Zero Waste Living is an eco-friendly lifestyle which involves using reusable items, shopping at local markets and forgoing products with excessive plastic packaging. Furthermore, this lifestyle reduces greenhouse gas emissions while simultaneously saving money.
Change can seem daunting at first, but starting small and making one change at a time will be much simpler! Select one thing you can stop doing or reduce consumption for.
Reducing Environmental Footprint
At times it can seem that every day brings news of yet another major environmental tragedy, rendering many feel helpless and overwhelmed by these crises. Yet there is one effective solution available to everyone to reduce their environmental footprint – Zero Waste Living.
Zero Waste living involves adopting an approach that minimizes overall waste output while limiting recycling needs, which often create more environmental issues than its original product did. Adopting this lifestyle requires shifting thinking from throwaway society to intentional resource use – including turning down unnecessary items, using what you already have more effectively, decreasing food waste by purchasing items without packaging and shopping with reusable bags when possible.
Bea Johnson states in her book Zero Waste Home that to achieve true zero-waste living, one must embrace five key practices: Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Rot (compost). Step one in this process should be to refuse items you no longer require – whether that means passing up free pens at conventions, forgoing plastic straws and utensils at restaurants or refusing disposable grocery bags altogether.
Reducing consumption as much as possible is the second pillar of zero waste strategy, though this can be challenging in today’s convenience-driven society. But there are several easy strategies for doing just this – such as purchasing in bulk and using glass storage containers for foods not available this way; shopping at local grocery stores that allow customers to weigh and tare their bags before paying can save significant amounts over time.
If it is unavoidable to buy new products, try choosing ones with minimal packaging or made from recycled materials. Also invest in a clothesline or bidet attachment to reduce paper towel and washcloth use.
If you’re a homeowner, starting an outdoor compost pile or worm bin could drastically reduce the amount of landfill waste going to a landfill while diverting it instead into becoming natural fertilizer for your garden! Apartment residents might try indoor composting with a bokashi bin as an alternative solution to traditional garbage disposal systems.
Saving Money
Engaging in a zero waste lifestyle doesn’t need to be costly; in fact, it could save money over time. One key way is switching out disposable products for reusable alternatives – such as swapping plastic shopping bags for cloth shopping bags when possible and purchasing food in bulk at stores instead of single use items at restaurants; using compost bins or community gardens for organic waste disposal are all ways of going zero waste!
Shopping second-hand is another effective way to reduce both money and environmental footprint. By purchasing used items from thrift stores, swap meets, and online marketplaces like Let’s Go Zero Waste or Litterless you reduce carbon emissions due to manufacturing. For an additional money-saving measure consider bulk buying food from health food stores or local markets; you can even use a bulk food locator tool to quickly locate stores near you.
Kellogg notes that creating your own cleaners and home products can save money while decreasing waste production. She uses a mix of vinegar and water for her cleaning needs – it works just as effectively! Additionally, making homemade dog treats and replacing Saran wrap with beeswax wrap has proven much cheaper.
Other strategies for saving money include buying locally and organic foods that require less packaging; buying seasonal reduces fuel and energy use when transporting the food; and considering bulk food stores offering cash back for containers used during storage.
Be mindful that going zero waste means more than simply refusing and reusing items; you can save money while simultaneously decreasing your environmental footprint by working with local waste management companies to maximize diversion from landfills. A simple and inexpensive way of doing so would be encouraging your workplace to implement recycling programs for office supplies, such as single-use coffee cups that will prevent them from ending up in the trash bins.
Getting Rid of Wasteful Habits
Zero Waste advocates often make an effort to avoid products that produce large amounts of waste, like fast fashion and straws, which helps minimize unnecessary litter in their homes. Instead, these individuals donate unwanted items that no longer serve their purposes or find creative ways of using them again (mending clothes or buying second-hand furniture are among examples) before working with their waste management provider to recycle everything possible.
Concerned with food waste? For those wanting to reduce it, an easy solution may be canning, freezing, or otherwise preserving excess fruits and vegetables instead of throwing them out – this way they can be enjoyed later or shared among family and friends, significantly decreasing wasteful fresh food waste.
Compost can turn organic waste into nutrient-rich soil for planting, or food scraps may be fed directly to animals that can digest them – although some believe this practice to be cruel as animals may suffer adverse health side effects due to eating human scraps.
Other waste-reducing habits may include using cloth napkins and dishes, shopping at secondhand stores, reusing old jars as storage containers, as well as using reusable grocery bags, bottles, cups for take out coffee, as well as baking homemade goodies that they package up in recyclable or reusuable containers to give as gifts rather than purchasing store-bought treats.
Additionally, they could choose markets offering bulk options or plastic-free alternatives for standard items like paper towels and beauty/hygiene products, or purchase produce in season to minimize transport costs.
Zero waste should not be seen as an utopian lifestyle for only those living in urban environments, or those wealthy enough to afford living there. Even those in suburban settings can take steps to minimize waste production such as repairing items instead of buying new ones or purchasing local organic produce that has a smaller carbon footprint.
Making a Difference
Engaging in Zero Waste Living can do more than save money – it can also make an impactful statement about our environmental sustainability efforts and community efforts. Food waste accounts for an estimated annual loss of $161 billion here in the US alone – redirecting some of it towards community organizations, homes, or people in need could make a meaningful difference for many people in need.
As part of your zero waste journey, it is a good idea to assess what you are currently tossing out each week. Kellogg recommends conducting a trash audit where you take an inventory of what’s being tossed out and figure out ways to reduce this waste – this may involve buying bulk sections instead of single use bags, using your own reusable bag when shopping or even switching disposable items for more sustainable ones such as cloth napkins or tissues and investing in worm bin or bokashi compost system which divert food waste from landfills.
Make the switch from disposable plastic products such as coffee mugs and tupperware that contain polyfluoroalkyl chemicals linked with health issues to durable stainless steel or glass alternatives instead.
Donating items you no longer use to local charities and secondhand stores can be an excellent way to support the development of your community. Not only will this create jobs in rental and repair sectors, but you may be providing sustainable employment rather than adding industrial production jobs such as landfills or incinerators.
Finally, you can help inspire and empower others by sharing your knowledge about Zero Waste Living through workshops or events. Sharing knowledge will allow others to be empowered while you stay inspired yourself! Plus it gives you an opportunity to meet like-minded individuals that will support your journey!
Zero Waste Living is an international movement that’s quickly changing lives around the globe, and everyone should join! From living a more sustainable lifestyle, saving money or just reducing environmental footprint to increasing financial savings or just becoming environmentally-friendly; Zero Waste Living gives all the tools to succeed!
