I read a fascinating article in the SF Chronicle this morning about a guy in Berkeley, California who saved all of the trash he accumulated throughout 2007.
What?! Yes, that's correct: Ari Derfel retained 96 cubic feet of trash he had generated this year. SF Chronicle reporter Kelly Zito reports:
The project called "Save Your Trash" started out as an experiment - to see just how much waste one person generates in a year. But as the months rolled by and Derfel's refuse overflowed from his kitchen pantry and into bins in the living room, the project grew from novelty into an environmental statement, a source of much discussion and debate, and a three-dimensional diary of Derfel's consumption habits (not to mention a source of many, many jokes).
This extraordinary experiment, known as "Project Trash Retention" (ha!) really makes one think about where exactly our trash goes. Derfel observes:
When we throw something 'away', what does 'away' mean? There's no such thing as 'away'.SF Chronicle reporter Kelly Zito discovered in her research on this topic that "Americans generate about 250 million tons of solid waste a year (including recyclables and yard waste), according to the Environmental Protection Agency."
One example that drives home the idea of making more conscious purchasing decisions includes Derfel's reference to his consumption of Soy Dream ice cream pints - which happen to be one of my favorite indulgences.
During the course of his trash saving project, Derfel admits that each purchase of a packaged product forced him to think about whether consumption of the given product was worth having to make space for the container after the contents had been consumed.
These thoughts resulted in Derfel's decision to skip the soy ice cream (among other things), and instead buy locally grown and unpackaged products. As a substitute for reducing stress, Derfel opted for a hard work-out in lieu of soy ice cream consumption.
Nice!
We hear a million times about the pressing need to "save the planet", "recycle", and "reduce our carbon footprint". To me, Derfel's activism through his trash retention project drives home the message like nothing else.
Derfel's inspiration has already made me start to rethink my purchase decisions as well. Amazing how one article about one person can change the way you do things. I had a good test yesterday when I made a grocery store run. I passed by the soy ice cream aisle - thought about Derfel's trash retention project, imagined myself retaining my trash for a year as well, and walked by the aisle without adding a pint of the soy ice cream to my cart. Touche!
Learn more about this extraordinary project and about Ari Derfel by visiting his blog, "Save Your Trash".
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.
Margaret Mead (1901-1978)
US Anthropologist, Author
2 comments:
Hi,
Thanks for your comments about the story. I especially appreciate the experience you had at the grocery store deciding to forego the pint of soy ice cream. It's a fine line between wanting to satisfy our desires and wanting to be disciplined and aware.
I have to admit, every now and then the tasty frozen pint still wins... and I make sure to love every bite.
It's nice to share the planet with you.
- ari
Hi Ari,
Great to hear from you, thanks for your comment! It's amazing how one person can elicit change in another - especially in others who have never crossed paths. Thanks for providing the inspiration.
Haha, yes, those tasty pints do win sometimes, haha. It's important to enjoy them when that happens. Since my post I've done so a few times. The other few times, I have won over the pints. Touche! Haha
The good thing is to start somewhere. I look forward to the day when all these pints will be of the biodegradable kind! :)
Thanks again, nice to share the planet with you too. Have a great week!
Post a Comment