Trash Report

No pictures but I did want to share my trash from today:

- a paper napkin from the restaurant I ate at (forgot to bring my own rag)
- chopsticks and its wrapper
- string cheese wrapper (cheese...my weakness snack at work)
- ice cream sandwich wrapper (my other current weakness. I buy them from the ice cream men or the local corner markets...I KNOW!)

My other waste consisted of veggie scraps which I tossed into my compost pile.

Not so bad but I can definitely cut out the snacking...for diet/health sake and to avoid wrapper waste.

ashes, ashes, we all fall down

I am very proud to say that one of my friends/co-workers and part-time green naysayer (but I'm sure he's a big greenie at heart) just told me that he started a compost pile in his backyard! Yep, my buddy John dug up a hole in his yard and has started throwing compostable material into the pile. I am very proud!

This morning he asks if he can compost his BBQ ash. This question left me stumped and has been, hence my lack of BBQs lately.


Did a little research and it turns out that you can compost your barbecue ash (and wood ash).

Wood ashes act as a lime source, and if added to compost should be used only in small amounts (no more than 1 cup per bushel of compost). As with adding regular lime, excessive amounts of wood ashes result in loss of nitrogen from the pile. Charcoal is just a partially burned form of wood. So long as no other chemicals have been added (check labels on packaging to be sure) barbeque ash should be a safe compost addition.

So go ahead and compost your ashes, just as long as they are chemical-free.

[If you know otherwise, please let me know]

Just Press No!

Rising gas prices making you cringe at the pump? I can't even watch the numbers tick away when I'm filling up anymore!

Next time you're at the pump just press NO when the machine asks if you want your receipt. You're going to crumple it up anyway once you get back into your car or forget about it when it's crammed in your wallet.

But if you encounter the inevitable receipt from restaurants or grocery stores be sure to reuse it as scrap paper and/or recycle it the first chance you get (after you shred the evidence, of course). Some merchants may use soy ink on their receipts. If so, you can toss that baby into the compost bin! And if you can, refuse the receipt altogether just like you refuse plastic bags at the store!

Trash, Recyclables, and "Other"

About a year ago I paused as I was about to toss my vegetable "trimmings". Wait a minute...green bin. It had been instilled in me since elementary school to separate my recyclables but why hadn't I been putting my fruits and veggie refuse into the green/yard trimmings bin? So when you enter my kitchen you will see 3 different receptacles: one for trash, a second for recyclables (it's the round one for those confused guests. Round...Recycle...Rrrrround....Rrrrecycle), and my lone blue bucket for, well, anything that is grown/compostable (veggies, fruits, tea leaves, coffee grounds, and the occasional eggshells). Every few days I just carry my bucket out to the green bin and toss everything in. The city of LA is going to turn the yard clippings and the like into compost and mulch anyway so why not re-route my rotting fruit and vegetables from the trash bin and turn it all into nutrients for someone's garden someday.

My bucket really is my more inexpensive (read: free) alternative to actually having a backyard composting bin (since I live in an apartment and have nowhere to put my it) or owning an indoor composter by Bokashi (for the urbanite who wants to keep a mini composter in their humble abode). I like it because I wouldn't have to deal with composting worms. It's funny how I've been ogling this item online lately instead of the usual cute dress or shoes. A green girl can dream...

In the meantime, I will continue to use my trusty bucket, eventually get a Bokashi, and ponder how to get my neighbours to join in on a communal backyard composting bin.

My bucket use is actually really fun for me because I like to monitor how much stuff I throw out in general. (I've got environmental impact guilt as powerful as my Catholic guilt!)
I feel good when I see my recycling bin and bucket overflow and I barely have any trash to take out ( find myself taking out my one trashbag every 2-3 weeks. This is good but not great). I would, however, like to get to a point where I have less waste all together and I only have to make bucket trips. Happy to report that I am getting there.