In with the Old, Out with the New: Changing the Idea of "Trash"

This summer I spent a week a The Island School in Cape Eleuthera, Bahamas. During my time there with my colleagues and 23 high school city students, I had a 7 day glimpse of what responsible living and environmental consciousness could look like. more than a farm and compost system in the back, all the staff cars ran on bio-diesel, made from large bins of old frying oil from cruise ships. Napkins and paper towels did not exist on campus-- rags were used to clean everything. There was a pretty intense and efficient dish washing system comprised of pre-wash, wash, rinse and sanitize stations, which used as much water as it takes for me to wash a handful of utensils. And on the subject of water, all water used on campus came from rainwater reserves from water collected from drain system on the roof of every building. Water is precious so showers were short. Who knew that just a two-minute shower expended five days of drinking water! Each time the toilet flushed, which could only happen if you made a number two (if it's yellow, let it mellow!, "waste" water streamlined through limestone and plant roots-- nature's finest water treatment system! 

The Island School Main Campus

A vacation it was not. It was challenging, uncomfortable yet unbelievably relaxing, peaceful and extraordinarily insightful. After landing back in the Big Apple, the capital of excess and waste, I have been searching for ways to incorporate what I have learned into my daily life:

Not ready for vericomposting just yet, I purchased a compost bin at The Container Store for just $9.99. 

 After a few weeks for dumping my compostable food scraps in my bin, I bike down to the Greenmarket in Union Square, NY where the Lower East Side Ecology Center collects for the Community Compost Program. The "waste" is transported to their main facility to be devoured by worms and pooped out into nutritious soil for planting!

ReCycle/ReDuce\ReUse

One (wo)man's trash is another's treasure, the saying goes. Another lesson from the Island School is that not everything has to be thrown to the black undefined hole named "away." I recycle and compost when I can, in other cases, I try to find new ways to use plastics and glass in my home:

"Waste" art
What: Old wine glass in a vase with silk flowers/berries
Location: beautiful centerpiece for my Dining Table

"Waste" Storage
WHAT: peanut butter jar now a multipurpose jar, seen here with homemade fresh applesauce
Location: in my refrigerator until empty, then the container pantry!

"WASTE" LIGHT
WHAT: OLD PASTA SAUCE JAR with a LIT CANDLE INSIDE
LOCATION: anywhere i need a dim light in my apartment

"wASTE" GARDENING
WHAT: water filled Old water bottle with a small hole in the top of the cap
LOCATION: placed downward in a plant, the leaking water keeps the soil moist! No more asking the neighbors to water your plants! 

It's not easy constantly thinking about how to throw things "away." It impacts what and where I shop and what and how I eat. Some people may say "why bother" and question what the impact will be if just one person tries to make a difference. For me, it's not about making a change or hoping to solicit others to join my waste war. It's about doing the right thing, no matter what. If that will take an extra dollar or an extra minute of my time, it's worth it!