The Journey Begins...

Recently, some people have asked why I stopped sending my eco emails (it's been several years since I have sent one).  To be honest, I felt that I had sort of run out of topics.  But I was in for a rude awakening that all started about 6 weeks ago at work.

You may or may not know, but I am on the Green Committee at Paramount.  We meet about once a month with our goals being to implement eco-outreach to those on the Lot and eco-improvements in the workplace.    We brainstorm and try to come up with ideals to inspire and get our company to adopt greener habits.  One of the biggest accomplishments in my opinion is that all of the waste that is generated on the Lot is sorted for recyclables.  I prefer sorting programs to segregated bins because you really can't rely on people to get it right when it comes to what is recycled vs. composted vs. put into a landfill.

The committee recently set up a Sustainability Workshop for those on the Lot to attend.  Essentially, it was a 1-hour lunch (provided by the Committee) each Wednesday for 4 weeks.  The presenter was a woman from sustainableworks.org (based in Santa Monica) who spoke about the following topics (1 each week): Energy, Waste, Shopping & Food.

Before the first meeting, attendees were asked to take a survey to find out how "green" we are.  I have always considered myself to be ahead of the curve, and was anxious to ace it.  ;)  However, I was deeply embarrassed and disappointed to learn that if everyone on the planet lived the way I did, it would take 3 1/2 planets to sustain our population.  Ugh!  How disheartening.  What else could I do?  I recycle, compost, don't drink bottled water (other than tap water I put in my Camelbak aluminum reusable one), have solar panels (pay a premium for only green electricity to the extent I pull it from the grid), have a rain barrel, collect water in a bucket in my shower while it warms up that I then use to water plants or use in my kids bath, have green housekeepers that only use 100% environmentally safe products (usually made from scratch), wash my clothes on cold (most of the time), buy primarily organic products, have energy efficient appliances, keep everything possible unplugged when not in use, don't leave lights on, have a car that gets over 100 MPG, etc.  I mean, what am I doing wrong?  If someone like me is this taxing on the planet, what does that mean for people who don't do any of these things?

By the second session, the topic for which was "Waste", I began to have a better understanding.  I was particularly eager for this session (in part because I had to write a blog entry for the company's internal website), but more because I HATE, HATE, HATE waste.  It truly drives me bonkers.  I eat my kids leftovers to keep them out of the trash (which does not help my waistline).  I only use reusable containers in my kids lunches and if they don't eat something, it comes home (I am so proud of them for this because I never asked them to bring it home, they just did).  If, on the rare occasion, they don't eat all of their lunch, I guess you could technically say, they do produce some waste at home if not eaten by them or someone else later.  Again this is rare.

The "Waste" workshop was a real eye-opening experience.  Did you know that :

• Americans are producing twice as much trash per day than we were in 1960. 
• The average American produces 4.5 lbs. of trash per day.  By comparison, Germany and Sweden (who produce the least amount of trash per capita for industrialized nations) produce less than 2 lbs. per day.
• US Industry produces 1 ton of Hazardous Waste per citizen per year.
• American households produce 1.6 tons of Hazardous Waste per year.
• 60% of the total waste that American produce could be reused (recycled or composted).
• On average, Americans throw away ¼ of the food we prepare.
• 14% of America’s total waste is food waste.
• Americans waste approximately 1 lb. of food per person per day.
• Americans consume nearly 30 billion single use plastic water bottles annually, yet around 80% are NOT recycled.
• Less than 1% of single-use plastic bags (those you get at the grocery store or pharmacy) are recycled per year.
• In 2010, Americans spent more money on single-use bottled water than on iPads, iPods and iTunes music combined. 

How did we get to this point you ask?  Take a look at the less than 20 minute video on YouTube entitled "The Story of Stuff."  It is a quick and easy summary of the problem our world is facing, and particularly our country (which accounts for 30% of the consumption and waste in the entire world even though we account for less than 5% of the population according to the US Census Bureau in 2012).

So, where does all this waste go?  Over the past several decades, whether we realize it or not, we've been trained to not think about it or not to care.  "Out of sight, out of mind," right?  But what was really frightening to me is that as much as I thought I was "aware."  I soon realized I still had so much to learn.  In a nutshell, we only have so much "space" to put the waste.  And at the rate we are producing it, it's only a matter of time before we run out of space.  One of the most frustrating things I learned during this workshop is that my efforts to buy only biodegradable and/or compostable items (like plastic free diapers, wipes, dinnerware, cups, straws, bags, etc.) doesn't have the impact I thought when it just ends up going to a landfill.  Landfills are filled and sealed once they reach capacity, depriving them of oxygen, which means the items can't biodegrade (for a long, long, long time).  If you left a banana peel in your yard, it would biodegrade in a matter of days.  But in a landfill it takes years!  What's worse is these landfills are just toxic time bombs.  If ruptured (and some have), they leak toxic substances into our earth and water supplies, which then get into the plants and animals we eat.  So despite these half-assed efforts, in all likelihood, all these toxins will inevitably find their way back to us.  The only way to make a difference is to stop producing so much waste.  This means we have to stop consuming so much (I know the economists have a death wish on me for that) and be more mindful of what we consume and how.

Being a full time working mom of 3 active kids, I am guilty of taking advantage of what we perceive to be "convenience", and in turn producing ridiculous amounts of waste.  I bought the organic pre-cut washed lettuce because it saved me time.  I didn't think about the amount of waste it produces between the water, energy or resources used to manufacture a plastic bag that has little shot of being recycled (even though it is able to be - the demand for the product just isn't there).  But after attending the workshop, my mission was to get my household down to 1 kitchen bag (30-gallon) of trash per week.

I was sharing this goal with a good friend of mine, who in turn sent my this blog: http://zerowastehome.blogspot.com/.  I can't thank her enough because it has truly changed my life!  This blog has showed how many opportunities are awaiting me (us!) out there.  Not only can I get to 1 bag of trash per week, but perhaps 1 bag per month or even 1 bag per year!  If you are inspired even in the least to make a change and take part, her blog is really the place to start.  Words cannot express what an impression she has left on me.  I view her as the master of zero waste and a role model for what I hope I can achieve.

But listen, I realize that it takes time.  This is not going to happen over night.  It will be hard.  I am guessing it will be met with resistance and criticism.  I hope my habits and actions inspire people, but I am sure at times it will annoy or even offend.  But I pledge not to be deterred.  The little that I have implemented in these first few weeks has brought me so much satisfaction.  I can actually see my mood lifting.  These accomplishments help offset the stress I have in my life.  In fact, I am proud to saw that we just had our first successful week of only 1 bag of trash (the lion's share of which are my son's biodegradable diapers).  I can only imagine how great this is going to be when we are diaper free (In case you were wondering, I opted not to use cloth diapers, which would reduce/eliminate disposables, because of all the toxic chemicals used to clean them.  Just my opinion).

The purpose of this blog is to share my road to Zero Waste.  My goal is to post once a week about my new developments, experiences and progress.  I promise most posts won't be this long.  This first post is just an intro as to how this came to pass, which required a bit more verbiage.  So much has happened in just a few short weeks, but I don't want to spit it out into 1 blog.  I will distribute it gradually in hopes that people can ingest it at a reasonable pace and not be overwhelmed.  I want to teach, inspire and learn!  I'll share my ideas with you, and want you to share your ideas with me.