One of the challenges of owning a private island is that there is no garbage pick up. For some reason the garbage trucks can’t make it across the lake! Therefore, we are forced to take our trash across the lake and in my case directly to the dump.

Therefore, I have developed some techniques that have drastically reduced my waste and thus my trips to the dump. Obviously the benefits to the environment are not lost on me.

To reduce the waste my island produced I started sticking to the three R’s, reduce, reuse, and recycle.

Reduce:

To reduce the amount of waste I was producing I started to pay closer attention to the products I was buying. Things like paper towels, canned and frozen fruits and vegetables, cereals and other goods all are layered in plastic, Styrofoam and cardboard. To reduce my waste I started buying more fresh fruits and vegetables that don’t come in packaging. I started buying more fresh meat from my local butcher instead of frozen meat that come packaged in Styrofoam or plastic. I started using rags instead of buying paper towels. Finally, I expanded my garden allowing me to grow more of my own fruits of vegetables. Produce like squash and potatoes can last a long time if stored properly in the wintertime. All of these things made a huge impact in the amount of trash I was producing.

Reuse:

Having parents that lived through the depression means that I grew up in an environment where making things last longer was a way of life. Nonetheless, a lifetime of indulgence meant that I needed to evaluate how much I was throwing away that could be reused. The most important change was switching to cloth grocery bags instead of relying on the plastic ones that grocery stores supply. I have always hated those plastic bags, and since I have switched I have a new drawer in my kitchen that used to be filled with bags. I have also started reusing all of my margarine tubs and yogurt containers. It holds up just as well as Tupperware, and if you send food home with your kids after Sunday night diner it doesn’t matter if they don’t bring it back.

Recycle

I have become a big fan of recycling. Naturally I recycle all of my paper, plastic and tins. However, I still have to take these materials across the lake in order to be recycled therefore I have also tried to reduce and reuse recyclable materials thus reducing the trips I have to take across the lake. Composting has become a passion of mine. Since I am eating a lot more fresh food I have a lot more organic matter that can be composted. I purchased a large composter and have been throwing all these materials in there. I have been doing this for two years now and I am already seeing huge benefits. My garden is growing better and the soil that I put on there from the compost is much richer. Another area where I have started recycling is egg cartons. I now reuse all of my egg cartons and instead of buying eggs from a store I go right to the farm, I take my empty cartons with me and they fill them up.

I would be really happy to hear any one else’s tips. I am sure I am doing more I just can’t think of it all right now. The fact of the matter is small changes can lead to big result. If you own an island, by reducing your trash you are reducing a source of frustration. For non island owners you are diverting waste from our already monster sized land fills.