Proving zero waste is possible

Courtesy, Shawn Williamson The top of Shawn Williamson's garbage can marks the dates he has had to roll it to the curb since 2008.

Aug. 10 was an anniversary of sorts for Shawn Williamson and his family.

It was two years ago that Shawn, along with his wife and daughter, last put their trash can out at the curb for pickup. And the current bag is only 40% full, he said.

The Williamson family, who live just outside of Toronto, have only rolled that cart to the curb four times since January of 2008, with two of those times occurring in 2008. (We featured him and his family earlier this year about their efforts to be zero waste.)

"Our focus is not on how little waste we create rather focus on all the time and money we have saved by not buying stuff that just gets thrown out," Shawn Williamson said in an email to WRN. "It's all a matter of smart design and education."

Shawn and his family are a real life example that zero waste might not actually pie-in-the-sky stuff. That perhaps, it's achievable.

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http://www.wasterecyclingnews.com/article/20130814/BLOGS05/130819985/proving-zero-waste-is-possible