Category Archives: no waste on the road

May 25, 2009 · 7:42 pm

Day 329: Farmers Markets, Saltspring, and General Busyness

I have been neglecting the Clean Bin Blog the past couple weeks, but lots of exciting things have been happening.

I met two inspiring entrepreneurs -one who helps you cut down on packaging waste, and one who reuses wasted packaging into functional products. I’ll profile them here soon.

We were feverishly working on an extended trailer of the film that we can show at this week’s ECOnomics conference (we figure the more film we show, the less we have to talk).

But most importantly, Vancouver is now two weeks into summer farmers market season which means that finding zero waste food just got a whole lot easier. Continue reading →

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March 21, 2009 · 3:01 pm

Day 264: Snowboarding Waste

Wells Gray Hut - photos by Magnus Byne

So Grant and I got home from a fabulous week of riding in Well’s Gray Park, and I had pretty much nothing to report for waste.

We did a big bulk shop beforehand, reusing bags we already had, to get trailmix, cereal, powdered milk, and dried fruit etc. I made a pan of granola bars and a batch of cookies and froze a second batch into a roll to be sliced and baked in the cabin. We did end up packing a lot of things in plastic bags Continue reading →

Day 250: Sourdough Vacation

grant-hike Grant and I are going on a little vacation, so posts may be few and far between this week. There definitely won’t be internet (or even a phone) at the ski hut we’re going to.

But fear not, I’ve got a couple entries lined up and I’ve conned my sister into posting them for me (and maybe even writing one herself).

This trip is going to be a waste challenge (although, we won’t have to worry about remembering to take our waste home with us since we have to pack out everything we pack in). Continue reading →

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October 23, 2008 · 10:31 pm

Day 114: City of (Consumer) Sin

Yes, I’m in Las Vegas. The land of spectacular and horrifying excess. The place of slot machines and showgirls, high end shopping and outdoor escalators, buffet dinners and bottled water, and spending, spending, spending. It’s not the place where you’d expect to find someone trying to live a consumer-free, waste-free lifestyle, so let me attempt justify it: I’m here for work.

I’m in Las Vegas for a conference, and I’m staying in probably the most luxurious hotel I have ever stepped foot in (not that I stay in a lot of hotels). My bathroom is as large as my kitchen back home– no joke. Outside my window an endless stream of cars heads into the city and downstairs the air conditioned casino is a chorus of slot machines.

The consumer in me is not as tempted to shop as I thought (high end jewelery and tourist knick knacks aren’t my style); however, saying no to free stuff isn’t as easy. Continue reading →

Day 62: The Lifestyle Rubs Off.

A couple weeks ago, No Impact Man asked his readers, “If a friend decided they wanted to do something about the environment, how would you tell him or her to start?”. Coincidentally, just as I decided to post an article about it, he followed up on his own question with a list of 40 things you can do to start your personal path to green. It’s a good read, so check it out.

But it got me thinking. What makes people want to reduce their environmental impact in the first place? What makes them wake up one day and say “you know, I think I can make this change or that change”. From a zero waste perspective, what pushes someone to set a goal of producing less waste, or starting a compost, or recycling 100% of the recyclables in their house? Can you make someone want to be greener?

I’m open to suggestions, and I have one of my own.

I propose that a great way to get inspired is to spend a weekend with someone who is “greener than thou”. Last weekend we did just that. Continue reading →

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August 26, 2008 · 3:35 am

Day: 56 Guest Greener

So it seems that our waste-free lifestyle may have rubbed off on someone else.

Grant’s cousin, Stephen, spent a couple weeks with us this month after following our footprints and experiencing his first season of treeplanting (the traditional BC student job). Little did he know he was landing smack in the middle of the Clean Bin Project, and that garbage cans would be in short supply. Continue reading →