All About Trash in Rhode Island

Illustration by George F. Baker III

Like sad toys on a high shelf, our grocery totes have gathered months’ worth of dust.

We’ve ordered more takeout, with more unrecyclable plastic spoons and forks and Styrofoam, than ever before. We added medical-grade waste to our single-use repertoire (and we strolled by it as litter, terrified to pick it up). The last 365 days in America have been bad for a lot of reasons, and trash is one of them. Our commercial waste took a nosedive — thanks, stay-at-home order! — but, in the thick of the pandemic, residential waste volume spiked as much as 25 percent, according to the trade group Solid Waste Association of North America.Thankfully, there are scores of innovative Rhode Islanders making it easier for us to reduce, reuse, recycle and rot our way to less trash and more sustainability in the Ocean State.

Do-Good Donations

Recycle your gently used goods into the hands of in-need Rhode Islanders through these direct donation programs.

Clean towels, blankets, sheets and pillowcases
Providence Animal Rescue League, Providence, 421-1399, parl.org
Women’s Resource Center, Newport and Warren, 247-2070, wrcnbc.org
Dorcas International Institute of RI, Providence, 784-8663, diiri.org

Gently used clothing
Lucy’s Hearth, Middletown, 847-2021, lucyshearth.org
Dorcas International Institute of RI, Providence, 784-8663, diiri.org
Foster Forward Community Storefront, East Providence, 438-3900 ext. 108, fosterforward.net
Clothes to Kids RI, Providence, 941-8050, clothestokidsri.org
House of Hope CDC, Warwick, 463-3324, thehouseofhopecdc.org

Home goods and furniture
Lucy’s Hearth, Middletown, 847-2021, lucyshearth.org
Dorcas International Institute of RI, Providence, 784-8663, diiri.org
Foster Forward Community Storefront, East Providence, 438-3900 ext. 108, fosterforward.net

Rhode Island Cities and Towns with Plastic Bag Bans

The pandemic slowed your reusable grocery bag habit but, in these cities and towns, plastic’s off the menu altogether.
Barrington, Bristol, Central Falls, Cranston, East Greenwich, East Providence, Jamestown, Middletown, Newport, New Shoreham, North Kingstown, Portsmouth, Providence, South Kingstown, Tiverton, Warren, Westerly

Buy Nothing and Love Thy Neighbor

The Buy Nothing Project groups on Facebook encourage gift economies in communities across Rhode Island.

Getty Images/Mustafa Hacalaki

In December, a neighbor in a locked-down senior living facility had an “Ask” in her local Buy Nothing Facebook group: Would anyone be willing to drop off some comfort food for her at the front desk? A pick-me-up would do her a world of good. “Hard candy?” commented one neighbor, offering up a bag of sweets she didn’t want. “Ooo I’ma bake you something!” wrote another. A few weeks later, an expectant mother new to the neighborhood posted her gratitude for the baby and apartment items she’d claimed from other members. All the while, participants offered myriad “Gives” (gently used home goods, kitchen items, clothing) for contactless porch pickup, plus “Asks” ranging from a bike lock to houseplant cuttings. The groups — of which there are forty in Rhode Island — are a tonic in these times. Find one near you at buynothingproject.org/find-a-group.

Zero-Waste Beginners’ Kit

Source some sustainable gear from local makers on Etsy.com.

From left: Bees and leaves reusable facial wipes, $6 for a set of five, LMessCreations. “Misty Mountain” produce bags, $18 for a set of two, Finding HippyNess. Piggery travel mug, $32, Crystallinehorse. Del’s cloth face mask in lemon, $15, ClothesHorse Clothing. “Shopping Makes Me Feel Pretty!!!”–Karl Marx tote, $22, FrogandToadPress.  Bamboo utensil set with straw, spoon, knife, fork, chopsticks and wire brush, $9 per set, Beechers Botanicals.