Waste Management - A Hot Topic in Waterloo Region

Waste management seems to be a hot topic in Waterloo Region right now - the concern about the quickly filling landfill site, the apparent lack of use of the green bins, and the revamping of the Region's Waste Management Master Plan. CBC KW 89.1 has been exploring these topics on their morning show, and through the power of social media they found out about our challenge. I was invited to chat with them on their show this morning. Thank you to Craig Norris and the rest of the CBC KW team for having me in to talk about our family's goal of having only one bag of garbage for the year. If you want to hear the interview you can find it on the CBC Radio Website.

Alternatives to Disposables

As we were preparing for this challenge, and in our first few weeks of garbage reduction, we have been doing research on alternatives to disposables. We definitely did not go into this challenge with everything figured out, and we are learning as we go. Throughout the year my hope is to share with you the alternatives to disposable packaging and products that we are researching and using.

Produce Bags

Since this type of plastic is not recyclable in Waterloo Region, we want to begin using a reusable alternative. I went to the internet to research mesh produce bags. I found multiple different types, but most were more than I wanted to spend. Part of the point of this experiment is to show that it's possible to produce very little garbage without spending too much extra money. So, I took a trip to a local fabric store to look for mesh fabric. I've got a sewing machine, and a few straight lines is definitely not out of my sewing comfort zone. Well, this was all fine and dandy until my sewing machine stopped working. I managed to get one bag finished, and a second one started, but now I need to use someone else's sewing machine to get these bags done before our next grocery trip!

When looking online for bags I found some made with finer mesh, almost a sheer drape material, as well as some made with the type of mesh they use for lingerie laundry bags. I was only able to find the sheer material when I went out, so I'm working with that at this point. One DIY tutorial commented that the sheer mesh doesn't stand up as well, so I'm making my bags double thickness in hopes that they will stand up to repeated use. I'm also going to keep my eyes open for a more durable mesh, and will make a few bags with that too if I can find it.

Granola Bars

We don't purchase too much in terms of prepackaged foods in our house that we won't be able to live without. The one thing that will be a challenge is granola bars. Matt loves them. He takes them to work every day, and that's his go to snack if he's hungry between meals. I think losing his granola bars was his biggest concern when we decided to do this challenge. My first thought was "What can I substitute his granola bars with... cookies?" But then I realized that I could probably make granola bars. So, I went online and began searching for granola bar recipes. I found one that looked similar to those we purchase (remember, I have children who need consistency in their food) and I tried it. They were easy to make, and in my opinion, taste better than those that come from the store. I store them in the fridge in an air tight container with parchment paper between them so they don't stick together. In the winter I'm sure they'll be able to sit out on the counter in their container, but when it's 30°C outside, they get a little soft on the counter!