Trashy Cameraman loses 1,550 pounds in 10 months…

While doing research for our next blog I ran across a story about Sustainable Dave(http://365daysoftrash.blogspot.com/), a TV cameraman who decided to stop throwing away trash for a year. He has been composting or storing it in his basement. The purpose of the experiment is to see how he can minimize the creation of personal trash. As of October 1, he has created about 150 pounds of trash. On average, every person in the U.S creates 1,700 pounds of trash in a year.
Reading this story prompted me to calculate the amount of trash that my household creates in a year. So I took a look the amount of trash I generate not including recycling. I create about 4 pounds of trash per day “everyday”-- adding up to 1,460 pounds per year. So, if every person in Puerto Rico creates around 1,460 pounds of trash a year that comes to 6,300,000,000 pounds of trash per year. Imagine how many golf driving ranges we can build!!!

Ten ways to reduce trash:
1. Recycle!
2. Use cloth or hemp reusable shopping bags.
3. Use a sponge or rag for cleanups.
4. Reduce your use of plastic water bottles.
5. Get your statements and pay your bills online.
6. Reduce your junk mail. Check out Greendimes.com or Direct Marketing Association
7. Don’t use the plastic bag when buying produce.
8. Use Travel mug for your coffee. Often times Starbucks and others give a discount.
9. Buy bulk, less packaging. We will all use 30 rolls of toilet paper.
10. Use reusable plastic containers instead of storage bags.

Can you think of some other ways to shed those unwanted pounds? Let’s all try to be the biggest loser on 2009!