Throwing Away Wasteful Thinking

Did you know?

• All Plastic created still exists on the earth today in its original form or in the form of micro-plastic pollution. 
• Micro-plastic (broken down plastic) particles are now showing up in our food supply, in our tap water and polluting waterways. (1)
• 93 percent of Americans carry BPA in their bodies (2) 
• Over the last ten years we have produced more plastic than during the whole of the last century — 50 percent of which we use only once and throw away (3)

Before learning these few facts, my husband and I were pretty good at recycling most things. We didn't know a lot about waste, we just thought the idea of throwing so much away was, well, wasteful. I stumbled upon some articles about plastic after tossing a styrofoam plate at a party. I used the plate for maybe 20 minutes, but it will likely still be sitting in a landfill for up to 1,000 years or more. One. Thousand. Years. And, if it actually does break down, it will still exist in some form as micro-plastic, likely affecting the quality of water and soil. 

When did society become SO wasteful?! 

After learning just a few facts about our waste problem, I was seeing trash EVERYwhere and knew something had to change.

But where to start?!

What was the one item in our house that was enabling wasteful thinking? The trash can! When you can't simply throw stuff "away" (wherever that is!), you start to question how all the things you buy have an impact — good or bad — on the world around you. 

We began looking at the purchases we made every day, cutting out single use packaging and disposable items first and constantly looked for new ways to cut out waste. First, we got rid of our trash bags! We now compost all our food scraps, refuse unnecessary packaging, and recycle anything and everything we can that does come in packaging.  We made a conscious decision to cut down on our spending, buying used or ethically made when we do need something. This means everything we buy now carries more meaning. 

Months of making this transition meant a lot of research looking for not only plastic free essentials, but also responsibly made goods. The process of changing our habits led me to The Good Fill. I wanted to provide a space that made the transition to low-waste and sustainable living much easier for everyone. A shop that sources sustainably, sells without unnecessary packaging or plastic and is constantly on the look out for brands that really care about all aspects of sustainability in their company. Since opening the shop there have been so many others that have popped up! The more the merrier! 

The Good Fill isn't just about reducing physical waste, it's about transitioning from wasteful habits to sustainable ones, with the hope that as we change, society can change.

I Invite you to join me on this journey of finding simple solutions to the problem of waste, and continuing to explore what impact our purchases have on the people and planet around us.