Wow, Thanks, and Oops....

First, WOW!!
I have received an enormous response from the article that came out today about saving my trash for a year. I started the project for my own edification - my own learning, my own discovery, my own experience. I thought about making it public, but to be honest, my life is so busy I never got around to it. The SF Chronicle found out about it when a friend mentioned it to a friend and today it apparently hit the news world in full force. I checked my email this morning and it has been a non-stop flow of communication ever since....

Second, THANKS!!!
From the bottom of my heart, I sincerly thank all of you who have written to share your thoughts, ideas and criticisms with me. It is inspiring to know that people care enough, or at least are intrigued enough to take the time to write. Many of you have shared your own stories and that means more to me than anything. It is through community that we learn the most and feel the most connected to each other.

Finally, OOPS....
After the story was discovered by local TV news and the SF Chronicle, I decided to post a blog to share more about it. I put up some basic information but have not yet finalized the site. I had hoped to know before the story actually hit the papers so I could finish editing the blog, post pictures, add the missing content, etc. Well, so it goes.... the story ran and I learned about it from all of you! That's fun!! I will do my best to get more information up as soon as I can so that all of you who are still interested can get the whole scoop. I will even post pictures.

I appreciate those of you who have written to share your skepticism and dubiousness, wondering how this can be legitimate if I haven't posted any pictures. I will happily post some photos so you can have your proof... They usually say the proof is in the pudding. With me, the proof is actually in the pudding packaging.

And one more thing...
I want to express a deep appreciation for Kelly Zito, the SF Chronicle writer who first covered this story, for the incredible job she did of putting this project into a larger context. In so doing she gave it greater meaning. She clearly took the time to speak to people in the trash industry, to uncover and share the difficult to digest truth that much of our recycling gets shipped to Asia for processing. She shared the overwhelming statistic that as Americans we generate over 250 million tons of trash a year. And she captured the point of the project accurately and with grace - i appreciate the opportunity to use this project to create dialogue about a subject that impacts us all and my deepest belief is that change starts with each one of us. It is through our actions, not our preaching and finger pointing, that real movement happens. By acting upon our ideas and inspiration we bring things to life and give others a chance to do the same.

Comments

[Papers on Research]

looks quite a great post, it's having good information for research analysis. great job

[brianna]

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[vykky]

lets throw mary and her flashdance comforter on the pile too. patrick swayze much?

[Lizzi]

As always, I am extremely proud to be your friend. This trash-thing may have put you on the map globally, but you are absolutely inspiring all the time, in everything you do; I can't wait for the world to learn more about you, Artie!

[Tyler Blank]

Hello Freaky Friend,

What I'm curious about are the hard Facts:

Just how Many chocolate wrappers are in there? And pretzels? Come on, how many bags DID you eat?

How many toilet paper rolls did you go through?

This is important information...
How else can we budget for the coming year?

Thank you for your efforts so that we may understand just how much trash we produce (even though I know how extremely diligent you were about reducing your waste... and not just because you had to live with it for a year!)

Blessings...

[LongT]

Trash Guy; I saw the followup video report on ABC today where you read my blog in the report. Just wanted you to know that it was just my attempt at little humor. I really did at first think here is one of those pack rat people that can't throw anything away. No dig intended. Good luck!

[Billlie]

Great project! Please share more ideas for us to use in our homes. I am challenged to reduce our waste as well. Thanks.

[Billlie]

Great project! Please share more ideas for us to use in our homes. I am challenged to reduce our waste as well. Thanks.

[Mimi]

To address the question about bottled water, please go to this website...
http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/117/features-message-in-a-bottle.html

It really explains well why buying bottled water is hurting our planet and our neighbors.

Good for you, Ari, for doing this and making people aware that there is no "away"!

[Krisco]

Great political statement and hard to do from a personal standpoint, so good for you!

As someone who has been blogging for two years, a bit of advice: blogs don't need to be perfect. That's their beauty. Don't worry about editing everything perfectly - just throw some pictures up here! You can always add more verbal content later. Trust me, we all want to see it.

[Krisco]

Great political statement and hard to do from a personal standpoint, so good for you!

As someone who has been blogging for two years, a bit of advice: blogs don't need to be perfect. That's their beauty. Don't worry about editing everything perfectly - just throw some pictures up here! You can always add more verbal content later. Trust me, we all want to see it.

