I will miss grapes. They’re just so delicious… they’re like little grenades of happiness exploding with flavor. Unfortunately, they’re also wrapped in a plastic bag. So, I’ll be sticking to bananas and plums…

Zero waste challenge v4.0 has begun. It was about a year ago this week that I finished the first ZWC. Wow, how time has flown!

More updates, blogs, pictures, and videos this time around than last time. I’ll hit y’all up with a few challenges along the way.

Day 1 (September 27): success

Day 2: fail… amateur mistake - forgetting to say “no straw” with my water. Apparently, we are incapable of drinking straight from a glass. but, it was a successful bento box and cloth napkins lunch. does it all balance out? who knows. it was fun.

Day 3: huge burrito-filled success of happiness and love. But, tonight will probably result in a fail. More updates tomorrow

Peace

One Man. One Month. Zero Waste.

Well, that used to be the mantra, but since I’ve started, other’s have picked up… and for good reason - it’s not fun going it alone.

April is the third installment of the Zero Waste Challenge, but it is no easier… in fact, I think it may be getting harder. Why? Because the weather is so beautiful and I want to go picnicking and adventuring, but I need to keep planning ahead with tupperware and cloth napkins, a reusable watter bottle and no-package food.

Now, I’ve done a terrible job of blogging the March Challenge, but it wasn’t without success - a number of students in high schools around California became hip to the idea and some have even taken the challenge (keep a lookout for a blog post from a Sacramento student coming soon!)

The April challenge is also in solidarity with the lead singer of a spectacular band - Dan Nigro of As Tall As Lions. He’s taken the Zero Waste Challenge on tour, which I think is WAY MORE AMBITIOUS than anything I’ve ever done to reduce garbage. And he’s also inspired the band to choose a DOT - Do One Thing - to help the environment and cool the climate. As a band, they’ve kicked the disposable bottle habit and are carrying reusable water bottles!

More zero waste blogging coming soon - if you want to take the challenge, just email me and let me know!

Zero Waste Challenge - Road Trip To LA

a successful friday zero waste road trip (have you seen the video (above)?

• carpool
• 33+ mpg
• all food in reusable containers = no packaging

but after a first ever attempt at a road trip was waste free, i made the same mistake..

DAY 6 = fail. why? because i let a friend get me a glass of water at a bar and forgot to say “no straw.” i got a straw. it was 12:15 or so am… the earliest fail ever. but it was a great party in LA. had the chance to reconnect with some friends who i havent seen in years! for one friend, it had been close to 6 years since we last spoke! there’s something amazing about reconnecting with people. seeing how your paths diverged, but then brought you to the same place in ways unforeseeable. i know you read this blog for zero waste adventures, but this was an adventure for the soul too. such a fulfilling weekend with old friends, great friends, new friends, and some real characters down in hollywood (aka ‘hollyweird’)

back to the challenge. talking with my boss today - who is taking the zero-waste-at-work challenge - was insightful. he called my attention to the second dimension of the challenge, which i had experienced, but never really articulated: getting your own behavior to change is hard, but manageable… the next step of the challenge is affecting others…

he was telling me that the hardest part for his challenge is overcoming our society’s propensity (7$) for garbage: anywhere he goes, he was frustrated that he had to make extra effort to make sure someone didnt give him garbage (wrappers, napkins, plastic anything…). do you look at the world differently now and see garbage everywhere? have you talked to anyone about zero waste?

so, summed recap:

day 5, success

day 6, fail

day 7, success

day 8, fail - dont get me started. the guy at the coffee shop didnt know how to not overfill a mug, so he thought he had broke it… so he put my coffee in a paper cup. without even thinking about it… “oh, it’s no big deal,” he murmured… “ive got a cup for you.”

… oh, but it is.

have a great day!

- - -

if you’re still reading this, thank you. please visit http://ran.org/campaigns/freedom_from_oil/spotlight/tar_sands/ to learn more about the horrific atrocities taking place on our continent. this is what american/canadian oil looks like —> the most destructive project on the planet. poison, toxic, deforestation, contamination, violated treaties with natives, etc - all to feed our country’s oil addiction. what are you going to do to stop the tar sands?

in a gesture of kindness a friend/coworker (and not the other way around) offered me a hot cup of tea. it was delicious. and i thoroughly enjoyed it.

and i had a refill.

then i drank tea-flavored water.

