How streamlined is your recycling system? The Zero Waste Challenge continues, daring you to trash your trash can. 

Give yourself a pat on the back for all the wonderful things you’ve done so far to reduce your landfill waste. In April you took a bin audit, from which you created your top five list to discover the materials that make up the majority of your weekly trash. Then you gave up disposable plastic bags for good; after all, these are such a waste of resources and can damage wildlife if dropped as litter. Last month you armed yourself with local information by finding out what you could recycle at your curbside and in local recycling areas. You should now have a list of the materials you can recycle and where you can recycle them.

This month you’re going to give your entire home recycling set up a Zero Waste makeover.

Here’s a before and after look at my recycling area. Note the borderline hoarding effect of dutifully saving all my materials vs. the practicality of dividing and conquering.

My before was not exactly conducive to inspired recycling. For example, I couldn’t get to the containers at the bottom so frankly, it was easier to throw things away. And we all know where “away” is:

As a solution, I dumped my kitchen bin. There’s nothing like throwing yourself in at the deep end. The problem is it’s so easy and convenient to open that door and pop something in the bin. Out of sight, out of mind, never to be thought of again. But by not thinking about the consequences of our actions we are wasting resources and polluting the planet.

Therein lies this month’s challenge. We’ll call it Operation: Bin Be Gone.

Now you’ll need to make recycling really work for you regardless of any difficulties you might face. You might have specific requirements such as dogs or cats that might enjoy sniffing around empty cans or toddlers that can’t resist the sharp edge of a tin. Perhaps you’re limited by space or live with an elderly person who needs supervision around rubbish and recycling. There are solutions to all of these issues.

Solution 1: People with small spaces can hang bags on the back of kitchen cupboard doors to store things in.

Solution 2: You might need a shelf outside the back door or on a balcony.

Solution 3: Maybe you need a few boxes in the garage or basement or maybe it’s easier to dot things around your house, like paper recycling next to the computer or plastic bottle recycling in the dining area.

The most important thing you can do to reduce the amount of space needed is to compact your recycling: crush tins, squeeze the air out of bottles and tetra pak containers, flatten cardboard boxes and keep paper flat rather than crumpling it.

Like this:

Keep it clean too, so you aren’t surrounded by stinky trash. Rinsing out a can is pretty much like washing a plate – do it straight away and don’t let anything set hard around the edge. Use old washing up water to save resources and give bottles and cartons a rinse at the same time before squashing down. Your new mantra for this month is “wash & squash!”

Spend some time thinking about your habits. Where are you when you need to recycle something? Sitting at your computer, washing up in the kitchen or doing your morning routine in the bathroom? Put a suitable container in that room for the type of materials you want to recycle.

Figure out whether you prefer to have everything in one place with an assortment of labeled containers or if you need to put up a couple of shelves somewhere. Be creative, think outside the recycling box and always focus on solutions. With a bit of thought you can make recycling just as convenient as throwing something in the trashcan.

Image: Martha Stewart; Goodwill

The post The Zero Waste Trash Challenge: Set Up a Recycling Center Based on Your Habits appeared first on EcoSalon.

There’s a big difference between a dustbin and the Dustbin.

Bare with me while I delve once more into very unsexy territory: the mundane household object. On Monday, we took a very eco-sophisticated look at the vacuum cleaner. Who knew a Hoover could be so exciting? Yesterday, we learned that even a thermostat could be chic care of ingenious design and a considerate aesthetic. Today, friends, I give you the trashcan.

Rather, its more handsome and grown-up older brother, the Dustbin.

RISD-trained product designer Brendan Ravenhill confesses that he developed a fascination with the “functional beauty of working tools” during his childhood years in Cote d’Ivoire and summers in coastal Maine. He now resides in Los Angeles, California where he designs and builds several elevated objects, from furniture to boats, and the lights overhead. But I am particularly enamored with his garbage cans.

The Dustbin is made from folded, powder-coated steel and features a counterbalanced dustpan lid. Magnetized to the side is a removable, beech wood hand broom.

The Dustbin also features aptly named “love handles” to aid in taking out the trash without mess or fuss.

The product is built entirely in the USA by a network of local fabricators and metalworkers at Angell & Giroux. For a particularly fascinating look, watch this video, which details the process that goes into making a trash can (the brush scene is riveting, I promise):

The Dustbin from Brendan Ravenhill on Vimeo.

Ravenhill calls his dustbin “the last trashcan you’ll ever buy” and “the lovechild” of the trash bin and dustpan. It is, indeed, a pretty pairing. Functional, too: an otherwise lowly object elevated by smart design.

Images: Brendan Ravenhill; Paul Lalou

The post The Dustbin: The Last Trash Can You’ll Ever Buy? appeared first on EcoSalon.

We all know that recycling and composting can help cut down on the amount of garbage that goes to landfills, but inevitably you’ll still have stuff that can only go in the trash. So how can you cut that down? By squishing your trash of course.

If you’ve ever had a roommate or boyfriend take one look at an overflowing trash bag, only to heroically refuse to take it to the curb by shoving the contents deeper into the can instead, you’ll know what I’m talking about. However, while that behavior is typically nothing more than a way to prolong the task of taking out the garbage, the Reduce Smash Can ($170) presents a brilliant eco-friendly trash-smashing solution.

The unique stainless steel can has a built-in compactor lid so you can push down your trash without getting your hands dirty. The accordion-like lid, which also flips open with a foot pedal, is made from flexible silicone – a naturally odor-repelling material perfect for keeping garbage cans stink-free.

Reduce says the smashing action means this bin holds twice as much trash as the rest of the 10.5-gallon competition. So not only will you have to take the trash out half as often, but you’ll also use 50 percent fewer plastic bags – a time saver and a planet saver!

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