Project: Home -- Couple aims to produce zero garbage for a year

Most of us have done something to ease Mother Nature's burden. From installing CFL bulbs to composting, there's plenty we can do to help the environment.

But, do you think you could produce zero garbage for an entire year?

That's what a Canadian couple set out to do, and they captured their experience in the award-winning documentary, "The Clean Bin Project."

From July 1, 2008 to July 1, 2009, Jen Rustemeyer and Grant Baldwin of Vancouver, British Columbia, did their best to minimize the amount of trash they produced.

The project was Baldwin's bright idea and for the 36-year-old music producer, turning the experience into a full-length documentary was a no-brainer. And shortly after starting a blog for the project, Rustemeyer, 34, realized the film would be an ideal way to share their story and (hopefully) inspire others to look more closely at their own waste.

"We really wanted to make a fun alternative to those heavy environmental documentaries that overload you with information and make you feel powerless," said Rustemeyer.

Prior to the competition, the ground rules were set:

No buying stuff: This means material goods.

No producing garbage: Avoid packaging.

Take responsibility for your waste: Take home any waste you produce.

As for the actual waste, they composted all food scraps, recycled what they could (paper, glass and plastic) and kept all true garbage headed for the landfill in their individual garbage bins for the entire year.

The person with the least amount of garbage at the end of the year won.

Along the way, Rustemeyer and Baldwin practically eliminated all packaging. In the film's trailer, Rustemeyer requests that her deli goods come without the plastic packaging, while Baldwin repeatedly asks for no toothpicks in his sandwich.

During the year of making their own toothpaste, laundry detergent, deodorant, bread and yogurt, the project wasn't without frustrations.

"We had doubts whether a couple of people making less garbage would even matter in the grand scheme of things," Rustemeyer said. "It's frustrating to go through the grocery check-out with your carefully picked, package-free groceries and to see the person next to you with a single bell pepper wrapped in plastic on a Styrofoam tray."

Despite the frustration, Rustemeyer said guile kept them on task.

"Once we set up our recycling system and committed to reducing waste, we felt too guilty to go back to the way we were before," she said.

Post-production of "The Clean Bin Project" was finished in June 2010, and it successfully made the rounds at United States film festivals. Its American debut was an auspicious one, garnering the Blue Sky Tribute Award (honoring filmmakers and their positive contributions to environmental causes) at the Vail Film Festival in April 2011.

Rustemeyer said feedback on both the film and the project have been "phenomenal."

"People often write to us to tell us that they stopped using plastic bags or have started a zero-waste competition in their household after learning about our story," she said. "People say they leave the film feeling inspired to make a change, so we couldn't ask for better feedback."

Rustemeyer said the film's main message is that no matter where you are in terms of sustainability, you can always start doing one more thing.

"Maybe it's starting a compost bin or giving up on paper coffee cups," she said. "Whatever it is, just try it, and when that becomes habit, you can move on to the next thing."

Until next time, Happy Home Improving!
