I will place any extra food I have after each meal into a bucket to be dropped off and composted at Sara's Table Restaurant (a composting site) each Friday between 10 - 10:30am.
I feel I did moderately well in achieving this goal, however, I only fulfilled part of my SMART goal. I have to be honest, though, when Friday came last week I felt I did not have enough materials to bring to the composting site.
Where I succeeded in my goal was taking all scrap pieces of my food and placing it into the composting bag I picked up earlier in the week. What I did to help me be successful in this area was I knew that I would need to place the bucket with the composting bag in a spot where I would see the bucket quite often and constantly be reminded to compost; so I placed the bucket on my shelf in the fridge. I placed the bucket there because I figured that whenever I open the fridge it's generally because I am hungry and want to eat and now when I raid the fridge to find food I remember that when I am finished eating I am placing the scraps of my meal into the bucket.
One challenge that I encountered was I realized that I was not sure which foods could be placed into the composting bucket! I realized this after I had informed my roommates that I was going to begin composting my food and encouraged them to place anything they could no longer use into the bucket as well. They were really excited to hear this and then began asking me questions about what could be composted and I concluded I wasn't sure. I figured that in order for me to successfully fulfill my SMART goal I needed to do some research on the topic and so that's what I did.
I had mixed emotions about how I felt towards my goal. I really began to feel a little nervous when I was about to start the new goal and deciding how to go about composting. I also felt confused and panicked when my roommates began to ask questions regarding what could be composted. I felt this way because my roommates see me at the 'healthy' one and for them to ask me questions about a healthy topic that I didn't know much about. Though, after doing some research and analyzing the topic I felt relatively confident and was able to successfully inform them about the subject.
This past week what I really learned, as I'm sure you've noticed, how and what to compost! I learned that more items may be composted than I thought! Items such as macaroni and cheese tea bags, and even Elmer's glue!
I plan to continue with the same goal as before and place any excess or outdated items into the composting bucket and bring the bucket to the composting site at the end of the work week. I feel one of the most challenging obstacles is to actually bring the bucket to the composting site so after this week I will know if I can continue with this goal or not!
Blogged for the Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 2 hosted by Amy@Amy in the Rain.
I guess I didn't really think much about WHAT you can compost either? I just pictured it being all food scraps pretty much, but I didn't know you can compost tea bags and such? That's good to know that there are other items out there that you never would have expected to compost. I really like your goal, though I bet it'd be kind of a nuisance always having to drop it off on Fridays. Keep it up!
ReplyDeleteThat's strange that they can compost Elmer's glue. I, too, hate the feeling of not knowing something that people expect me to know about. It happens to everyone, don't worry. I think you picked a great goal and I'm glad you decided to continue with it despite the challenges!
ReplyDeletePlacing the composting bucket not only will remind you to keep up with it, but it also might contain some of the smell by keeping the scraps refrigerated. I also am not too familiar with which things can be composted, and its interesting to learn things we never really though could be composted actually can be! Maybe getting your roommates involved in your goal will help you to feel like you have got enough compost to bring in each week, and will also help them to be more of a "healthy" person like you!
ReplyDeleteWow, Elmer's Glue? That's something new for me too. I thought sharing your goal with your roommates is a great idea because you are teaching them about little ways to be eco-friendly. Unconsciously, they may think the bag is where they can throw away scraps of food for you but you teaching them what goes in it actually is making them aware of things that can be biodegradable. YAY!
ReplyDeleteI really liked how you are teaching your roommates about composting. I think, besides better ourselves the main goal of this class is to educate others and it sounds like you are doing a fabulous job at both!
ReplyDeleteI would have come across the same problem I think! I guess I have never really known what you can and can't compost. Are there actually items you cannot?
ReplyDeleteI never really have thought of what could be composted either. You should tell us what can and can't be! It's cool that you got your roommates to contribute to your SMART goal as well: that's what being a health educator is all about!
ReplyDelete