The Challenge

The idea for a garbage free year grew out of the Region of Waterloo's revamping of their Waste Management Master Plan, and the articles that have been written recently about the usage, or lack thereof, of the green bin program. As a family we've always been conscious of how much garbage we throw out, and now with the projected timeline until our regional landfill is full, we hope that as an average family we can reduce our waste footprint without too much extra effort.

Our challenge is to throw out no more non-recyclable, non-compostable waste than will fit into a 20 gallon/ 75 litre garbage can for the entire year. The initial desire was to go completely garbage free, but we know that as a family of four with young children, that will prove to be an impossible challenge. Our shopping habits will have to change to accomplish our goal, but the hope is to show that making the switch won't put a strain on our bank account, and can be accomplished without too much disruption to already established routines.

We do not pretend to have all the answers, feel that we are experts in the field of waste management, or believe that a single bag of garbage for the year could be sustained over many years, but we are going into this challenge seeing what we can do. We go in looking to reduce the amount of non-recyclable and non-compostable packing and products we purchase, and find ways to reuse or repurpose what can't be recycled or composted.