I support the local landfill! There's no better way to be green then to create land! LOL

Not much. From your description I would say that my family produces about double what you do (although I have never used a compactor.)

There are however times that I have had to dispose of "building materials" - which are somehow seen as more evil than assorted trash. Most would burn them... More in the future will.

Supposedly the company that picks up at our house each week takes the paper products and cans and bottles to a recycling center instead of the landfill along with the materials that are not readily recyclable. Food and yard waste is composted on site.
Landfills remove land from use because of the potenttial contamination.

Landfills are all closed in this region. Everything goes to a massive central plant where most of it is burned for energy as I understand it, and somehow they can separate organics and they make compost.

We generate about one 50gal barrel every two weeks, uncompacted, of non recyclable plastics and miscellaneous packaging. Less during the heating season when we burn most paper-based stuff, a little more otherwise. I don't do the shopping, otherwise it would be far less.

One "tall kitchen" garbage bag per week although a lot of weeks it's not very full. To recycle here, one must take their items in, which I do for everything they take. They don't take glass or styrofoam, or any plastic that doesn't have a "1 or 2" inside the little triangle. We keep all of our yard waste to compost or burn. The city burns all of the yard waste they pick up. Culling myself from injecting my "hot topics" opinion about this here where it's not appropriate.

We started trying to work toward zero waste a little while ago. We've been trying to cut down on packaging waste by using our own containers to put bulk supplies in (even things like milk and shampoo). It's actually been a lot cheaper and we've even saved enough money to do something (gasp) fun!
All kitchen scraps/waste go to either the compost worms or the compost pile. So we have no "wet" garbage. Dish cloths instead of paper towels, and cloth napkins. Yard waste gets composted, woody material usually gets burned. And we recycle any/all material that's applicable.
So far, we haven't had to take any trash out for almost a whole month!
Oh, and also, if anyone is interested in a really fascinating read about the life of America's garbage, I highly recommend Edward Humes' book, "Garbology." Really interesting stuff. We all make garbage, right? It was interesting to see what it does when it leaves our hands.

Second the Garbage book, good stuff. :-]

I think we might actually be negative overall because of all the stuff we pull out of other peoples' trash. Usually we have one trash bag a week, often not that full.

Excellent curbside recycling here. Of course, composting including (sometimes) other peoples' yard waste.

We heat with wood, much of which is knocked down by developers and would be burned in a pile otherwise. I have been landfilling ashes (5 gal/wk) but am working on a charcoal screener and lye leaching setup and will put the leached ashes on the lawn and the charcoal in the garden beds.

I pick up building materials for my shop at curbside, as well as scrap metal. Dumpster diving at hardware and farm supply stores yields hundreds of lb. per year of metal, repairable equipment, mulch, potting soil, fertilizers, plants, pesticides, feed, landscape blocks and crate lumber. Some I donate to friends or good causes, a few items are sold.

So, all in all, I think we divert more than we create. :-]

We usually have about 1 kitchen garbage bag per week and like others not always full. Mostly what goes in ours that HAS to go out is meat packaging. Especially in the summer....PU!

We use dish clothes and cloth napkins too but I also couldn't do without my paper towels...but they go to the compost so it's all good. I don't use that many but some things are a must for them.

We too have to take our recyclables up to a center but luckily it's not too far and they've finally started taking plastic...YAY! They didn't for the first 4 years we lived here and taking to the nearest one was gas prohibitive so I'm glad they finally do.

Val

From presently generated trash I have about a bag every 2 months to dispose of.

not much at all nancy,

we put our bin out each second week instead of weekly because there is so little in it could get away with a monthly empty, but we pay for weekly anyway.

all we have in ours is plastic packets and wrap, all rottable goes into the garden, plastic containers go to recycle collected fortnighly.

len

Here is a link that might be useful: lens garden page

We usually have about 1 kitchen garbage bag per week and like others, not always full.

We don't drink anything from a plastic bottle, only aluminum cans, which I sell to a scrap yard when I get enough bags to fill my truck and trailer. I just sold some yesterday, $82.65!

Huntsville utilizes a massive steam plant, which converts many kinds of solid waste into steam which is used for energy for huge Redstone Arsenal. It's pretty amazing, I think.

Here is a link that might be useful: Recyling into steam.

our garbage pickup schedule goes like this:

Monday yard waste-[nothing left out, ever,it all gets composted]

Tuesday household waste- [nothing]

Wednesday paper one week alternating with glass and plastic-[ whatever I can recycle gets put out each week, approximately a 20 gallon bin full]

Friday household waste- [half a kichen garbage bag ]

for this service I get taxed almost $500 dollars a year which comes out to almost ten bucks an underfilled, white garbage bag I leave out each week.
Living green is driving me broke. ;)

darth, I am with you. By law I have to pay for garbage removal, even if I recycle Everything that come out my house.
Which at this time is a bag to 3 bags a week. It the FDA would change the packaging rules it would help a lot.I freeze a lot & that is a plastic bag per vaggie & meat some months.

about 1 13 gallon trash bag each week. We just tore down a rotting wood patio cover, so will have those in the trash, a few at a time for several weeks. We recycle cans and bottles for the school to raise money. All other plastic, glass, cardboard, etc that is recycleable goes into our recycle container which is full or overflowing each week.

My family of 6 averages about 2-3 kitchen garbage bags a week. We save cans and plastic bottles for the school recycling program. Paper is shredded for compost and mulch. Cardboard will be used for weed suppression. Most of the time glass bottles just go in the trash. We used to save them to be recycled but we since learned that there is no facility in the area so there is just a mountain of glass that will likely never be recycled.

In transition as I incorporate Bokashi composting into the mix, which means the kitchen garbage is not only much less, but not needing to be disposed of ever for olfactory offensiveness. I'm looking for a smaller kitchen garbage pail since I now have much less than a tall kitchen garbage pail/week. I'm thinking it averages one 13-gallon bag / two or three weeks from the kitchen and one a week for the bunny litter and urine-soaked hay. The more dry top hay goes into the dirt generator.

Other than fresh vegetables, much of the other stuff is purchased in bulk online, so I've a good lot of cardboard boxes once every three months or so that go to my neighbor who collects and treks to sell 'em to a recycling concern.

Bottles, plastics, cans are recycled, and I get a small bag's worth every three months or so unless Angel's come by to drink the beer I keep on hand for him, LOL.