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Take a Hike | Commentary by Dianne Erskine-Hellrigel
| Sunday, Mar 1, 2015

DianneErskineHellrigelI’ve often said that living with less can be a good thing. Reduce, reuse, recycle. I use metal water bottles over and over again; I reuse my kitchen trash in the compost bin in my garden; and I make my own paper with scrap paper from the mailbox and other waste that would generally go into the landfill.

The story I’m about to tell you, frankly, is something I would not try, but this is one man’s experiment into the darkest depths of cutting back.

Below is a photo of a dumpster. We’ve all seen them. But, can you imagine living in one? (Not only no, but h— no, was my initial response). Read on.

Trash Dumpster in SlumsA college professor named Jeff Wilson lived in a dumpster for a year. It was located on the campus of the Huston-Tillotson University in Austin, Texas, where he teaches.

Wilson, an environmental studies professor, wanted to prove one could live happily and in health in a very small space. After all, millions of people around the world live in a lot less space than we are used to. So he set about finding a new home in a dumpster. The dumpster he chose had 33 square feet of living space. The average American home has about 2,500 square feet.

dumpster4Having lots of collections from the many countries I have visited, and a collection of Venetian and Czech glass, I find it difficult to imagine living in 33 square feet. But Wilson managed to do it in comfort for a year. He had an air conditioner, a shower, toilet, kitchen, wi-fi and even solar power.

The professor said he wanted to be the ultimate “one-percenter.” His goal was to create only 1 percent of the waste that is created in the average home, and use 1 percent of the energy and water we all do.

“Professor Dumpster,” as he was lovingly called, spent his days teaching environmental science, and in the dumpster, he was testing sustainable technologies and low-waste living.

dumpster3Students had a lot to say about him living in a trash bin, including the possibility of homeless people finding shelter in a trash-can village. They began to think in terms of a minimalist. They donated time and skills to the project, and cut out things like cars, which cause pollution, and in some students’ minds were completely unnecessary. Everything they needed was within walking distance of the university. The Dumpster Project began giving tours of dumpster homes to encourage more people to take the plunge into dumpster living.

dumpster1The question for the future is: How can we equip upcoming generations with the tools they need to have a sustainable lifestyle? One answer is with a 33-square-foot dumpster and a team of dumpster experts to transform a trash container into a sustainable house.

I wonder how many people could actually do this, unless it were necessary?

dumpster5Dr. Karen Magid, known as Doctor Basura (“trash” in Spanish), is the project manager for the dumpster project at the university. Dr. Amanda Masino, aka The Dirt-y Professor, is the head of the Green is the New Black student group and an assistant professor of biology. She also works on the dumpster project. She is working on a dumpster science lab.

Dr. Jeff Wilson, aka Professor Dumpster, lived in the dumpster for a year, proving it is possible to be happy and healthy in less space.

OK, readers … who’s going to try this next? If this isn’t for you, you might like to nominate your favorite teacher. The Dumpster Project is currently taking nominations.

 

 

Dianne Erskine-Hellrigel is executive director of the Community Hiking Club and president of the Santa Clara River Watershed Conservancy. If you’d like to be part of the solution, join the Community Hiking Club’s Stewardship Committee. Contact Dianne through communityhikingclub.org or at zuliebear@aol.com.

 

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4 Comments

  1. I save the rubber bands from papers thrown on our driveway and wrapped around broccoli. When we had a guinea pig, I used the shreds from our paper shredder to line the bottom of the cage. (Green and saves $$) The round cardboard circle behind the frozen pizzas can be wrapped in foil and reused as a cake platter. The cardboard mushroom boxes can be reused in SO many ways! Misprints from your printer can be reused as note paper. I usually cut stacks in half and staple them. Plastic produce bags have many uses including doggy poop bags. I wash out plastic butter tubs/Cool Whip containers and reuse. The tops of these containers can be used for arts and crafts: holding glue or glitter, etc. Many of the `to go’ containers from fast food restaurants can be washed and reused. I wash out the plastic Starbucks cups and reuse many times. I have saved large oatmeal containers and coffee cans and donated them to my local kindergarten class to use for art projects. :)

  2. T. Jones says:

    I do all the things Michele Klein Feldman does and more. Reduce and reuse is the key. Very little of what we “recycle” is actually recycled. Most still end up in landfills–sorry to tell the truth or better yet, get you searching for it. However, I’ve never understood these demonstrations of silliness by…living in a dumpster, kids sleeping in a cardboard box, celebrities eating beans and rice et, al. We need real solutions. Not feel-goodism. Living in a dumpster was like camping or a tree house for this guy. He’s young, idealistic and now seemingly celebrated by those who think this is a viable idea. It’s not. Micro house movement-yes, living in a dumpster-no.

  3. T. Jones says:

    Furthermore, I think the idea of sympathizing with the homeless by living in a dumpster is insulting. Really…I have to live in a dumpster to “understand” how much it sucks? Whats’s next do I have to have cancer to understand how much that sucks too. Sorry, I don’t think so!

  4. Tessa Lucero says:

    I’m all for reduce, reuse, recycle, especially reducing consumption since reusing requires space to keep things you intend to reuse and recycling consumes resources even if the items do get recycled. However, living in a dumpster seems a bit extreme. How much did it cost in time, money, and materials to outfit that dumpster to become living space? How energy-efficient is an uninsulated dumpster? And what happens when the first Texas-sized tornado comes along?

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