Most
people have no real idea how much waste they make every year. Have you? If the
answer is 'no', you can use this simple but rather messy way to find out. It's
called a waste audit. The ideal (but impossible) aim is to end up as close to
zero as you can for stuff which can't be recycled. 
IDEA:
Get your friends to do this too. You might even have a competition for the least
wasteful family.
Okay, so let's begin our audit...
1.
Gather together all the garbage you and your family produce
in one week. Better tell your mum or dad what you want to do and maybe they'll
help. It's a good idea to wear rubber gloves when you handle garbage since it
can be a little yukky!
2. Weigh it (maybe your family has a
spring balance? or ask if you can use the bathroom scales?) and write down the
total.
3. Work out the volume of the
waste. That's easy if it's in bags because you can assume each bag is a ball
(sphere). You can calculate the volume by first measuring the radius
of the ball of trash. Then, if you like math, you can calculate the volume.
Or, if you don't like maths, click here
and get the online sphere volume calculator to do it for you!
4. Add up all your weights and then all
your volumes (if you had several bags). Then, multiply your weights and your
volume results by 52. Then you know how much waste you produce in one year.
It will probably suprise you.
5. Sort through the waste and see how
much of it you can
recycle. It's usually possible to recycle glass, newspaper, paper, aluminium
and steel cans, aluminium foil, batteries, clothes and plastic bottles. You
can personally recycle garden rubbish, some untreated paper and cardboard and
most kitchen wastes by making compost
in your backyard (if you have one). Again, if you want, you can work out weights
and volumes by packing different sorts of stuff in separate bags for weighing
and measuring. Then you'll finally find out just how
much of your garbage is made up of packaging.
My
friend Tammy the Turkey shows you how you can buy what you need with less need
for waste here.
But just a minute. Isn't there something missing from all this waste? Can you guess?