[Rhea]

A great idea. I hope we can all learn something from this. But it must stink!

[Vicky]

Thank you for doing this project. I liked your perceptive and thoughtful comments and I'm heartened to know that you and others are mindful of what we consume and throw "away."

Kind regards.
Vicky
Baltimore

[Mary]

Can you add vykky ebner to you garbage pile for saying wicked cool? It made me want to get out my Flashdance comforter.

Good job though. I have almost no garbage waste. I recycle EVERYTHING. Thanks for spreading the word!

Green in Oregon! (redundant huh?)

[Heather]

I think you project is a great one, it gives a visual for all of us visual types to see that trash doesn't magically disappear when we put in in the trash can.

I'm curious how much you'd have left if you recycled all the recyclables (such as the ice cream containers, egg cartons, etc.) and donated all the reusables (such as the bike locks).

I think you already did really well reducing the amount of garbage you produce. Keep up the good work!

[Bill Morris]

Awesome !! I can't believe the trash I throw away. So much Damb packaging, plastic this, plastic that. Boxes, newspapers, leftover food. All I can say is great job. Let people say what they want, but, it does sometimes take others to go to these measures to make the rest of us see how wasteful we really are. THANKS AGAIN

[John Trosko]

Ari,

I found your project on CNN.com-- what a story. I agree with many of the comments above. Most interestingly enough, you seemed to not generate too much trash. I seem to generate much more than you, for some reason. I also too wonder about the hygenic effects of the collection, like egg containers (even though your diet is mainly vegetarian). And the smell, too. I haven't fully surfed your site yet to see if you washed out containers (and those embarrassing items)-- that will be surprising when I find out more.

Very good points you make! Great comments!

- John

[iri1sh2]

We're sorry, your comment has not been published because TypePad's antispam filter has flagged it as potential comment spam. It has been held for review by the blog's author.

[Mary]

Great idea! You know it would probably have a bigger "wow" impact if say, a family of four, saved their trash for a year. Ourselves, we'd have nowhere to put something of that magnitude, and we recycle and reuse what we can. We usually have about a half a trash container (don't know exactly how much this is, but it's about half of the big waste management container that goes out for trash pickup) a week, which I think is pretty good for a family of five with two babies. We also put out 2 bins of recyclables each week as well. I do notice around our neighborhood that those families who do not put out recyclables usually have the trash spilling over the top of their trash container, and bags sitting next to it on the ground.
I think one just has to be conscious of what they are buying and throwing away in order to reduce waste. One example is the packaging children's toys come in. It's ridiculous the amount of waste these companies produce in packaging.
Buying in bulk from your local natural foods store, and shopping at the farmer's markets in your area helps too!

[Rui Brito]

Ari, well done! It's because of people like yourself that I love to live in Berkeley! Always thinking outside the box and ahead of the curve!

[Josh Shoenfeld]

I am impressed! We recycle everything possible, and it is a ton. Our trash load is pretty small compared to most but it still feels like a ton. As a family of 4 we generate about 24 cubic feet per month. If I included my recycling it would probably be twice that. Way to go.

[Aaron]

Most of the trash talk (forgive the lame pun) is from people who evidently didn't read the article or the FAQ on your site.

He threw away the organic matter, and washed the wrappers (etc.) off before storing them. It's just paper and plastic waste, so there is no smell. I'm assuming he washed the condoms too... sick as that sounds.

Anyway, I think it was an interesting social experiment that took a lot of time and dedication and was a great way to draw attention to the problem of waste in America. Cheers!

[Hui Wee]

nut bag - get a life

what kind of chick would bang a guy with an apartment full of trash.

whats next, a year of saved up TP?

[Jenn]

The first thought that came to mind for me is, boy that would stink with all the poopy diapers in my house... That most certainly would change our use of disposable diapers to cloth, just for the stink.

[droov]

Ok, I'm really curious - how did you manage so little trash in an entire year? The CNN story acts as if it's a lot (96 cubic feet they say?), but that's really only 6 or 7 large garbage cans worth of garbage. By myself I throw away half a garbage can every week, or 26 in a year(roughly). Plus recyclables. I don't have a garbage disposal, but I don't throw out much food waste anyway.