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| Waste Not: Week 1 of 2 | ||||||||||||||||
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This Week's Project - Projects to Date - Daily Picts - FAQ - Project Invitation - Participants
Waste Not: Week 1 of 2
Day 1
Date: 12.03.00
Items:
daily 26
total 26
Plastic:
1 bagel bag
1 ribbon
Cardboard/paper:
1 napkin
1 decorative umbrella
1 wrapping paper
Other:
4 Mussel shells
17 Clam shells
Comments:
Today I was visiting Alice, Roger and Christy in NYC. It was determined that the shells, while organic, won't compost so must be considered discarded. I also carried chicken bones, and shrimp shells home with me where I placed them in the compost pile. The wrapping paper and umbrella are mixed materials and can not be easily recycled.
Day 2
Date: 12.04.00
Items:
daily 23
total 49
Plastic:
2 clear drink cups NWA
2 cup lids LGA
1 Oreo cookie package NWA
1 coffee filter bag CQ
1 baby carrot bag NWA
1 mustard packet LGA
1 straw LGA
1 knife NWA
1 clear utensil bag NWA
Cardboard/paper:
2 coffee cups
1 coffee filter CQ
2 napkins LGA
1 soap box CQ
2 muffin wrappers
1 hotdog tray LGA
1 plate NWA
Other:
1 soap CQ
1 foil sandwich bag NWA
Comments:
A night in the Club Quarter "CQ" hotel a wait in Laguardia "LGA" and a flight on Northwest Airlines "NWA" can sure generate a lot of garbage quickly. They hand it to you and take it away so fast you almost don't think you are accepting and discarding unrecylable junk.
Day 3
Date: 12.05.00
Items:
daily 5
total 54
Plastic:
1 pretzel bag
1 flower wrapper
Cardboard/paper:
3 napkins
Other:
None
Comments:
My first day back home since this project started. I'm starting to turn trash cans upside-down in order to catch myself. Recycling and composting is a lot easier here.Day 4
Date: 12.06.00
Items:
daily 6
total 60
Plastic:
1 cracked storage container lid
1 CDR Shrink wrap
1 Foam coffee cup
1 cellophane hard and wrapper
Cardboard/paper:
1 paper wipe (for cleaning monitors)
1 cardboard candy container
Other:
None
Comments:
Shared Chinese for lunch and a home cooked dinner kept the trash to a minimum today. I'm starting to get nervous about any weekend cleaning and the museum's annual cleanup day on Monday. I may need to buy a wagon.
Worked out at the YW tonight with Mike Mouw. I wonder if anyone else noticed the small bag of garbage I carried with me from machine to machine, gym to pool.
Day 5
Date: 12.07.00
Items:
daily 11
total 71
Plastic:
2 CD wrappers
2 CD security seal stickers
1 Fortune cookie wrapper
1 Bread bag
Cardboard/paper:
1 Paper towel
1 lens tissue
1 Small paper bag
Other:
2 beer caps
Comments:
Recycling has been serving me well over the last few days. I thought I was going to get away clean today until I started to empty my pockets. After dinner I got around to opening the two CD's I picked up in NYC. Wow! I've got more garbage. Luckily nothing perishable. I'm carrying around enough smelly stuff.
Day 6
Date: 12.08.00
Items:
daily 9
total 80
Plastic:
1 plastic netting from tangerines (1/8 of shared package)
1 Cellophane candy wrapper
Cardboard/paper:
1 Waxed paper basket liner
2 Napkins
1 Cupcake paper
1 Toilet paper tube
2 Waxed paper candy wrappers
Other:
None
Comments:
This is the first day I've had to actually break a section off of a share waste item, in this case a small fruit crate share by the media department. I'm still not too sure what to do with these soiled paper goods. While they probably could be recycled, I typically wouldn't, so I'm not. Looks like my candy addiction generates a small waste stream in itself.Day 7
Date: 12.09.00
Items:
daily 46
total 126
Plastic:
2 hospital bracelets (from week 7)
1 smoothie lid
2 broken rubber bands
2 transmission fluid containers
25 scraps of black rubber
4 pieces of fishing line
Cardboard/paper:
2 soiled napkins
1 disposable oil funnel
1 waxed candy wrapper
1 soiled service station towel
1 coated medical tape package
1 waxed bagel wrap
1 soiled bagel bag
Other:
2 beer caps
Comments:
A busy day full of creative and maintenance projects generated quite a bit of garbage. By the end of the week there are usually many small pieces of trash scattered around my desk, my dresser and in my pockets. The weekend tends to be when I pick up and throw many of this items in the trash.
Week 1 Totals
Date: 12.03-12.09.00
Total items: 126
Weights
Non-recyclable Plastic 12 oz.
Non-recyclable Paper 11 oz.
Non-recyclable other 14 oz.
Week 1 Total Weight 37 oz. (2.3 lbs)
Size: Approximately 1 cubic foot
Comments:
Wow, it seems like everywhere I go someone or something is trying to hand me some type of disposable, non-recyclable, non-biodegradable, item. I was aware of this before since I've always been a big fan of recycling, but this week of this project has clearly demonstrated that the problem is worse than I wanted to believe. The ecology movement is dead and the once complained about disposable items are now accepted part of living in the US.
I have some larger observations and opinions on this, but I'll save them for my summary at the end of week 2.
View Week 2 of this project
