I attended the public hearing on Feb. 4 at the Jefferson County Clerk and Recorder’ Office for the preliminary engineering report to fill in residents on projects to improve solid waste management stemming from capacity issues in the north part of the county.
The presentation was excellent. The present system was described as well as concerns and pros and cons of possible solutions. I felt the County Commissioners had good information and would make a good decision after receiving other communities input.
I asked to make sure recycling would continue. Yes! But what can I do? I was excited to hear that Jefferson County residents’ average of 3.6 pounds per person per day of waste is less than the statewide average. I was very concerned about my own waste generation. I avidly work to “reduce, reuse and recycle.”
I decided to weigh my waste. So far my results have shown that two people in our house generate 1.08 pounds per day including our recycling. That is .54 pound per person per day.
Yes, we have chickens who compost all our food scraps (and those of 2-3 other people too). We are vegetarian. We buy in bulk. We eat as much as we can out of garden and freezer. We shop local, take our own bags to carry out. And recently I am taking my own bags for fruit and veggies to be weighed in. We eat very little if any processed or pre-packaged food.
Now what can you do to reduce the amount of solid waste you and your family generate? Choose one thing and all work on it. Stick to it. It takes practice.
We will recycle plastic on May 11 at the Green Your Spring event, and then continue at the Farmer’s Markets July 11 to Sept. 27. – Connie Grenz, Boulder
