Seattle Colleges District

I'm still at it and my compost bucket was so heavy this morning when I took it out to the curb i felt both proud and embarrassed. I kept it out of a landfill, Yay! I wasted a lot of food, boo. Tonight's dinner a cabinet cleanout. I found a recipe in my Green America magazine that offered up a vegetarian orzo salad and I had everything...

I think I've reflected on plastic pickup enough! Broken record. I'm old enough to remember when Bic lighters came on the market and our Zippos were stashed in the corner of the dresser drawer. I remember when stores started handing out plastic bags with handles. I was a teenager. I thought it was all great! I was so naive.

This morning was my biggest plastic trash haul. People at the bus stop were staring at me when they saw me with a dog waste bag in one hand and one filled with plastic in another. I explained what I was doing and my hope is, it moved at least one of them to consider doing the same.

I haven't done much with the 3 things that appear to be the big lifts - trash audit, volunteer etc., but I am proud of the fact I have kept up with the little things. So I won't beat myself up, I'll just be more careful in choosing my challenges next time.

I've been giving a lot of thought to plastic waste, mostly because I pick up a bag of it every morning when i walk my dog. I put my Stasher bags (look them up if you don't know what they are) in the drawer where my Ziplocs were being kept. It's proven to be a smooth transition for most of my storage needs. The baggies still come out, but not...

Habits can be wonderful things. My habit now is to pick up plastic trash. My newest habit is to look up ways to avoid food waste. (We buy from Misfits and they offer tips for everything from how to store your fruits and veggies to what to do with those three tablespoons of peanut butter stuck in the bottom of the jar.)

Still walking the dog and picking up a ton more plastic than dog poop. All good in my book.

We had snow and slush yesterday so there wasn't much picking up of anything. However, the lousy weather did not stop my box of MIsfits produce from arriving. Nor did it create an excuse to get takeout, which my wife was hinting at.

My compost is picked up by Black Earth and they sell back bags of rich soil a couple of times a year. I notice that my waste is pretty significant (although we use the smaller container than our neighbors who have kids). I attribute some of it to the fact we cook at home a lot more than we eat out. In face, when I cook we create less food waste...

Once again, I am amazed at the amount of plastic I pick up while walking my dog. I continue to pull straws and straps out of drain grates.