Tim Gaudreau, a photographer from New Hampshire, spent a year photographing all his garbage. His project – Self-portrait as Revealed by Trash, 365 days of photographing everything I threw out – is a shocking look at how much waste just one person can create in a year. We caught up with Tim to ask him a few questions about his project and find out if chronicling his consumption for a year lead to any eco-epiphanies.
What was the criteria for the items you photographed?
I photographed everything that went through my hands to the trash, including what I recycled. Certainly recycling is a bona fide green thing to do, but I chose to include recycling in my trash because it still takes significant energy to create, and then reprocess, the material.
Ultimately, my project comments on the waste of our consumer cycle and the convenience of single-use packaging. I did not specifically photograph organic (food) wastes, as they should be naturally returned to the environment.
Where did the project idea come from?
I started this work in 2004 with a fresh look at my own personal consumption habits. The idea was sparked from a simple conversation over dinner. I was reflecting on the amount of trash I generated making one meal for just two people: the plastic grocery bag, the plastic tofu tub, the plastic bag the broccoli came in, the paper bag the bottle of wine was in, then the bottle itself. I just wondered aloud, "how much trash does one person throw out in a day?" Then I realized I needed to create a photographic diary to understand my own contribution to the wastestream.
Well, the project really is a self-portrait - one can learn an awful lot about a person by looking at their daily habits...
What did you discover along the way?
Well, the project really is a self-portrait - one can learn an awful lot about a person by looking at these daily habits - and I was startled at the discoveries and the subsequent public revelations. There is a lot to the idea 'out of sight, out of mind'.
Before I did this project, I didn't think that much about what I threw in the trash. Once it was out of my hand, it no longer existed to me and once a week the dump truck came by and made it disappear. It very efficiently eliminates our sense of responsibility. In contrast, the act of documenting each item thrown away forced me to consider all of these items in a new way. Throwing away a single plastic bottle may not seem consequential by itself, but when looking at a week's worth of photos of plastic bottles, it becomes difficult to reconcile the numbers. So, I discovered that I consumed and threw away a lot more than I could feel good about.
Any eco-epiphanies?
If I consumed five plastic bottles in a day (between water, soda & a sports drink), that adds up to 35 in a week - or about 75,000 more plastic bottles if I live to be 80. Do I want to be responsible for that?
Another thing that I would point to is that there is great power in this sort of self-reflection. It is empowering to identify bad habits and make change. Secondly, I've been surprised by the impact of this public revelation and dissection on viewer's motivation to make change. These times demand that we all become leaders and with a little encouragement we can all find small ways of changing the world around us.
Have you made changes in your life after seeing how much trash you created in 365 days?
I most certainly have! Before the year was out, I had really begun a reconsideration of my consumption habits. For example, I have nearly entirely eliminated plastic drink bottles from my waste stream. I no longer use single use disposable things like ziplock bags, plastic wrap, and aluminum foil. I no longer get my daily ice coffee in a disposable plastic cup; I bring in my own mug.
I think about everything that I buy now, and change what I purchase, in part, based upon packaging. I think the most significant waste I created came in the form of food packaging. So, now, I make considered choices in relationship to how things are packed and I try to avoid plastic at all costs in favor of paper and cardboard.
Are you a 'green' guy?
I think I am and I aspire to be as green as I can be. I think about and examine every aspect of my life now to find improvements wherever I can. It is the absolute focus of my artwork to advocate for environmental responsibility and spark dialogue.
I chose not to eat meat due to the environmental repercussions of factory farming. I try to get as much produce as possible from local farmers. I now grow much of my own food which has really gone a long way to reducing my waste stream.
My wife and I each drive cars that run on B100 biodiesel. This trash project has directly led to significant changes in my artistic practice as I have set out to make a green, sustainable studio. It's heated by passive solar and biomass heat. I have reduced my commute to zero. Also among these highlights, I have reduced my use of non-natural and non-recycled art materials.
Visit: www.wake-up.ws
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