No Time to Waste~Volume 2, February 2021

– Anne Marie Bonneau

Did you know that the year 2020 was the first year that human-made stuff outweighed natural stuff?!?

So...nothing like learning a good mantra to help all us humans build better habits as consumers*. Waste Not, Want Not-what does this even mean?

Waste Not, Want Not sticks in my head like "righty tighty, lefty loosey". My grandma, a penny pinching-eat the crust of the bread-reuse my grandpa's underwear for cleaning rags- before her time- super non-waster, used to say to me, " Waste not, want not, Tana." Her words hanging out there to sink into my brain; usually when I was asking for something I didn't need or I didn't eat all my food. While it frustrated me at the time, it has stuck with me. And, you know, People, she was right! The less we waste, the more we have. More money. More meals. More time. More happiness. More from less.

The mantra Waste Not, Want Not originated sometime between 1500 and 1770 and surfaced in a couple books in America in the 1930's, when my grandma was a young mother. Its very vagueness makes it useful for most any wasteful situation, and frankly, we can't afford to waste- food, water, electricity, single use items... throwing almost anything "away". When we are aware of what we need, what we use and what we waste, we not only keep money in our wallets, but we help the planet.

*Consumers are people who buy goods and services. Sometimes, people think that having many things is important; this is called consumerism. Being a smart consumer means that you think about whether you really need an item or whether you just want it before you buy it.

Check out the Loop Scoops videos for a fun look at some of the stuff in our lives.

~ Dr. Seuss (The Lorax)

Join BRING's Emily Shelton, Eco Chick and Amy Page for a virtual field trip at BRING recycling center.

― Bea Johnson, author of Zero Waste Home

We are all probably oh-so familiar with the good ol' 3 R's-reduce, reuse, recycle, that we can likely recite them maybe even with a catchy tune. The 3R's are, well...so 10 years ago. In the shift to rethinking our needs vs. wants and- more importantly, what we will do with the things we no longer need or want- it's going to like take some Re-training.

REFUSE what you do not need.

Refusing is actually harder to do than seems reasonable. This is where my favorite R-RETHINK comes in. Being able to do without; especially things that are not a necessary. It's okay to say "no, thank you" when someone is offering you something you don't need, a "freebie". It's also good to say "no" to yourself after thinking "huh...do I really NEED this?"

You could go next level, with yes, more questions. How long will I need this/love this/use this? Do I NEED it today? Do I have something else that will work/be suitable/I've forgotten I own? Can I borrow or rent it?

REDUCE what you need.

Letting go of things that are no longer of use and donating or selling. It also means only focusing on necessary purchases. When we reduce what we purchase and what send to the landfill aka "away", this helps the solid waste stream a lot!

REUSE what you consume.

Switch from single use items to reusable and permanent alternatives.

Top 5 easy items to reuse: water bottle, reusable hot drink cup, reusable cold drink cup with reusable straw, utensils and napkin, shopping and produce bags. Yes, it feels bulky to carry all these things with you, but keeping single use items out of the waste stream is easy to do and it's up to each of us to reduce by reusing.

RECYCLE what you cannot refuse, reduce or reuse.

We’ve been made to believe that recycling is the go-to solution for waste reduction. In fact, it’s number four in the list behind refuse, reduce, and reuse. Many items cannot be recycled unless they are clean and accepted in our local waste stream-otherwise they are trash. Oregon's Recycle Right Lane County Recycling Guide-English

ROT (compost) the rest.

Compost your own household waste or take part in a composting program for organic waste. Believe it or not, composting food waste is actually at the bottom of the 5 R pyramid when it comes to reducing food waste and keeping it OUT of the landfill. In order to rethink food waste, we have to remember that food is a valuable resource. Many people on our planet and in our community do not have enough food to eat. When we throw food away aka waste our food, it contributes to methane production in our landfills. Methane is almost 25% more harmful in our air than co2! And, it wastes money. Visit Lane County Waste Management's site for tips on ways to EAT SMART, WASTE LESS and why it matters.

More tips

– Edward Everett Hale

Tana Shepard aka Eco Chick

Email: shepard_t@4j.lane.edu
Website: http://bit.ly/4J-eep
Phone: 541-790-5933