How can we cut monthly trash to one bag while recycling and composting?

[Steven.R]

I’m trying to figure out if my household can realistically get to a point of sending only one small bag of trash to the curb each month. The recycling is sorted, and we compost, but the plastic film around everything and the non-recyclable packaging still adds up so fast.

[Emily_R]

We started by tracking what actually goes into the bin for a month. It was eye opening to see how much was packaging and how little was food waste. We swapped to beeswax wraps, bought staples in bulk, and stopped using plastic bags for produce. The bag got a lot smaller, and trash day felt almost unremarkable for a while. Still, there’s always that film around everything, and groceries still arrive wrapped in things we can’t easily avoid.

[James70]

I tried the one bag goal last year and kept hitting a wall on weekends when we order takeout or stock up on snacks. The packaging adds up fast, and some items just come in non recyclable packaging no matter how careful you are. It felt like we were chasing a moving target.

[Dennis.B]

Is this the real problem, or are we fighting symptoms? Maybe the bigger waste is stuff we actually need and would buy anyway.

[Samuel_D]

We did set up a small yard compost and started refilling cleaners in bulk, but the plastic film and the occasional bag still slip in. After a few months we weighed what we tossed and it looked smaller, but not a single bag a month. It’s a slow tug-of-war that never seems finished.