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The Idea (“We Have Enough Stuff”)
Not too long ago, we (Grant and Jen) cycled down the Pacific Coast of the United States. And when we got home, after months of carrying everything we needed on our bicycles, we thought “we have too much stuff”. In fact there was an entire house filled with all sorts of things that we hadn’t missed at all while we were away.
This led us to believe that maybe we didn’t need all those things in the first place and that definitely we didn’t need to keep buying more things that were just going to end up in the landfill. We figured they could go for days or even weeks without buying more “stuff”. Heck, why not a year?
The Pledge
Starting on Canada Day, July 1, 2008, we (Grant and Jen and our roommate Rhyannon) pledged to try to buy no more “stuff” and produce zero landfill waste for one year. No buying clothing or DVDs, no make-up or i-pods, no fancy running shoes, sparkley headbands or duct tape, no plastic patio lanterns, saran wrap or handmade pottery mugs. . . . you get the idea.
The zero waste idea came from the idea that packaging is also “stuff”. After all, it’s the goods we want, not the plastic or styrofoam surrounding it. We’re trying to reduce packaging wherever we can and to make sure that packaging we do get is either compostable or recyclable. No buying individually wrapped granola bars or foil lined boxes of cookies, no tomatoes in plastic clamshells or take-out containers, no frozen pizzas wrapped in plastic followed by cardboard followed by plastic. We know what you’re thinking: “what about toilet paper?” Yes, we can buy it. Check out The Rules for, well, the rules.
- The bottom line is this: by bringing less stuff into our house, we’ll have less stuff going out of our house and into the landfill.
The Disclaimer
Lets just clarify some things here. We are did this project for our own entertainment and satisfaction. We are not unemployed hippies trying to collapse the North American economy nor are we under the impression that recycling our yogurt containers will save the world. We just figured that we have done more than our share of buying crap in the past few years, and we could stand to cut down on the purchases. Also, we like a little competitive challenge.
Trying to be a responsible consumer entails so many choices and so much responsible research. How was the product made? What were the living conditions of the workers? What is the packaging like? Was it fairly traded? Organically grown? Ethically sourced? On sale? For us, it was much easier to decide to just not buy it. We are not advocating not buying as a sustainable lifestyle (eventually my underwear will wear out and I’ll buy new ones), but for a year we challenged ourselves to make do.
This was not a project in reducing greenhouse gases, living without plastic, eating locally, taking transit, riding bicycles, living off the land, making toothpaste, or saving the world; although, we may coincidentally do a few of these things. There are many other people successfully doing and writing about these activities, and you should definitely check them out. But for us, we were just trying to buy less stuff and make less garbage.
Who The Heck Are We?
Go to our Contact page for more info on who we are.
19 Comments
September 12, 2008 at 5:18 pm
Hi Jen
I know just how you feel. Our holidays are mostly self catering in small cottages. We don’t own a car and travel by public transport so we don’t carry any more than we really need. There is such a sense of liberation in living for a fortnight with little more than we can fit in a suitcase or rucksack.
I admire your courage on embarking on this enterprise and wish you well. I’m sure you’ll emerge from it with a better understanding of who you are and what is most impotant.
September 14, 2008 at 10:29 am
I’m really impressed with your local lifestyle. Travelling is definitely an eco- challenge for us. We trying not to fly this year, but we still use a car on the weekends. This project is slowly influencing all aspects of our lives – not just waste and consumption. I feel like I have more time now that I’m not constantly researching things to buy, and that in itself make this project worth it.
February 22, 2009 at 10:00 am
You of course must realize that if more people did what you are currently doing, the economy would take such a nosedive that there would be no recovery. American shopping is probably the most significant prop-up to our economy and during a recession, the last thing we need is a bunch of morons trying to stop want based shopping. It is not only inconsiderate but dangerous to our country as a whole.
February 22, 2009 at 6:56 pm
Dear Hippy Hate,
You’re right, if everyone stopped buying everything, our economy would tank. Luckily, that’s not what the Clean Bin Project is about. We aren’t against spending money. We’re just trying to stop needless consumerism in our own lives.
We still spend money on groceries, dining out, theatre, movies, experiences, and transportation (including car parts and gas). We still pay our taxes and support charities.
