Critic of consumption talks trash, then saves it

updated 10:55 a.m. ET Aug. 15, 2008

LOS ANGELES - Without ever lifting a shovel, an archaeologist could dig through Dave Chameides' house and get a pretty good picture of how he has lived for the past eight months.

Empty soda bottles lead down the staircase. Pizza boxes line the walls. In the cellar are neatly stacked Styrofoam trays, used tea bags and plastic wrap.

Almost every bit of Chameides' garbage has been carefully preserved in a testament to the volume of trash produced by daily living.

What's even more surprising is what he doesn't have to show for it. While the average American generates more than 900 pounds of garbage in eight months, Chameides has produced only 30 pounds.

"Whenever I tell people what I'm doing, there's always that look — the furrowed brow and then the 'I'm sorry? You're doing what?'" said the freelance cameraman for "Nip/Tuck," the FX plastic surgery show that celebrates excess. "I tell people I know this is nuts."

Chameides prefers to think of the yearlong experiment as his contribution to the study of consumerism.

The path to becoming a pack rat with a purpose began years ago when he installed compact fluorescent bulbs, bought a Prius hybrid car and began using solar panels.

Wife was OK, to a point
But as Chameides learned about the staggering amount of trash rapidly filling landfills, he began to ponder keeping his garbage for a year and then broached the subject with his wife.

"He said, 'I'd like to do this experiment. I'd like to keep my trash in the basement for a year,'" recalled his wife Aliza Chameides, who did not object as long as the project didn't affect her.

He set up ground rules: He would only collect his own trash, not that of his wife or two young daughters. Potential health hazards — toilet paper or fish wrappers — would be logged on his blog and then tossed. Food scraps would be composted, and everything else was to be saved, even recyclables because they take energy to haul away and remanufacture.

Reed Saxon / AP Dave Chameides shows a clutch of worms that are converting shredded waste paper to compost in the basement of his home

Edward Repa, director of environmental programs for the National Solid Wastes Management Society, keeps tabs on waste-related news around the country and thought Chameides' experiment was crazy.

"Most people are like if it's under your sink for a week, you don't want it there," Repa said. "I've never heard of anyone wanting to save that stuff."

Chameides isn't the first to attempt such a long-term project. He cited the example of a writer called "No Impact Man" who is trying to live with his family for a year in New York without making any net impact on the environment.

As the weeks passed, Chameides found ways to reduce his waste. He takes his own cutlery and plates to work. He considers packaging before buying a product and takes a glass container to the fish market to avoid the plastic wrapping. He paid a company to reduce his junk mail and managed to stop phone books from landing on his doorstep.

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