Have you ever taken a zero-waste challenge? From October 1-30, I participated in the 30-Day Zero Waste Challenge sponsored by Waterloo Region environmental charity Reep Green Solutions. The goal for the challenge is to fit all waste destined for landfill into a one-litre mason jar. Today’s post is an honest update on how I did and what I learned.
The trash jar? Really?
When I first started my journey to reduce waste and eliminate single-use plastic from my life, I read about a lot of serious zero-wasters who claim to fit a year’s worth of trash in a mason jar. You’ll notice I said “claim to”. That’s because I openly admit I was – and still am – very skeptical about these claims. I don’t consider myself a wasteful person, but I can’t imagine the effort it would take to make this happen. I question whether these people really do live an extreme zero-waste lifestyle – growing their own food and making everything from scratch – or if it’s all just for show.
That said, I have been intrigued by it all. When I first heard about Reep Green’s Zero Waste Challenge, I thought I’d give it a try.
About the Zero Waste Challenge
If you join the challenge, you can choose to participate in the 7-day or 30-day option. The main goal is to learn and improve consumption habits.
Since I’ve already made a lot of progress in reducing waste, I decided to go “all-in” and do the 30-day challenge.
Could I really fit 30 days of waste into a one-litre mason jar? We’ll see.
How I personalized the challenge
Reep Green encourages participants to personalize their challenge based on what is practical for them. My family isn’t always on-board with my waste reduction efforts, so I decided to focus on what’s within my control – my personal consumption. This means I didn’t include things like food packaging for family dinners in my jar. But I did include my snacks, lunches and other meals, along with personal care and cleaning items.
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Zero Waste Challenge – How did I do?
On Day 1, I excitedly took out my one-litre jar and posted a picture on Instagram. The challenge was underway!
Week 1 update
Here’s a picture of my jar at the end of Week 1.
The contents of the jar at the end of week 1 included:
- twist tie
- wine cork
- band-aid wrapper and band-aid
- plastic bread tag
- juice carton cap ring
- seal cap from a bottle of ibuprofen
None of these items take up much space but it was a good reminder of how, despite my best efforts, eliminating plastic completely is tough!
Oh yes, there were also several candy wrappers. I love candy and, with Halloween on the way, we have a lot of it in our house. It’s difficult for me to resist a sweet treat. I do buy candy at the bulk store but then I just eat more of it. I really wish we had recycling options for candy packaging because it’s something I will never be able to cut out completely.
Week 2 update
By the end of week 2, the jar was starting to fill up.
If you’ve been following along with my decluttering challenge, you’ll know I try really hard to find new homes for the things I’m getting rid of so they don’t end up in landfill. This week’s decluttering task was makeup. Luckily, I don’t have a lot of makeup, but I did put an eyebrow pencil and two small makeup samples in the jar.
In addition to the makeup items, I added the following to the jar in week 2:
- Plastic seal from a tub of yogurt.
- A decorative tag from a new pair of shoes I bought.
- Another plastic bread tag.
- Another plastic juice carton ring.
- A blister pack from an allergy pill.
Oh…and a few more candy wrappers went in the jar, too. I might have to do a “zero candy challenge” to make sure I don’t overflow my jar.
Week 3 update
Overall, week 3 was a good week. I even had a few days where I didn’t add any waste to the jar. Here’s how the jar was looking at the end of week 3.
But wait, there is a problem. There’s no way that plastic chip bag will fit in the jar. I decided to leave it out for now and see if I could stuff it in at the end of the challenge.
In addition to the pesky candy wrappers, there were a few different items that I put the jar this week.
- A plastic cheese package.
- Plastic film from a frozen microwavable dinner.
- Wax hair removal strips.
We were getting close to the end and there was still room in the jar. This just might be possible!
30-day update
The end! It’s over. So how did I do?
This week, I put a couple of new things in the jar that I hadn’t given much thought to before:
- Individually packaged tea sachets. Most of them are paper but the one I had was paper with a foil lining so I don’t think it can be recycled. I’ve written before about my dislike for excessive packaging. This is one more item to add to the list.
- Removable strip from a self-adhesive envelope. Remember when we used to lick envelopes? Now, for the sake of convenience, they come with a peel-off strip that’s made of a waxy non-recyclable paper. When I use up my current supply of envelopes, I’ll look for an alternative.
