Old Habits Die Hard

 

For around two decades we've had a household waste sorting system in my town based on black vs white plastic bags: Black for food leftovers (used to produce bio-gas), and white for various smaller non-recyclable stuff (to be burned, producing energy used for district heating). The black vs white plastic bags have been thrown in the same bin and then optically sorted at their destination. (Besides this, we are also sorting newspapers, cardboard, plastic, glass and metal packaging stuff, to be taken to separate recycling bins.) 

Now they're changing the sorting system. They've been introducing the change gradually, starting with those who live in their own houses (i.e. have their own dustbins); but now the turn has come to also include us who live in apartment blocks. The main change is that we must now use only paper bags for food waste (+ paper towels); which are to be thrown in new separate bins outside.

Less use of plastic is of course good for the environment, and the whole thing may not sound too challenging. But when I received the new special holder for the paper bags this week, I realised that it would require some rearranging of the receptacles in the cupboard under my kitchen sink - which is where I sort everything until I can take it out to the bins.

For twenty years or so I've been used to throwing my food waste (black bag) in a small receptacle with a lid, hanging on the inside of the cupboard door; and residual waste (white bag) in a taller one on the cupboard floor. But the new paper bags for food waste need a special holder allowing air to circulate around it - and that is too big to be hung on the inside of the door. So I realised I'd have to shift things around.

I cleaned out the cupboard and reorganized yesterday: I placed the new holder for the paper bags on the floor (with a supply of empty bags right behind it); and prepared the smaller receptacle on the inside of the cupboard door to be used for residual waste instead.  

So far, so good. I was able to fit everything in.

However, I soon found that getting my brain to re-learn where to throw things is quite another matter! In spite of even having put a warning triangle on the lid of the receptacle hanging on the door, I still find myself automatically throwing banana peels or  emptying used tea-leaves in there... Movements so familiar that I obviously perform them without looking, or consciously thinking about what I'm doing!

I think (hope!) that I've been somewhat better at not throwing too much non-biodegradable kind of waste in the paper bag, though. Besides that bag itself hopefully still signalling "Hello! I'm new here!", I've also put an orange post-it note above it that should hopefully help me stop and think twice.

It's all made me ponder about how much our everyday routines are rooted in habits, though - like doing things in a certain order, keeping things in certain places etc. And living alone, those habits are not often challenged; except if we have guests staying, or visit other people in their homes (none of which happens all that frequently for me these days) - or some new thing or circumstance is otherwise introduced (or removed) that forces us to "rethink". 

Have you had to change any deeply rooted habits lately?