Hello community. I have posted this thread here, in Wacco Talk, inspired by a message from Sammy Nasr. Sammy posted a note to the Community section of Wacco, regarding a public position available, working with him, on these same important themes affecting our community.
I'm not offering any positions but what I would like to see here are people's input on what they do at home and at work, etc, regarding recycling, composting, reusing, and waste reduction.
I will start with myself:
We have eliminated food and paper from the outgoing garbage that is generated in our household. Garbage is a resource that waste disposal companies throw away (unused) in the Petaluma landfill and charge you and me money for doing so. We still put glass, metal, scrap wood, and plastic in our big, blue recycling bin that the waste collection company gives people.
All of our food scraps go to our chickens and rabbits, which are omnivores and herbivores respectively (humans are omnivores. Dogs and cats are carnivores). That takes care of the food 'waste,' which comes back to us in eggs from our chickens and other forms. Therefore, the waste is a revenue; turning garbage into gold.
To eliminate all paper products from our outgoing garbage, we use a method called 'sheet mulching.' We take all of our paper bags from the supermarket and fill them day to day with all of the waste paper products that come our way. Then we staple the bags shut and put them outside, on top of the worst, weed infested parts of our property, creating a layer. Then we place cardboard (from the local supermarkets box recycling area) on top of the layer of the paper-filled bags. The last layer we apply is several inches of soil. Finally, we plant a new garden with tomatoes, potatoes, and other yummies.
This is literally taking 'waste' and flipping it over for a non-cash income that is yummier, healthier, and cheaper than what we pay for in food stores.
By the way, a recent study was conducted and it was found that well over 50% of all garbage from the average American household is composed precisely of food waste and paper products! Just think if everyone in the community became responsible for re-assimilating their own garbage, instead of having it go to the landfill.
Any thoughts?
Edward