Trash Clans and Clunkers

     Just got done reading a few chapters of Elizabeth Royte's Garbage Land: On the Secret Trail of Trash.
     Interesting. Troubling. Inspiring. Entertaining.
     No, this is not a book review or anything. I'm just thinking about some cool, personal project ideas -- projects that could feed me personally, help our family, and help me understand the "trash" and "gas" side of confronting consumerism.
     Here is one idea:
     1. Visit my local IESI landfill and recycling centers and see if I can get the grand tour. Figure out what happens with my trash locally after I stick it in the trash can.
     2. Weigh my trash for one day. See if I really generate the EPA-reported 4.3 pounds (per person) of garbage each day (1.31 tons per year).
     3. Measure the trash for one day when I recycle plastics and glass, and note the difference in pounds/ounces.
     4. Measure the weight of my trash for one day when I put organic scraps in my vermi-hut composter.
     5. Measure the weight for a day when I do both (recycle and compost).
     I'm just curious what difference little things like this make. Is it worth it to undertake a project like this, or just a waste of time? If nothing else, it would be good for me spiritually.
     The problem with these environmental/personal stewardship projects is that they often cost money. I had to spend $ on my vermihut composter, and still have to save up for my first shipment of red wiggler worms.
     On a separate note, my wife and I are concerned with how much money we spend on gas going to and from Plano. It is a half-hour drive each way, and we probably take 10 trips back-and-forth each week. That comes out to about 450 miles every week combined on our '99 Suburban and 2005 Ford F-150 pickup. Both get about 15 miles per gallon, which comes to 30 gallons and about $80 per week. This does not include other trips around town.
     But what are the options for a low-middle class family of 6? Trade in the Suburban (AKA: "The Blue Bomber"), which in 3 months will be paid for? Move our family again, and force our kids to acclimate to new, much larger schools yet again? Go into major debt just to buy a new, high-mileage car that can seat our whole family? The answers aren't so easy.
     Some environmental/personal stewardship projects, in reality, take money and means to make happen. It is not yet practical for everyday families like ours.