Are your discards active, or are they just trash?

“Active Discards” is a term author Bea Johnson coined in her book Zero Waste Home. She said, “I believe that when we act on a piece of trash and send it back to its originator, we offset its negative environmental impact. While inaction condones waste and perpetuates it, action on the other hand, can initiate change. Shipping it back along with a suggestion letter shows dedication and provides a more powerful way to get your message across than words alone. That piece of trash then becomes what I call an ‘active discard.’

NCALF project, FoCo Trash Mob’s motto is REDUCE, REUSE, RETURN TO OFFENDER! We are encouraging you to DO something about all the frustrating non-recyclable plastic packaging you GOT, DIDN’T WANT, BUT HAD TO BUY.  Return it to where it came from! 

Here’s how:

  1. Write a letter – see examples and find a template HERE
  2. Put the unwanted piece of plastic in a mailer, not an envelope.
  3. Mail it back to where it came from (cost will be $4.00 – $5.00 – we can help you with postage).
  4. Take a picture of your letter and plastic packaging and post it to our FB page or email us and we’ll post it. 

Please let us know who and where you wrote to, and if you heard back: this is an ongoing action and we are compiling the information! focotrashmob@gmail.com

Thank you – for making your discards ACTIVE!