Category: Why zero-waste

Food, Gardening, Why zero-waste

Compost

zerowastechattanooga

How long does it take for a head of lettuce to decompose in a landfill? Really, give a guess out loud before scrolling down. The answer? At least 25 years. Yeah, I know, its crazy! A University of Arizona project excavating landfills found a head of lettuce that was perfectly intact 25 years down in… Continue reading Compost

Plastic waste journal, Why zero-waste

A year of zero-waste

zerowastechattanooga

I can't believe it, but it's been a year since I wrote my first post analysing our plastic waste. I still look at our pile of plastic trash at the end of each month and think "Why is there so much here!?!" But looking back to where we were a year ago, it is pretty… Continue reading A year of zero-waste

Kids, Plastic waste journal, Why zero-waste

Plastic waste journal #15

zerowastechattanooga

Here is our plastic waste from September 2018. (Sorry, its halfway through October and I'm just now writing this!) If you'd rather watch than read, here is a quick video I made looking at our trash: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IJX1E6rlIQ&t=0s&index=6&list=PLZg0JwSmxeZoWwK6dPfWBwzCRcJkYYCw_ I include our recyclable and non-recyclable trash because plastic is only ever "downcycled," meaning its turned into one or… Continue reading Plastic waste journal #15

Non-toxic living, Why zero-waste

Why its time for zero-paper

zerowastechattanooga

We started our zero-waste lifestyle by trying to avoid all disposable plastic. And pretty much plastic in general. At first we were wrapping things in paper instead of plastic, thinking that was best. But as we have grown and learned more, we now also try to avoid disposing and recycling paper as well. Here's why:… Continue reading Why its time for zero-paper

Why zero-waste

Zero-waste business travel

zerowastechattanooga

This is a post by my husband about his experience traveling zero-waste!

first fruits

TL;DR (for non-millenials: “Summary”):

When you’re traveling for business, bring these 5 things with you, and you’ll be able to nearly eliminate your day-to-day business trip waste:

  1. Stainless-steel water bottle

  2. Coffee thermos

  3. Metal fork

  4. Metal spoon

  5. Napkin

Optional:

  1. A few small, light, reusable bags and containers

IMG_3925

Coffee

I don’t have to travel very often for work, but every time I do, I’m stunned by the sheer amount of waste I see all around me. Every day, over 2.25 BILLION cups of coffee are consumed world-wide (according to this 2002 study, so the numbers have increased substantially since then). What’s the big deal with that? Well, setting aside issues involved in production and transportation (for a different post… :), if you get your coffee to-go in a “paper” cup, those cups are NOT recyclable, because they’re lined with plastic – they all end up going to the landfill.

In…

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