We have noticed the same thing in our neighborhood. At first we chalked it up to people just moving in, and getting rid of packing material and what not . . . but week after week they have trash cans that are so full the lid is at a 45 degree angle. Some of these houses are families, but some are young couples with no kids. We do a lot of cooking at home, and at most we have had 4 small kitchen bags in the container (This was after we cooked Thanksgiving dinner for my family last year, and later after clean up from New Years). I don't know what they do . . .Though I must admit, I usually try to buy items with reduced packaging or reusable packaging. I doubt that that can make up for all that trash tho . . .

Like you, I still think i don't do enough to reduce the solid waste generated at my house. I am looking into composting options and plan to buy a composting system in the next year. This will actually cut our waste by probably a third.