Everything is so much fun! I'm in a particularly good mood today, so this post may be a bit more enjoyable to read. Maybe it's all this sunshine and warmth at 7:30pm...
I was going to say I've run into a couple of SNAFU's, but when you break down that acronym I'm not sure it's entirely accurate. It's pretty vulgar, and my life isn't that bad.
Firstly: I cleaned my car. Ugh. I've been trying not to generate much in there- it was mostly tissues and crumbs, but there was the occasional candy or protein bar wrapper I had to decide what to do with. Seems easy; just throw it away like normal. However, I got into a lonely debate with myself about whether or not I had to. What I mean is, I'm measuring the amount of waste I generate at home, in my kitchen trash. When I cleaned my car before this project, all that stuff went into the garage or gas station trash bin...so where does it belong now? I decided I will count it as "home" waste and try to minimize it in the future.
The real challenge came when I changed my oil. It's easy and fun until it's time to clean up. Usually I wipe up the funnel and drip pan with an old absorbent t-shirt or some type of rag, and then that gets thrown away. There were none of those laying around this time, so I had to use multiple paper towels. My hands were kind of tied here...I couldn't compost, burn, or throw them away in the house because used oil is just bad for everything, so I had to put them in the garage trash. I'm not quite sure how to remedy this situation...insert guilty conscience here.
Another problem: I'm addicted to dog toys. Well, I'm addicted to buying them, for my dog. She just gets so happy when there's something new to chew on! The issue here? She literally chews up everything...so in the trash it goes. Maybe one day I'll catch on.
The MRC puts on all kinds of cool events (yep, I'm plugging a little here), and last week we had our first Materials and Recycling Management training session, which I attended. Since I clearly radiate confidence and a love of public speaking, our trainer made me get up and talk about this very project. During my spiel, I admitted I was thrilled that individually wrapped candy had been provided, because I'm not allowed to eat it at home (can't recycle the wrappers). This begged the question from one of the attendees: "so you're allowed to throw things away when you're out and about?", which stopped me a little. I save recyclables and take them home, but I haven't thought about saving my trash to take home and throw away. Mostly because, well, that's gross, but also because it's not fair. Sometimes it's not possible for me to decide what I can throw away and what I can recycle. Sometimes recycling bins aren't even provided. Sometimes my drink is served to me in a really stupid, half foam/half paper cup, and there's nothing I can do. So, I've decided that bringing home anything recyclable and making smarter decisions about what I purchase while I'm "out and about" are just part of the project. Yes, I'm generating waste outside of my home, but I had no way to measure that waste before this project and the same problem exists now. Maybe next year I'll have this dilemma solved and perfected, but for now, "it is what it is".
The last thing I'd like to say is that I have the most wonderful, supportive, amazing parents. Anything that is important to me becomes important to them. Of course, they recycled as much as possible before I invaded their home a month ago, but they are striving to do even more now that I'm here. My dad is looking into ordering multiple Terracycle boxes, and my mom put a really heavy plant on top of my garbage bin. I'm not sure if it was on purpose or if it's her compulsive need to cover every flat surface, but either way the thought of having to lift the plant just to throw something away horrifies me. Anyway, they are just awesome, and I wouldn't be where I am today without them, and I just thought they deserved some recognition and love on here. You guys rock!