In the end, I managed to squeeze the chip bag into the jar on the last day. I did it! I’m feeling pretty great about this.
What I learned
Since the goal of the challenge is learning, I’m not going to beat myself up too much over the candy wrappers and chip bags. We all have our vices, right?
The biggest thing I learned was that small, incremental changes add up over time. I would have been afraid to try this challenge two years ago when I was just starting out on my waste reduction journey. Over the last two or three years, I have chipped away at waste by replacing one item at a time with a packaging-free solution. The fact that I fit a month’s worth of waste in a mason jar is proof that those small changes matter.
Snack foods are a big problem area. It’s really frustrating that they come in packaging that can’t be recycled. I’ve heard of innovative recycling programs for these items in British Columbia, and the UK, so why don’t we have them in Ontario?
I’m still a long way away from fitting a year’s worth of waste in a mason jar, and maybe I’ll never get there, but I feel good about how far I’ve come. As I walk around my neighbourhood on garbage day, I notice many households putting out 4 or more bags every 2 weeks. Our family uses our green bin and blue box faithfully, and rarely fills a single bag in 2 weeks.
Progress…not perfection!
Would you be willing to take a similar zero-waste challenge? Tell me your thoughts below.
I love challenges like these because they really do let us see how far we’ve come and what changes we still need to make. I know that I’d create a lot more waste if it wasn’t for our plastics recycling we have here in BC. It’s really amazing to be able to divert those packages. Hopefully you’ll have one out your way soon. Last January I did a waste audit and it was a similar journey to looking closely at my waste. It helped me make some more changes and adjustments to what I was doing, but I think I’ll always have more room to grow!
I am so envious of the BC program because I love my snacks! They have similar programs in England, too. Maybe Ontario will get on board at some point.
I hope you are staying safe with all the devastating weather in BC right now. Take care.
Krista and I are safe where we are, but Krista’s basement was close to flooding yesterday. So far no damage though. And our families are safe too. So thankful for that!
I’m so glad to hear that you are both safe. It’s scary to see what’s happening.
Thank you Michelle, your advice is helpful. The jar is a challenge indeed, I cringe when the empty chip bag is put in the landfill trash. Paper chip bags would be better. I have noticed online shopping packaging has improved to cardboard box and brown paper packaging instead of bubble wrap! It’s great to pop but not for the landfill! I hope to see more packaging improvement, doing Christmas shopping online and hope for paper and cardboard, not styrofoam or plastic. Cheers!!
You’re right. There have been some improvements in packaging for online shopping but it’s inconsistent. Sometimes I order from Amazon and there’s no plastic. The next order has plastic. It’s frustrating. I try to research shipping and packaging and support eco-friendly businesses, but it’s hard.
I plan to do very little shopping this year and to support local businesses as much as possible.
Well done! This is so interesting to read about. I don’t want to admit it, but I think my jar would be overflowing by the end of the month 😬 I definitely want to try it out, maybe I’ll start with a week first
Thanks Caroline. It was definitely a great learning experience. A week is an excellent start. Let me know if you give it a try.
Well done; a worthy challenge. It’s a great idea to do it individually, rather than as a family. 😀
Right. Because much as we might try to influence others, ultimately we only control our own behaviour!
Well done!!!!! Progress not perfection. Small acts of change add up… I particularly appreciate your lists of what went into the jar. Little things like plastic bread tags and twist-ems are easy to overlook (and yet they add up, too!) THANK YOU for inspiring and educating the rest of us with your blog. I think of you when I brush my teeth using chewable pellets rather than paste!
Thanks Will. The bread tags really get me. There are alternatives to plastic but they’re not being widely used. Even a paper and metal tag, while still waste, would break down in landfill much faster than plastic. I have a bread machine so I make a lot of my own bread but I do buy things like english muffins.
Glad to hear you’re using the toothpaste tablets!! 😀
I’m always very intrigued by the zero waste challenges. Like you, I am mindful about the waste I produce, but I have never collected it for a month to see it in its entirety. I would be interested in doing this challenge at some point.
It was a great learning experience. I’m glad I did it.