Becoming a zero waste household can happen one thing at a time
Working towards becoming a zero waste household is not something new to Carol Bradford and her family; it is something they have been working on for the past 20 years.

"It is part of taking care of the Earth, part of being responsible stewards of what we have," Bradford says. "I don't want to throw something away if someone can still use it."

Zero waste is a philosophy that encourages the reuse of products so that any waste sent to a landfill is minimal. Many localities, including Lexington, are working towards becoming a zero waste community by reducing what local residents send to the
landfill.

"Lexington generates a lot of trash, which we have to send out of the county to a landfill," Bradford says.

Bradford has long been a supporter of recycling, having practiced recycling in her home even before Lexington started its curbside recycling program. She uses cloth bags when she goes to the grocery. Bradford estimates she has avoided using at least 15,000 plastic bags during the past 20 years.

Moving towards being a zero waste household is something that has evolved and expanded over the years for Bradford. It has also been a family project involving her two children, a son, who is a student at Vanderbilt, and a daughter, who is in high school.

"This has been a work in progress over 20 years, adding on new habits here and there," Bradford says. "Sometimes it is hard to create new habits, but we know it is important to conserve natural resources. We save all our kitchen scraps from produce and compost it with leaves in our yard. Nature knows just what to do in breaking down the food and leaves into a rich soil amendment. We have used it for our garden and for other plants."

"When we pack our lunches for school and work, we work toward waste free lunch: using reusable sandwich holders instead of disposable plastic bags."

Buying products in eco-friendly packaging is another part of Bradford's efforts. "I buy eggs in cardboard cartons instead of Styrofoam."

The Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government is encouraging residents to start their own zero waste household projects. The New Year is a great time to start your own zero waste program.

"The Bradford family is already doing a lot that you can emulate," says Esther Moberly, Recycling Program Specialist with the city's Division of Waste Management. "The process is easy. For example, recycle as much as you can by using your blue Rosie cart, take plastic bags back to the store for recycling, recycle electronics, and think about the environment before you make a purchase."

Bradford also recommends calling Bluegrass PRIDE at (859) 266-1572 if you need help or additional ideas about what to do.

Your blue Rosie cart is an excellent way for you to recycle. Call LexCall at 311 or (859) 425-2255 to get a Rosie cart if you receive city trash pickup service and do not have one. The city's E-Cycle (electronics recycling) drop-off center is located at 1306 Versailles Road. The center accepts residential electronic waste Monday through Saturday. The Center does not accept items from businesses. This service is for Fayette County residents only.

Appliances needing to be recycled should be taken to Environmental Recycling, Inc., at 3899 Winchester Road.
For more information on recycling in Lexington visit www.Lexingtonky.gov/recycle

Story printed in the Winter 2011 edition of LiveGreenLexington at http://www.lexingtonky.gov/modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=18767