Clean Bin Community Initiative

Kimberley's Clean Bin Community Initiative began in the summer of 2010 following a Kimberley screening of the documentary film, The Clean Bin Project. The film follows the story of Jenny Rustemeyer and Grant Baldwin, who spent a year competing to buy the fewest material goods and produce the lease household garbage.

For Birgitta Jansen, a Kimberley resident who was the driving force behind Kimberley's Clean Bin Initiative:

“It’s the cumulative effect of many small changes that are going to make the difference in our communities, and this film really highlights the impact that an individual can have on the bigger picture.  These sorts of events are great for raising awareness, but the process will stop there unless the enthusiasm generated by the movie is used to affect change.”

The group began meeting monthly, discussing topics ranging from plastic bag and bottled water reduction strategies to community composting. Late in 2010, the group decided to embark on a Clean Bin Challenge of their own, and began planning for its start on January 1, 2011.

January 1st, 2011 - the Clean Bin Challenge begins!

At the start of a new year, eight Kimberley families embarked on a month-long mission to create the least amount of household garbage possible.

Within the first weeks, creative participants had made laptop cases with empty dog food bags, contacted owners of chickens who could eat all non-compostable food scraps, and found new homes and uses for packaging and other waste that otherwise would have ended up in a landfill.

All families will hang onto the garbage they produce for the month, and in the end, each family will showcase how much, or how little, garbage they managed to produce at Kimberley's Sustainable Building and Living Showcase on Saturday, January 29, 2011.

To follow the progress of the eight brave families, visit the Clean Bin Kimberley Blog!

Where it began...

To learn more about the project that inspired the film, that inspired the group, visit www.cleanbinproject.com, and check out the Clean Bin Project video update, which includes a mention of Kimberley's new Clean Bin Initiative!