Entomology

I was so embarrassed every time I put my trash on the curb this summer. It was terrifying. Sometimes I didn't even want to touch the handle of the wheeled 64 gallon black plastic bin.  I mean the smell was bad, but, but, but, (it's hard for me to say it)...OH the poor garbage collectors...I'm talking about, about, about...ok, here goes...um...I'm talking about...maggots. Fly larvae. Creepy crawly wriggly squirmy nauseating writhing white pulsating moving maggots. So bad they WERE ON THE OUTSIDE OF THE LID. Almost every time I put the can on the curb.  It reminded me of the first horror movie that I ever watched. It was at a friend's sleepover party. I don't remember the name of it, but there was a swimming pool full of larvae that someone falls into and all the mirrors were covered because the kid's face was messed up. After doing some very minimal research, aka Googling, the movie might have been 1985's Phenomena starring a very young Jennifer Connelly. Not 100% on that because I hate horror movies in general and won't watch it to find out for sure. Not all horror, just most. So correct me if I'm wrong and you know the movie to which I'm referring.
But I digress.  Don't get me wrong, I mean the smell was like a giant green fist punching me in the face every time I took the lid off, but the visual acknowledgement of how bad things were inside by looking at the outside was demoralizing to say the least.  The problem is: 2 people + 1 Eighty pound hound = very small quantities of garbage. You wouldn't think this is a bad thing! However, small, stinky bags of dog poo and recycled plastic grocery bags full of bones and take-out containers don't fill up a 64 gallon trash can very quickly.  Several weeks could go by before I would have to put a trash tag on the can and put it out for pick up.  Meanwhile, flies would just be multiplying in my refuse.
I grew up in an area where taxes paid for garbage collection. Whatever trash you had, you put it out every week, and it never got too awful. In Tompkins County, garbage collection is privatized and people have to pay for trash tags which you put on your trash can handle.  This leads people to try and recycle as much as possible and to illegally dump their garbage in business' dumpsters and public trash cans.  Paying for trash tags also makes honest people wait as long as humanly possible before putting their trash out. I'm not saying we shouldn't have this system or that adding waste management into our taxes is better, each way of doing things has its upsides and downsides.  If citizens could put out tons of garbage without paying extra for it, lots of people would toss out stuff that could be recycled or donated, just because it would be faster and easier to do so. 
Nine days ago, I started this blog.  Eight days ago, I emptied the kitchen garbage and put in a fresh, used grocery sack for Sam and I put out a separate waste bin for myself to use. Today, Sam took his garbage out. It was full to bursting and he could barely close the cupboard door that it hides behind (Full disclosure -- there was a chicken bone of mine in there from a night Sam made dinner). After eight days, this is my trash;

Cheese wrappers; individually wrapped slices and local goat cheese
Halloween candy wrappers
A bent bottle cap
A cheese-flavored puffed corn snack bag
Ice cream sandwich wrappers
Microwave popcorn bag
Plastic wrap from Brussels sprouts (came with a foam tray too, but I am trying to repurpose that thing instead of tossing it)

While I am proud of myself for having just a little kitchen trash, if I want to do better then I have to give up some things. Sorry Brussels sprouts! Just kidding, I couldn't live without those tasty little cabbages. Sadly, our local grocery store packages a lot of their veggies in styrofoam and plastic wrap. I don't see the point in doing this. Do they think all food needs to be pre-weighed and bar coded?   What if I just want one parsnip? They're forcing me to buy 3, covered in plastic.  I guess I'll have to write a sternly worded comment card. Sonny, back in my day they barely washed off the dirt. Washing vegetables builds character...
When I think about all the Halloween candy that was just handed out, individually wrapped in bite sized pieces, I get goosebumps. Talk about scary! I didn't hand out candy to kids. That was all for me. I had a weak moment.  All the wrappers made me long for my youth when Nestle bars came wrapped in foil with an outer paper sleeve.  Sure, the candy didn't last as long on the shelf, but how long does it need to last?  If you can't eat that chocolate before it expires, you didn't want it that bad.
The bottle caps are ubiquitous. I've started saving them in a bean pot on the counter. I figure when I get enough of them, I'll have a stepping-stone party. Friends can come over and make a cap-decorated cement walkway stone while we create more bottle caps.  Maybe I can find a mold in the shape of a beer bottle?  That'll be fun. Good Times.
Until I start making my own goat cheese, I just don't know how to avoid plastic wrapped cheese.  Tonight, I made Sam buy deli cheese to cut down on the plastic. It still came in a zipppered plastic bag, but I can reuse it. Should I start bringing my own containers to the deli? I'm not above it, I'm just not usually that prepared.  
So that's the kitchen garbage for about one week.  
What have I learned? A.) Candy bags do not make good dog poop bags. B.) Cheese is a delicious and trashful food.  And C.) Low calorie/low fat foods tend to be individually wrapped so as to provide portion control.  I will have to be careful not to gain back the 20 lbs I recently lost by switching back to products that aren't portioned out. Oh well.
You may have noticed I only discussed kitchen refuse.  I am not prepared at this time to deal with the subject of the bathroom garbage. That's going to be unpleasant.