In the spirit of learning by doing I, Caroline, have decided to make a little experiment of sorts. Living in an apartment with 5 other girls obviously is not waste-free as we can’t control what we all separately do. Just because some aren’t as passionate for the environment as others, we can’t impose our standards on each other. BUT, I am still trying to do my part. I have been collecting my silk floss, bamboo Q-tips and other compostable bathroom waste in a little box by the sink, since I moved into my dorm this September. It works quite well given I don’t floss as much as I should and I basically stopped wearing makeup… so it’s not full yet! Which means I have not contributed to that extra little plastic waste bag in the bathroom. However, the kitchen waste bag has been nagging and laughing at me like Lucifer from Dante’s inferno, convinced that I wont defeat it… and truly, so far I have not, but that’s where my experiment comes into the picture. I have been low key trying to go zero waste in a gradual way the last 2 or so months but it’s hard to think your lifestyle through so thoroughly that you are 100%, or even 99% waste free. I have been more inspired after having to take the trash out 24/7 and seeing the trash room in a college complex. It is just horrifying. My goal is to only have to go out there for recycling before Christmas, meaning I wont contribute at all to the communal waste bin…

What I am actually doing, in addition to what I normally do such as recycle, collect dry compostables etc., is collecting all the waste that can’t be recycled or composted. I have used an old small Quaker oats cylinder to collect my residual waste in. In the plastic bag I am putting soft plastics flexible enough to be made into eco-bricks.

The purpose of this is to see what residual waste I am actually generating, because otherwise how am I supposed to know how to become zero waste? For the time being I will keep putting food scraps in the communal waste bin, given I don’t have a compost (although my parents do) or anywhere else to put it. I am still trying to solve that problem. I collect the dry commercial compostables under my bed, which is fine because there aren’t that many of them and I mostly use reusable cups, straws, napkins etc. whenever I can by carrying them around with me. I obviously recycle, but given that the recycling system in the US is not great right now I try to buy bulk as often as I can, in order to reduce that need as well. Reduce comes first! Which is why my residual waste cylinder says “Non-Organic Waste + Non RR” on it. The “Non RR” stands for “Non-Reusables and -Recyclables.”

Please know that nobody’s perfect and assume that we are all doing our best. I try to do my best for the environment everyday, but I am by no means a wizard in sustainability. So please let me know if you think I could be working on other things as well! This is just a progress report:)

I hope this was helpful and if you have any questions or insights don’t hesitate to ask!

Love, hope, and peace of mind - by Caroline Ellervik, Founder