Happy Earth Day!

A couple months ago, I set out to keep track of what I was throwing away. I wanted to reduce my contributions to the landfill. I lost track of the exact number of things I threw out every day, but here are some highlights (or low points).

• At least 4 cups of stew (it had been in the fridge for 3 weeks) down the disposal.
• Half of a piroski at the office (into the compost bin) because I bought 2 piroskis and couldn’t finish the second.
• 4 chicken thighs that had gone bad before I could cook them.
• Not as much junkmail as I expected, since apparently the opting out worked quickly.
• A bunch of asparagus, lettuce, cucumbers, zucchini (went bad before I could eat them)
• Sewing scraps (I just saw that a blogger used fabric and thread scraps to fill a stuffed toy for a child. I’ll have to save  the tiny fabric scraps for the little cousins’s Christmas gifts)
• Packaging (for microwave meals, store-bought coffee, meat wrappers, cearal boxes, etc.)

In general, food waste appears to be one of my greatest sins. Someone recommended that I develop a stricter meal plan, and stick to it. I admit that too often I am too lazy in the morning to make a lunch, so that bread, cheese, and lunchmeat goes uneaten.

And no…we don’t have a compost bin. (More guilt!) Our condo community does not have a compost option with garbage pick-up, and our yard is so small that we haven’t been able to set up a compost bin in the backyard. I wish Renton (or King County) would mandate that condo associations had to compost.

I saw this infographic on Pinterest and wanted to share it (courtesy of www.coolinfographics.com). What is your biggest area of waste?