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Ari Derfel runs a catering company, so you think he would be fastidiously clean, but he recently undertook a rather odd, and quite gross experiment. The 35-year-old American (pictured) saved every single piece of rubbish that he used, every day, for an entire year. He even saved the rubbish he collected while on holiday in Hawaii, and brought it home with him.
"While sitting in my living room eating a delicious, local, organic meal the topic of trash came up in conversation. To be honest, I don't remember how it came up or how it meandered its way to the concept of me attempting to save my trash for a year. Needless to say, it did. Two months later, on December 4 2006, I started saving it in the closet of my kitchen," says Derfel on his blog.
The idea was to see just how much rubbish a person generates in a year, and now that Derfel knows -- 96 cubic feet -- he is aiming to get the help of an artist to do something dramatic with it.
The question that everyone asks, apparently, is 'does it smell?' and apparently it doesn't. We can only presume he has been washing out all that packaging before hiding it in his closet, or that he has no sense of smell. The most embarrassing rubbish in the pile, claims Derfel, is a sweet wrapper (he prides himself on eating organically) and condoms.
So what has he learned from his experiment? "Trash sucks. 100 years ago most of the trash we produce now did not even exist... Now it is at the center of a worldwide economic system that is lopsidedly built upon mass consumption to create huge profits for the few at the physical and environmental expense of the many many many. This makes me sad."
Derfel is now planning a second year of hoarding, while attempting to reduce the amount of rubbish that he has to collect.
09 January 2008 02:20pm
For what it's worth, I have done roughly (no 'nasties' like scraping kept they go in the compost. And quite a lot of paper and bottles (not all) and cans (not all) in the kerbside collection bins) the same... now for four years. Lucky to have a bigg(ish) country home with a basement and attic and outbuildings. And a tolerant wife. But you'd be amazed how, when you have like-for like stacks, how well things slot into each other to save space. I have a Pot Noodle column that reaches two stories high!
Like Mr. Derfel, this was partly to see what exactly a family does throw out, but mostly to look at reuses for my site http://www.junkk.com.
What is surprising is when one item sparks no notions, a collection of 50 can start the ideas a-buzzing.
22 January 2008 01:48pm
Uh, someone already did this and made a movie about it too.. this guy is juyst imitating exactly what the family did in the movie.
http://garbage.bravenewtheaters.com/
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Discover the brilliant experienced people who are helping SmartPlanet through the green and ethical minefield.
