When you throw it away, there is no away. 

We’ve heard that phrase about our garbage, in one iteration or another, for decades. I am aware that the stuff I can’t reuse or recycle ends up in a landfill, but I have to admit, I’ve been (kind of blissfully) ignorant about where my garbage goes. That’s about to change. 

Getting rid of your trash at the nearest receptable doesn't make it go away. Photo By wvs/Courtesy Flickr. 

MIT researchers just announced Trash Track, a project that will make it difficult to ignore just how much trash we create daily.

With the help of volunteers in New York and Seattle, Trash Track will electronically “tag” pieces of garbage with special wireless location markers. These markers, or “trash tags,” will follow the waste from volunteers’ homes to their final destinations. Throughout the journey, the tags will send location information about each trash piece to a central server, which will analyze the data in real time. By September, you'll be able to view the trash's journey through New York and Seattle’s disposal systems online. Trash Track plans to expand into London soon.

Trash Track's goal is to reveal the resources and energy it takes to dispose of trash, locate any inefficiencies in today’s recycling and waste disposal systems, and create awareness of trash’s negative effect on the environment. 

The project was inspired by the Green NYC Initiative, whose goal is to create nearly zero waste in New York (through recycling) by 2030. Today only about 30 percent of the city’s waste is recycled. 

How do you prevent unnecessary waste in your homes? Tell me your tips in the comment section.

As the weather warms up in Kansas and the advent of graduation signals one last free summer for me, my mind is turning to camping. Since last September I’ve been carrying around a tent, sleeping bag and other camping supplies in the trunk of my car, and now that I finally have some free time I’m itching to spend the night outside, go hiking and simply enjoy nature. 

While getting away for a weekend to the woods might seem relaxing, the benefits for nature are not necessarily reciprocal. Most of us probably camp the traditional way—sleeping bags and tents—but that doesn’t mean we’re minimizing our impact on the environment. While camping may seem like an eco-friendly activity, it’s important to leave no trace of our visit when we’re gone to preserve the land. 

Trash

• Taking care of your trash is one of the most important – and obvious – ways of greening your camping. Be sure to take out everything you bring in. Keep bags around for collecting waste and for recycling.

• Dispose of waste according to your campsite’s rules.

• When hiking, stuff trash in your pockets. If you see any litter left behind by other hikers, be courteous and pick up after them. Just because it’s not your trash doesn’t mean you can’t help out!

Cooking and Dishes

• Bringing disposable paper or Styrofoam plates and utensils may seem the easiest option, but it’s certainly not the most eco-friendly. Instead, bring along reusable dishes and silverware that you can wash.

• When washing dishes, carry them far away from any water sources (about 200 feet), such as streams and lakes. Use biodegradable soap, and scatter the dishwater.

Enjoy nature while preserving it for future generations. When camping, bring recyclable dishes, use LED flashlights and propery dispose of your trash and human waste. Photo By mariachily/Courtesy Flickr 

Flashlights

• If you’re going to bring a flashlight (and most people do), consider investing in a LED flashlight. LED lights can provide up to 600 hours of light from a single set of batteries, and they produce a brighter light than traditional flashlights. You can also buy wind-up LED flashlights. The friction created from winding the light’s lever will power it.

Campfires

• Build your campfires within an existing ring and keep them small.

• If you’re going to fuel your fire with the wood surrounding your campsite, keep in mind that both standing and fallen trees, dead or alive, may be home to animals and insects. It’s always better to collect dead wood than saw off living branches, however.

• Gather wood from a wide area around the campsite so as to lessen your impact.

• If possible, use dry drift wood from rivers and seashores.

• Burn all wood to ash, soak in water (not cover with dirt) and scatter the remains over a large area. 

Waste

If you’re not using a campground with bathroom facilities, it’s important to know how to properly dispose of your body waste. While urine leaves little to no effect on the environment, other types of waste can.

• Catholes: This is the most common and accepted way of disposing of human waste when you’re out camping. For this, be sure to bring a garden trowel with you. Dig a hole 6 to 8 inches deep and 4 to 6 inches wide. Be sure to locate your cathole away from your campsite or any hiking trails, and place it especially far away from water sources as human waste can pollute them. If possible, place your cathole where it will receive the most sunlight, as this well help aid decomposition.

• Toilet paper and Tampons: Use toilet paper sparingly. Bury it deep in your cathole or carry out in a plastic bag. Tampons must be packed in a plastic bag and carried out; they don’t decompose, and animals are likely to dig them up.

For more information, check out Leave No Trace, a program that provides outdoor skills and ethics training.

Unfortunately, the ones that usually end up in my apartment are pure white with cute designs along the edges. These towels are most likely made from virgin pulp that has been bleached and dyed to “perfection.”

Yesterday, I finished the last roll, and on my weekly shopping trip, I purposefully left the paper towels off my list. 

This week, I’m sticking with reusable cloth napkins. I’ve already vented frustration while cleaning up splattered egg whites with my cloth (germs!), but luckily I was able to throw that one into the wash that I had just started. I’m nervous, though, because I host TV nights with friends (and food!) during the week, and we make messes. I also have a new kitten who likes to spill stuff and requires constant cleaning. It’s my first eco-challenge, but I’m ready for it! 

What do you use around the house? Are you a germ freak when it comes to reusables? What about recycled paper towels? Tell me what you do to eliminate paper towel waste.