Well the results are in. We decided to follow the amounts we were producing over a 3 week period to help give us a good average of what we are producing. I found that we really watched everything a bit closer since we knew we were going to be measuring each waste stream. For example I shredded more paper to add to the compost rather than putting it in the bluebin.
So how did it pan out? Keep in mind that there are only 2 of us in the house.
Garbage - 9.4lbs = 3.13lbs/week or 0.45lbs/day
Compost - 14.4lbs = 4.8lbs/week or 0.69lbs/day
Recycling - 32.4lbs = 10.8lbs/week or 1.54lbs/day
We broke down the recycling even further. Of the 32.4lbs of recyclables we had over the 3 week period. 12.6lbs of it was plastics, glass and aluminum. The other 19.8lbs was cardboard and paper. Which makes sense considering how many flyers we get in the week. We do use the flyers a lot to help save money on groceries and household purchases so it is worth it for us to keep getting them as opposed to cancelling them. But I would say that if you do not need to get sale flyers that you look into cancelling their delivery if you want to reduce the amount of paper you are putting into the recycling stream.
How do I think we are doing? Well I think that we have been able to divert a significant amount from the landfill but I would like to see the overall amount of recycling decrease. What I mean by this is that I think we need to start looking at what we are buying and the packaging that it comes in. Less is more.
We plan doing this again in a few months to see where we are at and if any changes we implement are making a difference.
So how did it pan out? Keep in mind that there are only 2 of us in the house.
Garbage - 9.4lbs = 3.13lbs/week or 0.45lbs/day
Compost - 14.4lbs = 4.8lbs/week or 0.69lbs/day
Recycling - 32.4lbs = 10.8lbs/week or 1.54lbs/day
We broke down the recycling even further. Of the 32.4lbs of recyclables we had over the 3 week period. 12.6lbs of it was plastics, glass and aluminum. The other 19.8lbs was cardboard and paper. Which makes sense considering how many flyers we get in the week. We do use the flyers a lot to help save money on groceries and household purchases so it is worth it for us to keep getting them as opposed to cancelling them. But I would say that if you do not need to get sale flyers that you look into cancelling their delivery if you want to reduce the amount of paper you are putting into the recycling stream.
How do I think we are doing? Well I think that we have been able to divert a significant amount from the landfill but I would like to see the overall amount of recycling decrease. What I mean by this is that I think we need to start looking at what we are buying and the packaging that it comes in. Less is more.
We plan doing this again in a few months to see where we are at and if any changes we implement are making a difference.
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