Who would have guessed that it would be so difficult to find a 20-gallon trash can? I’ve looked for a used one on Craigslist and Oodle — even posted a request on Freecycle. No used 20-gallon cans. Then I searched for a one new, which you’d think would be a no-brainer. Nope. Home Depot, Sears, Rite Aid, Long’s, even our local Knight’s Hardware do not carry 20-gallon trash cans. It seems that it was easier to reduce our trash output then finding the reduced-sized container.
If I didn’t know any better, I’d say there is a conspiracy from the packaged goods manufacturers to make it very difficult to purchase a 20-gallon trash can. Maybe they don’t want you to know how much trash you’re really producing…I suppose the hard truth is that there is little demand for 20-gallon cand. This shouldn’t surprise me as I continue to see many homes in our neighborhood with not one, but TWO 32-gallon cans, usually over-flowing.
Finally, I located one at Orchard Supply Hardware, which was on sale for $14.99. The kids have named him Oliver.
If people only knew how easy it was to reduce trash. By making just a few simple steps in our life, such as composting, using reusable diapers and purchasing food products via cloth bags as opposed to goods that come in packaging, we’ve reduced our trash from 42 pounds a week to approximately 11 pounds a week.
Our goal of getting to zero-waste has been motivated by our desire to have less impact on the environment, but through this process, I’ve also learned there is an economic incentive.
By moving from a 32-gallon can to a 20-gallon can, we’ll save just over $7/quarter or $30/year. This number varies per county, so in some places you might be saving a lot more, such as in San Francisco, where you can save $5/month or $60/year. While that doesn’t seem like a lot, our investment translates to more than $320 in ten years, which more than covers the investments we’ve made to reduce or output. Following breaks down the costs:
Composter $152
Cloth bags $ 47
Reusable diapers: $ 48
20-gallon can: $ 15
TOTAL: $262
Just think, moving to a 20-gallon can reduces trash output by 624 pounds a year. Multiply that by the number of households in your town — and the real potential impact of trash reduction becomes clear.