It’s amazing how apartment living makes you take certain things for granted. Like trash. We were used to large dumpsters (and small recycle bins) for quick and easy disposal. Or property managers who maintained the trash barrel collection and all its requirements. In Champaign, Illinois, there was no curbside recycling. In Providence, neighborhood streets on trash day often resemble an obstacle course of everything, including the kitchen sink. And it all gets taken away.
In Warwick, things are different.
Along with the house, we inherited three 35-gallon wheeled carts: a gray one for trash, a green one for paper/cardboard and a blue one for bottles and cans. On trash day, these containers line the streets of Warwick, all facing out in an orderly manner. This seemed great … until we actually started using them.
Rhode Island recycling trucks from wikiarticles
35 gallons may sound big, but it only fits about 2-3 trash bags. Which doesn’t include the cache of grimy vertical blinds, the old carpet, the lawn chairs, boogie boards, rusty tools, miscellaneous pipes and plastic Budweiser mug collection. And that’s just the trash left behind from the previous homeowner. It doesn’t take into consideration the remains from our own cosmetic remodeling.
Then we noticed that all our neighbors had bigger trashcans, some even had two! (Apparently, we were recipients of the limited-number smaller containers reserved for the elderly.) We called the City of Warwick, requesting a large 95-gallon trashcan, but alas, due to budget constraints, they no longer offer any. Furthermore, they will not pick up any carts facing the wrong way or any trash outside of those allotted containers unless you’ve called in advance with a detailed list of extra items (not to exceed three); green and blue recycling pick-up alternates every other week — be sure to keep track — and will not be picked up if the container is stuffed full (i.e.: will not empty easily by robotic arm) … are you getting all this?
Warwick moved to automated recycling in 2003 to improve efficiency, reduce costs and employee injury, and improve curbside cleanliness. When I finally went to their website to sort through all the rules, I came away pleasantly surprised and well informed. They really put thought into this. And it’s all in an effort to be greener. Once you learn the rules (and the reasons behind them), it makes sense. And I feel less rankled.
Mike was recently venting about our trash woes to a neighbor, who generously offered to switch cans. “We’re trying to reduce our trash volume anyway,” she said.
This, of course, tripped the eco-guilt switch in me.
This is what a landfill looks like. Photo: Old Dominion Landfill, VA by Bill McChesney/Flickr
I don’t want to be whining about trash. (Though it is hard when I want to start with a clean slate in our new home.) Replacing “quick disposal” with “creative recycling” requires a mind shift. Gather the old paint cans, cleaning products and make an appointment to drop them off at the Eco-Depot. Try to sell or give away old building materials on craigslist. Ask around to see if our junk could become someone else’s treasure. It’s time-consuming, yes. But more and more necessary.
A friend recently informed me that Rhode Island’s Johnston landfill will reach capacity in just a few years! What then? Send our garbage to another country as Naples, Italy had to do?
My short-term goal is to get our 35-gallon trashcan back. Borrow the neighbor’s 95-gallon one while we’re cleaning out and settling in. But once we’re back to “normal” living, it’s gotta go. Bigger is not better in this instance. My long-term goal is to recycle and compost everything (is that possible?).
Barring that, reduce our waste to one small trashcan a month. I can picture this as a family challenge that Sofie would love to be involved in. She’s already learning to put some things in the kitchen trashcan and other things in the recycle bin (it’s not always the correct thing, but at least she’s getting that there is a difference.) And she hears the word “recycle” a lot in our house.
Crafts turning trash into treasure
Kids talk trash
It’s so funny that I ran into your blog today. I just told my hubby last night that we need to reduce our trash output. It’s amazing (and upsetting) how much trash a family of six can produce in one day.
Great topic and one that we don’t visit enough. I am guilty though. We do recycle as much plastic that we can. Yea, though I know plastic is not good for use, I haven’t quite cut it out yet. So I do what I can. And, eating more from scratch helps reduce the amount of waste. Baby steps!
Baby steps is right! I’ve become a lazy composter - tossing food scraps into the trash more often than I’d like. We must remind ourselves of the things we ARE doing instead of worrying that we’re not doing enough. Thanks for commenting!