Let’s get down and dirty
A trash audit is when we take the time to look at our rubbish, to understand what we most commonly throw away. After committing, step one is being aware of what we need to change to go plastic free. It\’s a powerful procedure because it shows the reality of our waste.
How to conduct a trash audit:
- Assemble your team, if you\’re in a family or living with friends and want to go through it with other helping hands.
- Grab your rubbish bin and find a suitable location that\’s easy to clean. If you have space outside, then head there.
- Do a quick search on what your local authority/council can and can\’t recycle. For example, I am currently staying in Brighton and Hove.
- Focus on trash. Depending on where you are and your commitment to recycling, there should be three piles, compostable, recycling and rubbish. Today, we are looking at the garbage.
- Write down and tally what you find individually or categorise your items into similar materials – plastic bags, plastic packaging, pet food bags, tetra packs, etc.
- List what the top plastic items and non-recyclables are, and voila, you\’ve completed a bin audit!
Tomorrow, we will explore the top items to figure out how we can reduce them and look at the next steps.
Good luck! What did you discover as the top contenders in your trash audit? Let me know in the comment section below or in the Facebook group.
