zero waste or minimal waste?
What is Zero Waste? Why zero? Is zero waste even possible? I had these questions when I came upon the idea of zero waste about three years ago.
Back then, mud seeped into my home and we had to find a new place to live (see our story here.) We rented a furnished three-story townhouse and soon garbage and recycling were piling up in the kitchen.
Before the mudslide, I lived in a one-story ranch house. It was easy to open the back door and toss waste into my trash and recycling bin. At the rental, I had to carry it down two flights of stairs.
So, I went on a quest to learn “HOW TO REDUCE GARBAGE AND RECYCLING WASTE”.
That’s when I discovered the ZERO WASTE movement. If you know anything about Zero Waste, it’s probably that the most ardent followers of the movement boast they produce only one tiny glass jar of waste for an entire year.
Don’t fret! We can start slow and try for a MINIMAL-WASTE approach instead. Let’s agree that any effort we make towards reducing our global footprint is a step in the right direction.
ZERO-WASTE DEFINED:
In a nutshell, the Zero-waste ideal is for people to live without creating any trash.
- Best case scenario: no waste from your home would go to the landfill.
Is that realistic? Probably not. But we can try, right? Don’t give up yet!
WHY ZERO-WASTE?
In my view, Zero-waste is a movement generated by people who are passionate about saving our planet. It encompasses values and simple processes that each one of us can make in our daily lives.
A few facts about Zero-waste:
- Conserves resources – Recycling facilities use a lot of resources including manpower, machine power, water, land, etc.
- Encourages responsible consumption and reuse – we can all make small changes in our thinking and living style
- Imagines less packaging on products – the first step in reducing recyclables
- Values waste prevention as opposed to waste management – less waste equals less waste management
HOW TO START WITH ZERO WASTE
The first step in Zero-waste is to REDUCE our consumption. By reducing, we can affect the volume of recycled material that needs to be processed on a local and global scale.
In simpler terms, Zero-waste living suggests these five standards:
- Refuse what you don’t need (change your mindset)
- Reduce what you do need (change your actions)
- Reuse what you can (thrift shops, second-hand stores)
- Recycle what you can’t refuse, reduce, or reuse (last resort)
- Rot the rest (small home composting)
What Can You Do Today?
Change Your Mindset – Think about it:
- Change your mindset about disposable products.
- Think about replacing disposables for reusable products instead.
Think about Refusing
- Start refusing to buy items with a lot of packaging. If we don’t bring it home, then we won’t be contributing to the problem.
- Refuse to pick up free newspapers, flyers, and handouts
- Refuse to buy single-use plastics like water bottles and single-serve food items
- Refuse styrofoam take out containers-styrofoam cannot be recycled
Think about Reusables
- Reusable water bottles
- Reusable coffee cups or mugs
- Reusable cloth grocery bags
- Reusable cloth napkins
- Reusable cloth handkerchiefs
- Reusable cloth wipes
What Can You Do This Week?
Swap Disposables with Reusable items:
-Buy new good quality water bottles and start using them. Stop buying single-use water bottles.
-Buy portable coffee cups with lids and bring them with you on the road and use them at the office. Starbucks will accommodate and even give you a discount!
-Stop using disposable plastic storage bags at home. Replace them with glass or stainless steel containers with lids.
-Start to carry cloth shopping bags with you in your car. Remember to bring them into the store with you.
IN CONCLUSION
Zero-waste is good for humans and good for the earth. While we don’t need to be perfect, any effort we make to reduce garbage and recycling waste benefits everyone.
We can make small changes today by changing how we think about garbage and recycling.
We can make bigger changes tomorrow by changing the way we purchase goods in the future.
We can make a difference! Every one of us!
Let me know your thoughts and the steps you have taken toward zero-waste. I look forward to hearing from you!