…and then it struck me when I was going to wash out my mug.

there will be garbage.

now, dont panic. I composted the tea leaves and the tea bag, but the staple and paper were not compostable, so they had to go in the garbage… marking day 3 as a fail for the zero waste challenge.

- - -

if you’re interested in learning where our garbage is going, check out this video. Throw things away? there is no away.

breakfast is a real challenge in the zero waste challenge - look at your pantry, refrigerator, clif bar, whatever and you’ll see that most of the foods we eat come wrapped in garbage (packaging).

now, those who know me well know that i love leftovers in the morning, so that isnt much of a problem… but what about when you go to work and get a late start to the day.

two solutions:

1) apples and peanut butter… who needs grains to get the day started?

2) tupperware bakery run…

I brought a piece of tupperware to the bakery and chose items that didnt have paper wrapping [beast muffin and 2 cookies (i have an afternoon cookie addiction)].

happy Wednesday everyone!

i almost ruined it today with those pesky paper towels in the bathroom… i actually let out a “OH NO” when i reached for one, almost grabbing it. luckily, i was alone in the bathroom and didnt have to answer to any strange looks

but then again, i just wrote that publicly.

whatever. today was a huge kick-off success complete with cloth napkins, playing piano, cooking a delicious dinner, 3 more people coming forward to take the challenge and 11 followers on tumblr! thats 9 more than i had last time we tried this.

now i have to figure out how to enable comments… have a great night!

For the kick off of Zero Waste Challenge v2.0, I took a Navy Shower and looked at the Q-tips…. thought about it… and didnt grab. It’s a guilty pleasure in the morning to tickle the inside of my ears with cotton, but I’ll have to forgo it for a while. At least I have options.

Without cereals or store-bought breads, my carb options for breakfast are going to be limited. That’s ok, I plan on eating my fair share of fruits and veges in the morning and I’ll get some solid protein from the organic eggs (carton goes to the farmer at the saturday market) and maybe some local organic milk (glass bottle gets returned to the store and reused)! California is going to make challenge v2.0 hella easy.

+  = delicious

For breakfast, I rocked a gala apple with pb - crunchy of course - and today’s looking like it’s going to be a good day.

I packed a tasty lunch in reusable containers: mixed greens, some beans and peppers I whipped up last night, some home-made guacamole, and some of my uncle’s salsa - so much deliciousness, I think my coworkers are going to get jealous.

and the sun is shining… oh good morning Zero Waste Challenge, how I welcome thee.

- - -

Thanks for reading this far. I want to use this challenge to high light some amazing people and organizations that are doing necessary work. This week, please check out the Oakland Green Youth Arts and Media Center, which works to give Oakland youth the opportunity to take free classes, be in a comfortable and collaborative environment, and explore their artistic passions, while at the same time learning about sustainability, healthy living, and neighborhood resources.

one man. one month. zero waste.

who’s ready for round 2?

March 1 - 31, 2010

anyone in for the challenge? one day? one week? one month?

a friend told me not to end at the finish line, but keep going just one more day. that way, its not just a closed door to september, but an open door to the rest of my life.

i dont know if i’ll be able to look at garbage the same way. and garbage is everywhere.

so, for today, october 1st (now 2nd technically), I’ve completed my first zero waste day in my real life. no more challenge, just day-to-day. the experience in september gave me an idea though: zero waste summer… could i go june 21-sept 21, 2010 without making any garbage? ill use the winter to think about it. maybe you can help with some ideas.

thanks to everyone who kept up, sent emails in support, or just read one entry. i hope you got to thinking, even if just a little, about how every choice we make every day has far reaching effects. garbage is one of many parts of a convenient modern life that is looking to make life less convenient, and more problematic.

maybe one day we’ll all figure out how to live sustainably amongst all these conveniences of modern life. for now, let’s just take it one day at a time. ill think about another challenge for the winter; maybe a volunteer commitment, or an exercise challenge. maybe i’ll just take it easy. fare well.

the dude abides.