Rubbish Free Living

Buying ingredients in bulk and transferring them into re-usable containers was one way to eliminate waste packaging.

05 Oct 2009

The names Matthew Luxon and Waveney Warth may not be instantly recognisable, but if you refer to ‘the rubbish-free couple,’ most people – in Christchurch at least – are likely to know who you’re talking about. What is less well-known is that these fairly ordinary people, who set themselves an extraordinary task, worship at Holy Trinity in Avonside. “And yes, we do bike to church,” says Matthew.

While this may not sound ordinary – I can’t recall the last time I saw a row of mountain bikes parked outside any Anglican Sunday morning service – Waveney assures me that nineteen months ago, they were just regular folks hooked into the western lifestyle.
“Until we started our rubbish-free challenge, we bought food in plastic containers, takeaways in Styrofoam, and toothpaste in throwaway plastic tubes,” she says, reiterating what she wrote in the early days of their internet blog.

The blog charts the daily dilemmas and milestones of their 12-month Rubbish Free Challenge, which finished at the end of January. The aim of the challenge was to avoid throwing out anything that would end up as landfill. You can read about the challenge, the end result (including the contents of their small rubbish bag), and the continuing after-effects, on their website: www.rubbishfreeyear.co.nz. The website is still proving popular, even though the challenge has finished. In July, for example, the site was visited more than 1300 times by people in 48 countries including Russia, India and Turkey. There’s been a recent wave of publicity in North America, and each time the story spreads and the couple are profiled in the media, interest in the website spikes.

Sitting in the couple’s sunny kitchen, looking out over a backyard containing newly planted fruit trees, an ageing dog and two free-range chickens, Matthew points out that the challenge was never really about landfill – or, in fact, particularly about rubbish. It was about taking action: putting in place an achievable (but, in their case, not entirely easy) goal.
Waveney explains this further in her July blog, written six months after the end of the challenge. She reflects: “Deciding to be rubbish free for a year came about because it was finite, tangible and needed no expert information. Prior to this decision we had felt overwhelmed and confused by a task of living sustainably within an unsustainable system and had only managed to compost, bike to work and buy the odd fair-trade brown thing (coffee, tea, chocolate etc.).”
What it boiled down to was that they wanted a lifestyle that was more aligned with their Christian values – “living in harmony with the planet and with other people” – but got bogged down deciding how to achieve it.
“Being a Christian necessarily means living ethically, but ‘ethical’ and sustainable’ are such subjective, difficult, nebulous sorts of concepts,” asserts Waveney. She gives an example of buying fruit: is it more ethical to buy apples from a local orchard (that uses sprays) or opt for imported organic apples (that have clocked up carbon miles)?

Doing something concrete such as the rubbish-free challenge allowed them to move forward and do something positive. They admit the first month wasn’t easy, but their first small steps gave them the momentum to continue. Matthew likens it to pushing a car: once the wheels are turning, it’s easier to keep it moving.
The couple are not shy of rising to a task. In 2007, they moved to Toronto, where Matthew worked in a refugee shelter and Waveney re-established a youth group for one of the city’s Anglican parishes.

They are pleased to have completed their most recent goal, and glad their rubbish-free website is a resource and inspiration for others. But, Matthew adds, they’re reluctant to be ‘a poster-girl and -boy’ for rubbish-related matters, and are looking forward to moving on to other sorts of challenges. Their shift to Auckland early next year may well provide them with the opportunity.
Until the big move, Matthew will continue his social work job in south-east Christchurch, helping people with mental health issues. Waveney will be busy with her studies, completing a graduate diploma in theology at Laidlaw College.

Treading gently on the earth is becoming more of a way of life for the couple, who feel God has richly blessed their lives, even during their rubbish-free experience. They don’t feel deprived or describe themselves as doing without, preferring to see their actions as contributing to “Kingdom building.”
Waveney sums up their faith in this way: “Jesus doesn’t save us to whisk us off to heaven, but to be part of a community of people working towards restoring the earth and redeeming humankind. As Christians, we’re called to be part of that journey, which is very holistic and not just a personal thing. It’s every act we do.”

The Next Step

“We recommend you look at two of our favourite websites,” says Matthew.
The first, www.storyofstuff.com, explores the environmental and social justice issues behind Western consumerism. Matthew encourages parishes to watch the fast-paced, 20-minute video (downloadable off the web or available by post as a DVD) and have a discussion about it afterwards.
“It’s a great place to start,” enthuses Waveney, “and so easy to understand.”

They also recommend taking the online quiz at www.earthday.net/footprint to find out how many earths are required to sustain your lifestyle. Trouble is, we only have one planet! “It’s not about making people guilty,” says Matthew. “It’s about showing people the bigger picture and where they fit in.”

WORD: MEGAN BLAKIE

PHOTOS: DAVE WETHEY