even save you some money. Personally I think that any monetary benefits are outweighed by the chance to give your materials another life.
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