365 Days of Trash

"I have no special talent, I am only passionately curious" - Albert Einstein

What does it mean when you say "throw something away'? Well, just that, it hasn't been dealt with, it's just not near you anymore, it's out of sight and therefore out of mind. So what would happen if there was no "away". Come January 1st, I may be able to start to answer that question as I attempt to further alienate myself from friends and family by not throwing anything "away" for a year.

Now I know what most of you are saying but I haven't completely lost my mind, not yet anyway, and yes, my wife is still with me. I was reading a few weeks ago about the Puente Hills Land Fill closing down and it pretty much secured the idea that this is something I want to attempt. Puente Hills is right here in Sunny Socal and is the largest landfill in the country. In 2012, it will be full and therefore close for good, and all my garbage will be trucked all the way to Arizona to a brand spanking new landfill. Insanity right? Landfills across the country are closing down, but since new ones are larger, the capacity has remained constant. That said, eventually, it stands to reason that the way we are headed, we're going to get into some serious trouble, not to mention poisoning air, groundwater, and who knows what else along the way.

It'll be interesting to see what problems arise, and the choices I need to make, packaging, etc, along the way. As a result of the NPR interview I did last month, they will be doing a series (potentially) on the whole process starting Jan 2 on Day to Day. I'll post the links as they come up and will be blogging about the whole thing at 365daysoftrash.blogspot.com.

And for those of you who are local, not to worry, I'm keeping the stuff in the basement, we are worm composting food, and I haven't given up on the toilet (yet).

Live Sustainably

Dave