Chicken bones? What was I thinking? It might be a loooong two weeks...

Well it finally happened: I let down my guard last night, forgot about the trash challenge while walking through the grocery aisles, and bought a roasted chicken for dinner. D'oh! So that fear of chicken bones that I mentioned in my first posting? Yeah. I'm carrying around a chicken carcass now (our dog got a nice meal out of the leftovers).

I've got it double-Ziploc'd, but the trash bag is starting to smell, at least when I open it up. So far the bag itself is doing a pretty good stink-containment job. But I have a feeling it's going to get pretty bad as the day wears on.

I did remember to bring a carry-cup with me to Starbucks today. So at least I won't be tossing a paper cup in the trash bag. (See my previous posting.)

This morning I was on Sound of Ideas, a talk show on public station WCPN in Cleveland, talking about the trash challenge. One of the callers suggested that I could use some of my recyclables, like cardboard cereal boxes, to make art projects. A great idea unless, like, me, you're so artistically inept you can't even draw stick people. But maybe it's something school districts would be interested in?

Another caller mentioned that she's seen her trash and recycling go into the same truck on garbage day and wanted to know what that was all about. Good question! My only guess is that maybe there's some sort of sorting machine in the truck. But I think in most cities, including mine, they're picked up by different trucks. Anybody know whassup in Cleveland?

By the way, for those of you here in LA, I'll be talkin' trash with Patt Morrison on her show on KPCC (89.3) today.

Meanwhile... Anybody out there joining me in the challenge? If so, please post and let us all know how it's going. (In the column to the right, there's a form where you can sign up for your own challenge, plus join our Public Insight Network) And please keep sending the helpful hints and suggestions. I've already put many of them in place and it's helped keep the garbage load down.

I think we'll have salad for dinner tonight.

ADDENDUM: If any of you heard my story last weekend about the closing of the Bradley landfill here in Los Angeles, you know that my tour guide, Doug Corcoran, said he would take the trash challenge. Doug commented today in the comments section under my first posting, "The Good, The Bad, and the Stinky." Check it out.