Last week, I made a note of everything I threw away while I was at the office. Why? Because there’s a high likelihood that people don’t realize everything they throw away. If individuals don’t realize how much they throw away, how can businesses (made up of individuals) possibly realize and act on the amount of trash they throw away “willy nilly”?
Sure, not everything I threw away will have been recyclable and some of it won’t even be significant (maybe all of it put together won’t even seem significant) but put it all together, day after day and imagine how much trash we produce in a lifetime – trash that goes potentially unnoticed.
Keep in mind, in this daily routine I’ve attempted at every point to emulate the daily habits of the average non-recycler.
7:00 AM: Wake up, Shower, Brush Teeth. Throw away empty tube of toothpaste
8:00 AM: After wandering about the house, zombielike for approximately 45 minutes, pour a cup of coffee, throw away coffee grounds, filter, 4 empty sugar packets (Lay off!), and empty plastic bottle of creamer. Buttered some toast and headed to the office.
8:30 AM: Begin writing blogs and scouring the web for news on the recycling front. Print article on recycling efforts in California. Read article. Take notes. Throw article away.
9:00 AM: Finish second cup of coffee, throw away styrofoam cup, continue working.
12:00 PM: After 3 solid hours of work, it’s lunch time. After lunch, the trashcan finds itself a little heavier with one plastic sandwich bag, an empty cup of yogurt, plastic spoon, plastic knife, plastic fork, plastic bottle of water, bag of chips, and a granola bar wrapper.
1:30 PM: Print out 5 page report. Find mistake that slipped through the first draft, throw away old report, print out updated report.
3:00 PM: It’s the 3:00 wall, 1 more cup of coffee consumed, 1 more cup and 4 sugar packets to join it in the trashcan.
6:00 PM: Home now and it’s dinnertime! After all is said and done, the trashcan gets heavier with 4 paper towels, an empty carton of milk, leftover bits of chicken, empty bag of mixed greens, empty can of corn, packaging from chicken, and an empty spice bottle.
9:00 PM: A beer or two and a movie with the family. Trashcan, meet beer bottle and popcorn bag, they’re very excited to make your acquaintance.
11:00 PM: Goodnight world!
Check back next week and I’ll put it all into perspective! Hopefully, it will help some see how much money goes into waste and how much green business initiatives can save.
