Road to Zero Waste

What is 'Cradle to Grave?'

The cradle to grave concept, sometimes called ecological rucksack, refers to the true cost of a product from its extraction as a raw material to its final stages of decomposition. The total cost from cradle to grave, in terms of its social and ecological burden, is seldom considered in the purchase price. If it were, we would suffer sticker shock! We have been relying on Earth’s vast savings account of resources to prop up our ‘spending’ habits. Look up Overshoot Day to learn more.
Household Waste in USA

According to EPA, this is the breakdown of most household trash. Presently about 35% is recycled or composted out of the paper, plastic, metals and yard waste categories. Rapid City’s diversion rate is much lower at just over 1.5%.
What are Microplastics?

Plastics do not readily decompose in the environment. Very few living beings on Earth can metabolize plastic. They just break into smaller and smaller pieces (less than 5mm in diameter), and are sometimes referred to as ‘nurdles.’ Microplastics are often mistaken as food sources by wildlife and occupy space in their digestive tracts without any nutritional value. They are suspected of being endocrine disrupters in human and animal biology causing a raft of health complications.

Seven Steps on the Zero Waste Journey

Educate Yourself

Familiarize yourself with your community’s waste services through your local government (rapidcityrecycles.org) and the companies that provide such services. Find out what materials they accept and reject. Take care to not contaminate the whole load with things that do not belong because then everyone’s efforts are lost.
Conduct a household waste audit

A household waste audit enables you to learn what kinds of trash you produce in what volumes. With this information you can understand your biggest sources of waste and take steps to dispose of things more gently on the environment.
Recycle

While recycling should eventually be one choice of last resort, it presently remains a critical step in reducing the amount of landfill volume. rapidcityrecycles.org
Compost

Food waste comprises a huge volume of material that goes needlessly to the landfill. It is far more useful as a natural soil amendment with its normal carbon cycle than becoming a methane generator in the anaerobic environment of the dump. Composting at home helps REDUCE our greenhouse gas and climate woes. There are many methods and resources online for composting including vermiculture (worms).
Re-use, Re-purpose

Think long and hard about how to get rid of things without throwing them away. There is a thriving market for thrift goods that give items a new lease on life. If it has truly come to the end of the road, find out if it can be recycled. Throwing them away should be the last option. Consider renting, borrowing or sharing things before buying new.
Packaging Avoidance

Avoid packaging in the first place, especially single use plastics. Determine what kind of substitutions can be made for products that you regularly buy that do not contribute to the plastics problem. Many alternatives are available that are safer for humans and pets, free of forever chemicals, and are biodegradable.
Voice your opinion

Encourage businesses that you patronize to reduce their packaging footprint. The reduction of waste goes much further up the materials pipeline than the average consumer. Businesses have a large responsibility in waste management. Let’s not forget to remind them.