Half Way through a Waste Free Year - Our birthday gift to Canada

In my first post I stated we were taking on the challenge of living a waste free life. So how have we done so far.

Here it is 6 months in and we have yet to put out a bag of garbage that would go to landfill. This has been achieved by changing our purchasing habits. By eliminating non-recyclable packaging we have eliminated most of our waste. This has meant that we do without certain products such as potato chips, certain types of chocolate bars, and baked goods that may be covered with thin film plastic wrap (I must admit these are all my weaknesses)

We purchased two rainbarrels and all of our laundry and garden watering now uses rainwater. I have even begun to use it for washing my hair - better than any conditioner. Another purchase was an outdoor clothesline and this has eliminated the use of our electric dryer for the past two months. Instead of using an electric lawn mower my husband now cuts the lawn with a manual pushmower. Each step on its own doesn't make a tremendous difference but add them all together and the changes become significant.

I have continued to collect Corelle chip resistant coffee mugs from thrift stores in order to have them available for any gathering that will be serving hot or cold drinks. This eliminates all of the disposable beverage containers that end up in the garbage. A local public school requested to borrow these cups for their multicultural community dinner. It is gratifying to know that others are taking up the challenge of holding waste free events.

Canada is a beautiful vast country and we take for granted that we have lots of space to place our waste. Just because we have the space does not make it the right thing to do. To keep this the best country in the world in which to live and raise a family we need to ensure we don't turn it into a wasteland. I promise to do my part - will you?

Happy Birthday Canada!!