For half a year, a family from the Altona area has been attempting to decrease its waste generation by limiting itself to one ice cream pail full of garbage each month. If the lid does not fit at the end of the month they make a $50 donation to a charity.

From body care products to groceries, the Heppner-Mueller family has been searching for ways to reduce what it contributes to the landfill.

Though they've been environmentally conscious for a while, Connie Heppner-Mueller said they were inspired to take on this challenge by a couple from Vancouver, B.C. who started the “Clean Bin Project,” an initiative that limits them to one bin of garbage per year.

The biggest obstacle, said Heppner-Mueller, is finding food that doesn't have excess packaging. Instead, the family has made bulk items and recyclable packaging a priority. By doing this, Heppner-Mueller said they've picked up a healthier diet, since packaged foods are typically the unhealthy choice.

“Usually it's been a change for the better. I thought we'd have to sacrifice a lot, and be content with something we didn't like, but we haven't found that at all,” she said.

She added this whole experience has taught them about where their food comes from, even though it has been difficult to find certain alternatives.

“It's been nice to meet some store owners, and create a relationship, and tell them a little bit about what we're doing, and what kind of products we're looking for... it's been interesting to find these nooks and crannies,” she said.

For anyone interested in doing something similar, Heppner-Mueller suggests making one small change at a time.

“I would say start small. We did not do this overnight. We picked one thing at a time. We would say, 'We got to stop buying cucumbers in plastic,' and then we would look at those field cucumbers in the store and think, 'I don't know about those. They look weird.' But we bring them home, and we've learned to love them,” she said.