A couple in Dallas, Oregon has been trying to live trash free for an entire year. KGW first told you about Amy and Adam Korst last year.
They started July 6th, 2009 and goal was to use no more than a grocery store bag worth of trash for 365 days.
The Korsts are pretty much your average American couple. A couple with the idea to go trash-free for an entire year. When we first met them a year ago, the couple was four weeks into the project.
At that point, they had just eight small trash items in a shoebox. Now?
"Seventy five small pieces of mostly plastic trash," said Amy Korst. It's a different box, but about the size of a shoe, still. The small box of trash from the past year weighs about four pounds, said Korst.
Compare that to the amount of trash most of us produce daily.
"The average American makes about four and a half pounds of trash a day. So, between the two of us [she and Adam] that would be about eight pounds of garbage a day that we could send to the landfill to meet that statistic," said Amy.
They recycle everything. They have a compost pile. The grow their own food in a garden. Amy cans food in mason jars at home. They also buy food from local farmers and growers.
The guiding principle for the project?
"We don't buy anything that's packaged in trash. We look at the packaging ahead of time and if it's packaged in something not recyclable, we don't buy it," said Amy. In the last year, the couple also moved into a bigger home. You might think it would be impossible not to produce any trash when you move.
Well, they did it.
They used all recycled boxes, which they later donated. And they packed the boxes with recyclable paper tape. While "trash free living" may sound extreme to many, the Korst's say, it's much easier than you think.
"If everybody made that really simple change to look at the packaging before they buy it, and buy the most recyclable option, [we'd all] drastically reduce our waste," Amy said.
The couple plans to keep up the same habits, even though the year is over. It's been a good year, after all.
"We're pretty proud of ourselves," said Amy with a smile. The Korst's have been blogging weekly about their project, which they've dubbed the "Green Garbage Project." Learn more about their story and find a link to their blog, here: http://greengarbageproject.adammathiasdesign.com/
