The issue with our current waste system is the sizing, both in the size of landfills and in the comparison in size between “trash”, recycling, and compost. Channeling some of the things we throw into the garbage into recycling is a goal of many “environmentalists” (“environmentalists” is in quotes to illustrate that “environmentalist“ is not the right term for a trash-producing human).

In my classroom at school there is a section of floor that I call the wall of waste. It starts with a large trash bin. Many days, the whole thing gets filled. Next to the trash and about half the size is the recycling bin. After that is a small round compost bin that gets emptied by the environmental club once a week. 

What can we do about it? The difficulty with “environmentalism” (see earlier comment on why environmentalism goes in quotation marks) is that knowing what is bad about trash isn’t going to make most people change their minds and behavioral patterns. This is why we need systematic change. 

My suggestion for an alternative waste system is called “boxes”. I named it “boxes” after the collection mechanism - the current collection mechanism being trash bins. A “box” (in this context) is a tall column of small drawers. Each drawer would be labeled with a type of waste (i.e. plastic recycling, broken pencils and pens, pencil shavings, and a smell-proof drawer for compost.). Sorting waste more effectively would take a step out of the recycling process and make reusing that material easier. 

This would be a good first step toward going waste-free because knowing what you are throwing away is essential to eliminating products that produce that waste. Another potential end goal is that with reduced waste, some land currently going toward landfills could become solar and wind farms. 

One potential environmental issue with the “boxes” method is that we don’t want everyone to throw away their trash bins and replace them with “boxes”. A smoother transition to “boxes” could involve banning the purchase of new trash bins, instead forcing people to replace their broken ones with “boxes”. During the period of time where some people were using “boxes” and others were using a normal trash system, the infrastructure to deal with each type of waste would be being built. Basic scientific studies would be done to figure out how to deal with specific types of waste (i.e. how to recycle pencil shavings).

The “box” itself does not make any environmental impact, it’s more about what it symbolizes: cautious waste management.