In fact, we’re supporting local economy more than ever because instead of buying jeans made in China, we’re buying things like honey from a local farmer. That money stays in our economy.
Once our project is over, we hope we remember to think about what we’re buying. For example, maybe it’s better to buy one organic t-shirt from a North American designer rather than 4 cheap ones made overseas for the same price? Or maybe it’s more healthy to grow your own lettuce than buy it at the big box grocery?
Actually, this project is really more about waste than about spending money. We are really concerned with the amount of garbage that North Americans produce, and we thought that we could personally produce much much less, so we’re giving it a go. I truly don’t see a downside to trying to reduce landfill waste. There is actually an economic value to recycling more – it creates jobs in the recycling sector and drives innovation in recycled content goods.
Finally, please keep the name calling to a minimum so this can be a thoughtful and respectful discussion. Thanks for checking out the site.
April 30, 2009 at 1:58 pm
oh gosh – Mr Hippy Hate – the economy ‘as we know it’ is destroying itself just fine & doesn’t need any help from anyone!!
I love shopping myself – but why would I need to buy garbage(=excessive packaging) together with eco bananas if I just want to buy & eat the eco bananas?!
I love food & pretty things & hate trash!
Do you want to live in a landfill or next to an incinerator? No, I don’t want either.. & I don’t want my loved ones, friends or relatives to have to either..
So let’s all lobby companies & manufacturers to create eco-friendly, 100% recyclable & recycled products, instead of running around shouting ‘hippy hate’ – no?!!
I *WANT* to buy butter without an unrecyclable butter wrapper!! If I can’t, I’ll make it – not with such gladness, but I will (or get someone who will!)
“American shopping is probably the most significant prop-up to our economy”?!!
I thought happy healthy people & environment were the most important thing for a healthy economy… Dead or seriously ill people, or subclinically-ill people don’t boost economy..
Economy-as-it-was was producing LOTS of seriously ill people… worldwide.. So hopefully a new & healthier economy will rise from the ashes of what looks like ‘crisis’…
I would LOVE nothing more than going to a shop & being able to see ‘pretty things’ again & not just (unrecyclable or not *really* recycled) ‘trash trash trash’….
March 27, 2009 at 11:40 am
I think this is an awesome idea! saw your info in mec mag and i am motivated to continue making the small changes i already do with my family and to do even more!!!
my kids thank you! you do and will make a difference!
April 4, 2009 at 4:30 pm
In your film you were wondering Jen if this is all worth it when you see the person next in line to you having their groceries double bagged. We all know the answer to that- it’s not only worth it but necessary.
I teach Grade 8 Science and will definitely tell the kids about this project- it’s ingenious. It’s also the first R in the 3Rs of recycle which we have totally forgotten about – REDUCE. I recycle, reuse as much as I can but this project will truly inspire me to reduce. And if I can influence one child in my Science class to do the same at home I will feel that I have had a success. Look forward to the film and more tips from this website. Bonne Chance!
April 30, 2009 at 2:10 pm
Jen & Grant (& Rhyannon),
it truly is an AWESOME idea!!
My Mum & me already got inspired by your videos.. I keep telling people (who are already interested in green things & others) about buying cheese or meat or such with reusable containers, & almost all who were previously already ‘green’ think it’s a great idea!! (& wish they thought of it before!!
)
We’d never dare to do it if we haven’t seen you in the movie, & okay, there was a boost from Mrs A & Mrs Green too! Actually seeing things in the movie helped heaps though!!
Our bin also managed to get ’slimmer’ as a result!!
Was wondering if it would be okay to translate/subtitle your trailer & the TV interview to inspire people here in Slovenia? Or maybe at least post with translated transcript?
(many understand English, but not all – eg I had to translate for Mum..)
/Also do you maybe have transcripts or such already..?/
You probably have my mail – not sure how this works.. Or I can send you a PM…
Anyway, would love to hear from you on this!
May 30, 2009 at 4:50 am
We found your site through the story in the MEC catalogue. Very cool!
Last night we were planning a canoe trip with some friends for this coming summer, and we recalled how last spring six of us hiked through the Grand Canyon for a week, North to South Rim; and that we were able to (because we HAD to) reduce all our garbage to one very small (20-30 cm) zip-lock bag.
