When I went to Boulder, I met an awesome guy who refuses to throw out ANY trash. If he has any waste, he’ll create something out of it – but there’s isn’t a snowball’s chance in hell he’ll throw it away.
When he first told me about that, it sounded kind of extremist to me.
However, the more I think about it, the more I find myself gravitating to that kind of thinking. It’s really incredible how much waste we have. A lot of the “green” movement consists of people buying cloth shopping bags to carry all their stuff, or buying energy-saving cars. These are definitely better moves – though they’re of course not reducing waste.
I’ve recently been reading about people called “freegans”. Some of them refuse to buy ANYTHING new. They’ll either swap with people, use freecycle (where people give away stuff they don’t want anymore), or go dumpster diving (digging in the trash for new things). There are all types of people who do this – I even read about a doctor/lawyer couple who does it.
It sounds crazy I know, but what’s crazier is how EASY it is for them.
I read one NY Times article that was being written as a group of people were digging through the dumpsters from stuff that recently-graduated NYU students left behind. The freegans were finding usable stuff – half full bottles of detergent, furniture, etc.
The most fascinating part of the article for me was when one of the upper-middle-class freegans was asked if she stockpiles the stuff she finds. She said no. In her words: “The sad fact is you don’t need to,” she said. “More trash will be there tomorrow.”
How crazy is that? Not only is there an entire class of people banking on all the waste we throw out but they don’t even stockpile the stuff they find! They’re crystal-clear confident that more trash will be thrown out tomorrow, and the day after that, and the day after that.
The United Nations says the leftovers in America could satisfy every single empty stomach in Africa.
I never really got into the whole “green” living thing until recently. That’s mostly because everything I read about was based on fear (“we’re ruining the planet!”) type tactics. Even though that may be true, negative spins on things just don’t appeal to me. If anything, they turn me off and I retaliate against them.
That being said, I freaking LOVE the beautiful world we live in, and I want to nurture it and make sure it’s here for a long time. I love the idea of everything living in harmony. Things like this or this make me realize how far ignoring things have gotten us so far.
So, even though I might not dedicate the rest of my life to green living, I find there are definitely things that can be done.
Even just yesterday, I was watching Sex And The City 2 and saw an awesome outfit Kim Cattrall was wearing. I thought, “Wow! I want that! It would look awesome on me, and I’m in the mall already…I bet I could easily find something just like it!”
Then I thought – “Do I really want more stuff?
The answer was no. I don’t need more clothes. I already have lots of clothes.
And that was it. For me, it was just a matter of taking a second to think and not act out of impulse.
Same thing when I went to go get a salad for lunch. I asked myself, “Do I want to get a salad from take-out, knowing there’ll be a plastic container given to me?” I was very hungry, so the answer was yes. (Maybe I’ll work myself up to the point of not doing that in the future – but for now, the answer was yes.)
As I sat and waited for my salad, I saw the staff at the restaurant taking every to-go order, putting it in a easily-carryable plastic box, and then putting the box in a plastic bag – complete with plastic utensils and another plastic bag holding a bread roll.
Just being CONSCIOUS of what was going on was really fascinating.
When the guy went to go grab a bag for my salad, I practically yelped, “NO!” I also didn’t take the utensils or the bread roll (which I wouldn’t have eaten anyway). I knew I had a perfectly good fork at home and it took no extra energy to carry the box.
It’s easy to do little things that really add up over time.
For me, I have a lot of fruit and veggie waste. That’s probably my #1 source of trash. Now I know I can use the scraps for compost instead of throwing them out. If you want to do that too, just Google “compost pile + your area” for more information.
Another easy thing is to give away clothes and things you’re not using, which helps other people not need to buy more.
Oh, and lastly- if you haven’t yet seen Story Of Stuff, I highly recommend it. It’s quite interesting and not fear-based.
very nice website :D
Hi Rachel,
sorry, I won’t be able to do it. My budget is much lower than that for this product. Right now, my budget allows me to spend low $xxx on the copy.
Anyways, thanks for the reply and I appreciate that you are trying to do something for charity. I love you even more after this :)
Wish you success,
jack
Yeah i am just a silent spectator. Found you a lot of time ago while searching for someone to do a sales copy for me but then i figured i won’t be able to afford your fees :) anyways, good luck on your new launch CTP. It looks great. Hope it will be a success.
haha – well, thank you. I hope you found an awesome copywriter!! :), and thanks on CTP too! I’m hoping it blows up! :)
Love You Rachel. Love your WSOs, your posts and everything else. this proves that the world is full of nice “things” like you :)
Aww, thank you very much!! I really appreciate you saying that!!! I think you’re quite spectacular yourself :D
First, how can you say using cloth shopping bags is NOT reducing waste???
If a person is not using plastic bags, they’re then not throwing them away, right? And if they’re not using them and obviously not throwing them away, then they ARE reducing waste, right?
Sure, it may not be much, but it certainly isn’t “NOT reducing waste” as you accuse. They’re not adding the plastic bags to the landfill since they’re not using any.
And second, how do you know that’s the only thing they’re doing – using cloth shopping bags and driving an energy saving car – as you assert? Are you following them around watching their every move?
I certainly would think – and hope – you are not.
See, Rachel, one of the ideals of conscious living, is paying attention to ALL OF THE WORDS you say. And using blanket statements – and stereotypes – is against that. Don’t just pay attention to the world around you – pay attention to the thoughts and words inside your own head and those that come out of your mouth.
I say kudos to anyone who is doing anything they can – no matter how small it may look – to help the “green” cause. As they say, every little bit helps.
Third, just because someone DOES take home something like a plastic bag, doesn’t mean they are in fact ADDING to the waste. Many stores have places where people can return those plastic bags. Additionally, places like libraries and food banks accept plastic bags.
And many communities have recycling programs.
Take my family, for example –
We’re a family of 7 and we have garbage pick up once a month. Yes, once a MONTH. Not once a week – just once a month.
Our recycle bin is three times the size of our garbage can. And that gets picked up TWICE a month.
I try to buy products in glass or reusable containers. If that’s not possible, I buy things in containers that can get recycled.
Look, the bottom line is this – saying someone isn’t helping reduce waste simply because you only SEE them using cloth shopping bags is ridiculous. You don’t know what goes on inside their homes or what else they buy or don’t buy or do or don’t do.
Instead of complaining about what others might be doing, no matter how small and simple it is, why don’t you praise those that are at least doing something instead of doing nothing at all?
Be blessed,
~Annie
Hi Annie,
Thanks so much for your well thought-out comment!
I think it’s ridiculously awesome that your family of 7 only gets the trash taken out once a MONTH! Wow!
Thanks also for calling me out on my wording. I definitely did not mean to imply that I don’t appreciate the steps that some people take.
What I meant was that, while I definitely appreciate that, the buck cannot stop just there.
Every little bit does help. I’d ideally like to see more than “little bits” though, and have people like you – people who have their trash taken out once a month. People who buy glass and reuse it instead of plastic. People who are conscious about what they purchase, etc etc :)
I am starting to get worried about my flower child friend of mine. When you start saving your pee in glass jars there will be an intervention. Love ya and your 5 Positive things rocks!
Enjoy home and rest for a bit.
Tim
PS: Sex in the city – I would of never guessed!
Hahaha – you say that now, but I bet you’ll be singing a different tune soon, Mr. Meditation Class! :)
I love you too :D