The average American produces 4.3 pounds of trash per day. That adds up to over 30 pounds a week! Auri decided to try and see what it would look like to live with zero waste for 30 days and learned a lot along the way:
Hate to break it to ya, guys, but our way of life is not sustainable. And although it can be really overwhelming to think of all the changes that will need to happen to heal the Earth, we can all start by doing little things every day to get on the road to recovery.
Auri realized right away that eating was going to be tough, as most food comes in packages. Was she going to have to forage in the woods for nuts and berries?
Auri also learned that a lot of our trash comes from unconscious behavior and luxuries we think we need, such as paper towels.
In her second week of no trash, Auri learned that the best way to handle food was to use jars and bags to fill up with items from the bulk bins at the store.
Even though processed foods are cheaper than fresh produce most of the time, Auri was spending less money collectively.
The next step in this no-trash challenge was figuring out what to do with her compost, or scraps of food/biodegradable material she wasn't going to eat. So, Auri went to a compost facility to take a class on how to properly compost.
She learned that a Vermicompost would be the best for an apartment that didn't have access to soil, so she set about making one.
That's basically an in-home worm bin, y'all! They were actually pretty cute. And they were going to eat all the food scraps!
At the end of the month, Auri showed us the small bit of trash she made (a teabag, floss, a piece of plastic) and felt very bittersweet about the challenge ending.
After it had all ended, Auri felt that one person can definitely make a difference and do their part to reduce, reuse and recycle. By cutting down on packaged foods and making changes based on whether or not a disposable product really adds value to your life, you can change the world! Start small – maybe just get a reusable water bottle or mug, and see what other changes you can make. Perhaps one day you will have worms eating your food scraps!
