This October I'm participating in REEP Green Solutions Zero Waste Challenge.
If you're familiar with my website, it might surprise you that I have big doubts on whether I'll be able to do this. Despite me being a somewhat, shall we say...obsessive environmentalist, a mason jar is just so....small.
I'll be completely honest with you - we are not a zero waste household. I would classify us as a mindfully eco-conscious and environmentally responsible household, but I'd be lying if I claimed that there wasn't more that we could improve on.
Therefore, my goal for this Zero Waste Challenge is to see where we waste the most and come up with solutions on how to reduce that waste. That's basically why I started Eco Shark: to help people identifying the auto-pilot consumable products that they use most and offering a more environmentally responsible alternative.
My Rules
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NIMBY - Or rather NIMMJ (not in my mason jar):
I'm one of three people in my household: two adults, one child. I'm the only one participating in this challenge, but since some of our trash is created as a family rather than by me as an individual, I'm going to be selective about what waste I'm classifying as my own.
For example, cereal box liners are not recyclable in the Waterloo Region where I live, so I'll be considering every 3rd liner as my personal waste.
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Trash, and only Trash
I'll be using Waterloo's Waste Whiz app to determine what waste is actual trash. If it's recyclable or compostable, that waste will be diverted responsibly and thus not be counted.
This may seem obvious, but I thought it was worth mentioning because I know that most recyclables are not recycled - including the ones that are picked up curb side. There's a ton of reasons why the recycling facility may need to landfill my recyclables, but that's out of my control and there's no way for me to know.
That's actually all I can think of right now, but I'm not opposed to adding additional rules and/or guidelines as I encounter them. It's like a moving goal post...just like the road to green living. We do our best, we use what we have, and we aspire to do better, amirite?
Are you doing the Zero Waste Challenge this year? Have you even heard of it before? Let me know what you think, and if there are any other rules that I should or shouldn't be adhering to.
