Next steps

For the past couple weeks, I have been sketching different design ideas based on my experiences during the 30 day exploration. To help generate further ideas, I plan to go back through my own blogs as well as others doing similar things and start listing out some of the themes. I want to capture specific foods, tools, and systems mentioned as well as the emotions connected to them. I hope this will help me expand my thinking into new areas.

Wrap-up and reflection

Well, my 30 days are up and it's time to consider what I have learned and what choices I will make going forward. I have to say that this process has made me more aware of what a huge amount of food we are throwing away as a society. Prior to this exploration, I was focused more on the waste associated with food, such as packaging. I have also realized how difficult it is to avoid some sort of waste, even with fresh local food - like the bags and wrapping from our CSA. Also, some waste decisions are out of your control, like when a restaurant places a paper napkin at your place setting that they will throw away even if you don't use it.

I took up composting, but it hasn't seemed like I've done much but created a pile of leaves and food. I don't think anything has really started to break down yet. Hopefully once the weather gets warmer I will start to see a transformation. As a renter with no garden, I also feel like I would better off if I could donate my scraps to a community garden. In the future, I can see myself really getting the benefits of it though.

I also plan to drastically reduce and hopefully eliminate the use of paper towels, plastic wrap, and aluminum foil. I will continue to bring my lunch in my own containers and try to grab lunch on the go less often. But I do know that I will be back to some of my old favorites, like Chipotle. And I have to be honest and say that I am not likely to bring my own containers to the deli/butcher counters anymore. It's just too awkward. 

Overall, this has been a interesting experience that has opened up new avenues for me to explore as a designer - though one thing I am happy to give up is blogging about it!

 

Tea time

I couldn't resist having some hot tea at the morning breakfast buffet in the hotel. There's something about free food that seems to override concerns about waste. 

Actually, most of the food in the conference was buffet style with regular plates, cups, and napkins. Although I can't know for sure, it seems like they managed the amount of food pretty well so that were not too many leftovers.

Gelato!

Got to see a bit of Vancouver today and stopped into a chocolate shop for gelato. I ended up taking a few samples and throwing away the little spoons they gave me. When we ordered the gelato, I looked closer at the spoons and saw they were recyclable. The symbol was so tiny it was quite hard to miss, especially on the semi-transparent plastic. But I am taking them home for proper recycling.

The gelato container itself had a sadder fate. Now normally, I get my ice cream in cones so as to have a consumable container, but this gelato was for sharing. A bowl just made more sense from that standpoint. 

Apple core

Sadly, this apple core will not make it back to my compost in Atlanta. 3 day old fruit probably doesn't do well in a suitcase - not to mention possible customs issues.

Sushi

Tonight my friend and I went out for sushi in Vancouver. Wooden chopsticks and a napkin into the trash. 

Green touches

I got into the Four Seasons Vancouver and decided to relax in the hot tub. They had pitchers of water infused with things like lemongrass and cucumber and lemon/ginger. They also had what looked initially to be disposable cups. Upon closer inspection however, I noticed that they were in fact compostable. So I picked one up, and I will plan to bring it back home with me.

Flying

Flying from Atlanta to Vancouver today. I decided to bring along some buffalo jerky as a good snack so that I wouldn't have to buy any lunch at the airport. Although the bag goes in the trash, it saved me having to generate extra waste through an airport meal. 

Starbucks receipts

Today I went to Starbucks before class for a hot chocolate (in my reusable travel mug of course). Whenever I'm there, they ask me if I want my receipt and I always say no. Today I saw a huge pile of receipts on the cash register and I became curious about their fate. When I asked the cashier if they recycled all the receipts he replied, "Unfortunately, we don't." What?! Like it would be so hard to do. I wonder if they even have a recycle bin back there. I have often felt some stores could save a lot of paper by reducing the extra junk they print on the receipts like ads and promotions. Blockbuster is the worst with this. It seems like you get 4 slips of paper for one movie rental. Anyway, seems like both a waste of money and paper. And come on GT Starbucks, just recycle these things! From now on I will be taking my own receipt at least.

Smorgasbord

Today I was in the Klaus building and there was some event going on where they were providing snacks for the participants.

As is customary at these things, you can see many examples of landfill-bound packaging. They have bottled water, soda, snack size chip bags, and disposable plates, cups, and silverware. Even though some of the items are recyclable, most people will probably throw them in the large trash can "conveniently" located next to the table. This is despite that fact that recycle bins are in the line of sight of this table. I saw one lady throw an empty gallon of tea into the trash which could have been recycled. I think public receptions like these are incredibly wasteful, both in terms of actual food and packaging.

As they were wrapping up the reception, I did happen to spot some brownies that were left on the tray. Not one to let food go to waste, I did my part to keep them from the trash. :)

Cloth napkins

When I was at my parents' on Sunday for the Super Bowl, I asked my mom if she had any cloth napkins I could have. I have been using dish towels as my napkin at home, but it's too bulky to take around. So I got a couple from her, and took one out for a spin today. I also plan to take it with me on my Vancouver trip.

Wire ties for greens

This is a twist tie that came around my cilantro. For one thing, the sign at Whole Foods said the cilantro was from South Carolina, but this thing says "Product of Mexico." Which one am I to believe?

Anyway, this particular object has to go in the trash as far as I know. Unless maybe if I ripped of the paper and separated the wire. But, lo and behold, through a Google search for "metal twist tie alternative," I stumbled upon a fascinating patent for a wireless polymer twist tie that is fully recyclable. I'm actually a little concerned that I am so excited by this. Sadly, I have never seen such a twist tie, but I'll keep my fingers crossed.

Moldy orange

Okay. I don't know how this happened. We got 3 or 4 oranges from the CSA last week, and this one is already moldy! The other ones we ate already. It was hiding under an apple, so I don't know how long it had been going bad. Sometimes it seems like these things just pop up out of nowhere. I think some of this produce just has to be defective. Citrus usually has a longer shelf life. Oh well, off to the compost.

Super bowl bean dip

Here is a collection of food packaging from my Chipotle Black Bean Dip:


Standard recyclable can. Alternatively, I could have bought the black beans in bulk and cooked them myself. Originally I thought I wouldn't have time, but as it turns out, I probably should have done that.



This was a good chance to use up some frozen corn. However, these bags are not supposed to be recycled according to PlasticBagRecycling.org.


Our cherry tomatoes from the CSA came in this container. Standard packaging for small veggies and berries. This was recycled.

One reason I chose this dip was to use up some chipotles in the fridge as well.

Individually wrapped?

Last night I drank a can of root beer with dinner. Even though it is recyclable, it made me wonder if this should be considered excess packaging since, in some ways, this is an "individually wrapped" food item. I wonder if that holds true even if my boyfriend and I shared it.


When I think about it, you don't really see large containers of specialty sodas. Only the standard Coke, Pepsi, etc. which we never buy. At one point, my boyfriend really wanted to try making his own soda. Maybe we should revisit that idea.

Foil over microwave

I heated up a ham steak for dinner last night. We usually wrap it in foil and put it in the toaster oven. Thinking about waste, I considered if I should heat it up in the microwave instead. But we generally try to avoid the microwave as much as possible. Especially for meat, I don't like what it does to the taste and texture, not to mention potential health concerns. So I ended up using some aluminum foil. But I reused some that we had been keeping in the drawer. Afterwards, it was clean enough to rinse and put in the recycling.