WEBVTT 00:00:00.960 --> 00:00:03.586 You might not know this just from looking at me, 00:00:03.610 --> 00:00:05.526 but you might guess it from smelling me. 00:00:05.550 --> 00:00:08.506 One of my favorite things to do is take out the trash. 00:00:08.530 --> 00:00:11.966 It's the laziest way to technically pare down your possessions, 00:00:11.990 --> 00:00:14.336 because the one thing you can never do enough of 00:00:14.360 --> 00:00:16.956 in a small New York City apartment like mine 00:00:16.980 --> 00:00:18.326 is get rid of stuff. 00:00:18.350 --> 00:00:22.188 The stuff that our modern consumerist carbon-powered culture 00:00:22.212 --> 00:00:25.594 makes us buy endlessly and often for no reason. NOTE Paragraph 00:00:25.618 --> 00:00:27.906 Getting rid of people never hurts either. 00:00:27.930 --> 00:00:29.856 Roommates, family members, 00:00:29.880 --> 00:00:32.566 that old lady who's been in your living room for weeks. 00:00:32.590 --> 00:00:34.236 Who is she anyway? 00:00:34.260 --> 00:00:36.173 No squatters allowed. 00:00:36.197 --> 00:00:38.086 I don't care if you're a ghost. NOTE Paragraph 00:00:38.110 --> 00:00:39.726 Also, not to brag, 00:00:39.750 --> 00:00:44.000 but I've been micro-decluttering since before Marie Kondo got big. 00:00:44.024 --> 00:00:45.634 In fact, I've cut out her step 00:00:45.658 --> 00:00:48.881 of picking things up and figuring out whether they spark joy in me 00:00:48.905 --> 00:00:51.015 because I already know what sparks joy in me, 00:00:51.039 --> 00:00:52.936 throwing out trash. 00:00:52.960 --> 00:00:54.166 What kind of trash? 00:00:54.190 --> 00:00:55.956 Well, I'll give you a clue. 00:00:55.980 --> 00:00:58.376 It starts with H and it ends with air. 00:00:58.400 --> 00:01:00.276 That's right, it's a lot of hair. 00:01:00.300 --> 00:01:02.643 Don't try and picture how much; you'll feel sick. 00:01:02.667 --> 00:01:05.563 And if you don't feel sick, you haven't pictured enough. 00:01:05.587 --> 00:01:08.390 I shed like an Instagram influencer sheep dog 00:01:08.414 --> 00:01:12.771 who's decided fur is the only thing holding her career back. NOTE Paragraph 00:01:12.795 --> 00:01:16.199 We're all trying to reduce our carbon footprints and consumption. 00:01:16.223 --> 00:01:17.740 So by throwing out trash, 00:01:17.764 --> 00:01:21.165 I also naturally mean recycling and composting. 00:01:21.189 --> 00:01:22.376 I try to do both. 00:01:22.400 --> 00:01:26.876 In fact, I once carried a takeout container across half the city 00:01:26.900 --> 00:01:28.746 just to put it in the right bin. 00:01:28.770 --> 00:01:31.159 Where's my inspiring biopic? NOTE Paragraph 00:01:31.183 --> 00:01:34.666 But then I learned recycling frequently isn't working. 00:01:34.690 --> 00:01:38.095 Even if we all separate out glass, cans and cardboard, 00:01:38.119 --> 00:01:41.196 a lot of stuff doesn't neatly fit into those categories. 00:01:41.220 --> 00:01:45.326 Paper envelopes lined with bubble wrap can't be recycled. 00:01:45.350 --> 00:01:49.216 Pizza boxes with grease stains can't be recycled. 00:01:49.240 --> 00:01:52.042 That memory from seventh grade when I ... 00:01:52.066 --> 00:01:53.231 Ah, who am I kidding? 00:01:53.255 --> 00:01:56.466 All of seventh grade can't be recycled. 00:01:56.490 --> 00:02:00.669 There's even a term for it: aspirational recycling. 00:02:00.693 --> 00:02:03.736 At first, I thought that's if you went to spin class last week, 00:02:03.760 --> 00:02:06.246 so it should count for this week too. NOTE Paragraph 00:02:06.270 --> 00:02:09.426 China used to import a lot of the US's recyclables, 00:02:09.450 --> 00:02:12.624 but they stopped accepting foreign garbage in 2018 00:02:12.648 --> 00:02:14.446 as part of a pollution ban. 00:02:14.470 --> 00:02:18.096 Whatever happened to one country's trash is another country's treasure? 00:02:18.120 --> 00:02:21.506 Now, a lot of US recycling goes straight to landfills. 00:02:21.530 --> 00:02:26.316 The EPA says that only 10 percent of plastic has ever been recycled. 00:02:26.340 --> 00:02:27.593 Not that this is about me, 00:02:27.617 --> 00:02:31.896 but this balloons my anxiety the size of the giant Pacific garbage patch 00:02:31.920 --> 00:02:33.102 way out in the ocean 00:02:33.126 --> 00:02:36.606 where we'll all eventually go for our next destination wedding. NOTE Paragraph 00:02:36.630 --> 00:02:39.146 So, if you're American, 00:02:39.170 --> 00:02:42.876 hound your political representatives to work on this recycling issue, 00:02:42.900 --> 00:02:47.316 and try to create less waste overall by reusing materials. 00:02:47.340 --> 00:02:49.736 Here's stuff I've been reusing in my life: 00:02:49.760 --> 00:02:54.026 plastic bags, salsa jars and old fights with my boyfriend. 00:02:54.050 --> 00:02:56.866 Now, the next time I have to throw out the trash, 00:02:56.890 --> 00:02:58.559 I can confidently ask: 00:02:58.583 --> 00:03:02.130 Hey, can I reuse this loose ball of hair again? 00:03:02.154 --> 00:03:04.826 And you know what? I probably can. 00:03:04.850 --> 00:03:09.336 In fact, I'm going to give it to that old ghost lady as a going away present. NOTE Paragraph 00:03:10.110 --> 00:03:11.507 Thank you.