Waste-Less Wednesdays Episode 1: Garbage Bags

Welcome to the first episode of Waste-Less Wednesdays! A mini-series where I’m sharing tips for reducing your waste while living on the road.

As someone who’s stubborn on avoiding paying for things if I can avoid it, and always looking for ways to repurpose/upcycle things I have, rather than just throwing them away, I became fairly minimal in the way I’ve gone about the van set up.  When it came time to sorting out my garbage set-up, I was limited on space, and hated the idea of having to purchase a full roll of garbage bags, when I knew I’d probably never properly fill one up, and would never go through an entire roll.

For a bit of context into why I thought this way – when living back in an apartment on my own, in the 12 months I lived there, I think I emptied my small garbage can 8-10 times.  I had access to a recycling and compost facility, which allowed me to properly sort through my trash, as well as working at a zero-waste grocery store, with easy and affordable access to bulk/package-free products.  This made managing my waste-reduction really easy.

So, to re-purpose other waste, cut on costs, and avoid having to purchase garbage bags, I decided to save and collect any bags from products I purchase and struggle to get package free; Things like chip, cereal, bread, and frozen fruit bags!

I collect them all in a small box and keep them in my kitchen drawer to pull out as needed.  It’s been such a simple, but super effective hack for attempting a low waste life while travelling/living on the road.

If you’re looking for more guidance on what a “zero-waste” life looks like, check out my post: “How and What You Buy Matters.”

Stay passionate and curious,
Hunter 💛