This really did make us reconsider how casual we usually are with “garbage,” and redouble our efforts to be much more intentional with our purchases, and mindful about packaging.
I suppose we westerners may be a tad smug about how we use our blue-boxes, etc., but as I cycle to work down back lanes on “garbage day,” I’m amazed to see how many houses now pack out two or three and sometimes four blue boxes every week! Who are we kidding?
We wish you well in your good adventure, and hope you will be a very good inspiration to many.
TS
http://blog.aprivateaffairgame.com/
May 30, 2009 at 2:31 pm
TS-You’re totally right. We are putting so much emphasis on recycling that we forget about reducing first. It is amazing what people can do if they are forced by circumstance (or by arbitrary self imposed, year-long competitions). I’m definitely impressed with your single zip lock bag of waste. I find camping and hiking to be pretty big waste challenges because we always want to buy things that are dehydrated or packaged in plastic. Sometimes I miss the convenience of granola bars or dinner-in-a-bag.. . . . .
May 30, 2009 at 6:25 pm
We purchased a dehydrator a few years ago, and for hikes like our Grand Canyon trek, it has been great, both for snacks (bananas, red peppers, apples, apple sauce, pineapples, tomatoes, etc.) and for some of our meals; i.e. chili. Wish we’d thought of this years ago! These taste much better than any bought snacks, and with some soup mix, rice, pasta and various kinds of nuts… we’ve found that you really can eat quite well without much fuss or garbage to carry out.
Your year long experiment is a challenge to us to reconsider how we might live more simply (& perhaps with less fragmentation and distraction!) not only when we’re off for a remote hike, but throughout life in general. It will be very interesting to see what new ways of living, and what habits will endure for you folk beyond this one year. Keep us posted!
Kind regards, TS
http://blog.aprivateaffairgame.com
June 24, 2009 at 1:46 am
[...] Jen! Make sure to check out Jen’s description of The Project to get an overall understanding of what they’re doing. I can’t wait to see what [...]
June 26, 2009 at 2:30 pm
I am totally on board – I will try this starting this Canada Day. The only think that concerns me – I am planning my wedding. I will have to be extra creative to get through this. Does buying something used count as buying something??
June 27, 2009 at 1:22 pm
tt-That’s awesome that you are up for the challenge! You can, of course,choose rules that work for you. Once our year is done, and we go back to buying things, I am definitely going to aim for used over new. Check out SimpleSavvy and ThisYoungHouse both of whom had pretty eco-concious/DIY weddings.
June 27, 2009 at 8:47 am
This is awesome. Congratulations on a great idea and a great achievement. The ecological crisis means we have to find new ways of consuming and producing. The trouble is that no one seems to know the way forward. It takes pioneers like those involved in this project to shine a light into uncharted territory and to prove the nay-sayers wrong. You have taught us an important lesson: we don’t have to live the way we live now. Alternatives are possible!
June 27, 2009 at 1:29 pm
Thanks David! Even thought we weren’t perfect in our year, we’ were really happy about how much less we consumed and produced compared to the year before. That alone makes me realize that people can change and they can change fast if they are motivated. We want people to feel empowered to make a personal shift and not be overwhelmed by the big picture of climate change etc. I don’t know if we’re pioneers- we’ve met tons of people doing similar things “under the radar”, and we definitely had our own heros to guide us this year, but thanks for your support. Spread the word!
July 19, 2009 at 9:35 pm
[...] except the absolute necessities? Well, believe it or not, Jen, Grant and Rhyannon did just that http://cleanbinproject.com/theproject/and the great part is they documented their year and are in the process of packaging it into a film. [...]
January 7, 2010 at 12:34 am
[...] much better than me: three Canadians who tried to avoid producing any landfill waste for a year in The Clean Bin Project, a Londoner who lives without money, [...]
February 7, 2010 at 9:42 am
[...] Clean Bin- I want to do this full on one day, but at the moment I don’t have the sort of time to research and plan it properly, so I want to do little steps before. Like monitor my trash and recycle more and live a week purchase-free, a month, etc. Categories: Uncategorized Comments (0) Trackbacks (0) Leave a comment Trackback [...]