Trash Bag Challenge: Five Tips for Reducing Waste in Your Household

I think about waste more than most. Part of that is because it’s the nature of my business—I founded the first zero-waste refillery in Memphis. It’s also because I’m a mom.

As a mom, waste is part of life. It comes in the form of wasted food, lights left on, toys requested and discarded, and clothes too quickly grown out of. As much as we try to minimize our trash, much of modern life is packaged up in single-use convenience.

But this convenience culture combined with overconsumption has created a monster of a problem—we waste too much. America is one of the top waste producing countries in the world. The average family here produces an average of 6,351 pounds of trash per year. That’s the weight of an elephant!

Plastics are particularly problematic. Approximately 353 million tons of plastic waste is generated each year—40% of which comes from single-use packaging. Recycling is important, but it can’t be the only step we take. While most plastics can be recycled, in reality only 9% of plastics ever created have been recycled.

The good news is there are some easy ways, in addition to recycling, to cut waste in your household.

• Take the trash bag challenge to see where you are starting. Weigh your bags of trash for the week before placing them in the bin to see how much your family is throwing away. (Note: The EPA estimates the average American tosses 4.5 pounds of trash per day.) As you make changes, weigh them again to see your progress.
• Source sustainable swaps for your most used items. Go through a lot of paper towels? Consider a pack of reusable Un-paper Towels. Cover everything with plastic wrap? Try out some washable beeswax wrap. Get rid of those shampoo and conditioner bottles by opting for solid bars.
• Refill what you can. Bring a jar to your local refillery and pay by the ounce for everything from laundry and hand soap to deodorant and body lotion. Refilling not only keeps containers out of the landfill, it also cuts down on the need for new packaging to be manufactured.
• Cut down on consumption. Consider gifting experiences instead of material items. Exchange toys with a friend or at a local swap. Buy durable clothes and toys that can be handed down when your kids grow out of them.
• Compost those scraps! Compost Fairy is back and offers residential pick-up for many zip codes in Memphis. Almost 40% of the two million tons of waste that heads to Shelby County Landfills each year can be composted. As a bonus, compost gives you nutrient- rich soil for your garden!

Progress is more important than perfection, so celebrate when your trash gradually gets lighter! And be sure to include your kids in your waste reduction efforts.

In the words of a Native American Proverb, “We don’t inherit the earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children.” As parents, not only are you helping preserve the world for your children, you are also teaching them to be good stewards of our planet—and that is one of the greatest gifts you can give them.

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