The 'mother' of zero waste movement,
Bea Johnson, started her zero-waste journey in 2008 with her husband and two kids. She published a book called "Zero Waste Home," which made the whole concept of living without creating any trash, a new trend. Zero waste movement, as the name states, is all about creating zero waste in your daily life. Realistically, no one in the world can really be genuinely zero waste, but the point of the movement is to live so minimally that almost no waste is produced. You may have already heard of this movement since it is gaining popularity, but if you are not entirely sure what it is or what the "rules" are, I am here to help you out.
I think most people have heard of the three "R's": Reduce, reuse, recycle. Well, zero wasters take it a little further, by adding two more: refuse and rot. Something to note is that the order of them is essential for the logical flow, starting with prevention, then being more thoughtful, and finally discarding. Let's get into it and find out how you can begin your zero waste journey today!
The first two "R's" focus on preventing you to even have to deal with the actual waste.
1. REFUSE
The easiest way to produce less waste is to say no to stuff that's not a necessity. This could mean saying no to a leaflet being handed to you on the street, to free promotional items at a conference (pens, lanyards, etc.), or to a separate plastic bag in every store when shopping. This will also help you avoid clutter in your home since most of the time, the "freebies" that are given out, we rarely ever use. The same goes for single-use cutlery and straws. The average usage time for these is around 10-15 minutes, while the lifespan can be hundreds of years.
Another common thing people could easily refuse and live without is junk mail. For example, in Estonia, you can refuse the junk mail by going on the postal services website and ordering a free sticker for your mailbox, which says that this household doesn't want any promotional mail. I bet this is possible in most places in the world, so I suggest looking into it, because who likes opening the mailbox to 30 different pieces of junk mail every day anyway.
If you are anything like me, it is going to be challenging to say "no" at first. It comes with practice, and believe me, when I say, the fifth time refusing is much easier than the first one. So don't lose courage and remember why you're doing it.
2. REDUCE
To further reduce your waste, try to reduce the amount of stuff purchased. For example, you go to a mall to buy a t-shirt, but end up in line to pay with three. That would be a moment to reflect, if you truly need all three of these shirts, and possibly reduce the amount purchased. This could also go with eating meat and dairy, for example. There is proof that producing meat for us is considered one of the top polluting things in the world. But it is possible that you are not ready to completely cut out all the animal products, which is completely fine, just reduce it. Instead of eating meat every day, 2x a day, maybe try reducing it to 3 days a week. In the end, only YOU know what is best for you and what you are capable of doing. So just do what you can!
It is important to remember that reducing your waste, goes beyond what you throw into the trash can. It looks at the production value of an item and how much energy or material was used, what was the cost of the item for workers that work the production line, etc. All it comes down to is being ethical.
The third "R" is focusing on being more thoughtful about consumption.
3. REUSE
Reuse is pretty self-explanatory. In basic terms, use reusables. This step is where people often bring up the cost of things and the money situation. However, it doesn't have to be expensive to start using reusables. A reusable shopping bag is just any bag you decide to take to the store, a reusable water bottle is any container that can be used to hold water, and a reusable food container can be any old upcycled box that doesn't leak. Reuse is where you can get creative and find what works for you.
However, usually, when you buy a reusable water bottle, it is for a long time, if not a lifetime. So, in the end, you're actually investing. Let's say you pay $30 for a reusable stainless steel water bottle to replace your usual bottled water. Buying bottled water every day will add up, and in a couple of weeks that $30 is already paid off. Now don't get me wrong, I know it can often be tempting to go all out and buy a super cute food container set, or fancy water bottle, but in zero waste it is actually encouraged to use what you already have. For example, don't throw out your plastic Tupperware containers just because they're made from plastic, and then replace them with stainless steel or glass ones. That is even more wasteful. Use stuff until it breaks and then find a replacement.
The last grouping is for discarding the rest. If you couldn't refuse, reduce, or reuse it, and you end up having to deal with the waste, you have two options before landfill: recycle and rot.
4. RECYCLE
Bea Johnson once stated in her
TED Talk that zero waste is not about recycling more, but less. That is why "recycle" is the fourth "R," not anywhere higher. In this step, as I said before, you're trying to figure out the best way to discard whatever you weren't able to refuse, reduce, or reuse.
Recycling is a tricky topic that gets a ton of people confused and possibly a little overwhelmed, to the point where they decide to just throw it out. I will try to eliminate the confusion at least a little bit.
First,
REcycling very often is more like
DOWNcycling, which means that a plastic water bottle, when recycled, will not be made into another bottle, but rather into a disposable good, that will end up in the landfill after its lifetime. That is why plastic is the worst material for the environment and the main focus of many activists. At the same time, glass and aluminum are praised for the exact opposite reason. They can be recycled infinity times, making them much more sustainable than plastic.
When it comes to how to recycling, my main advice is to read the labels, and if you're not sure, ask for help. It is important not to just throw whatever in those bins. For example, in my college, there was a recycling bin near Starbucks, and people would throw their half-finished drinks in there, or the plastic cups that still had ice in them, so they would spill. When a patch of recycling is damaged, it often can't be recycled anymore, so the other people's efforts were pointless.
5. ROT
Compost the rest!
If you are fortunate enough to have a yard or like me, have a composting bin provided by my apartment complex, good for you, this shouldn't be too challenging to do then. However, I am aware that most people do not have the luxury, and to those, I have a little trick I learned from
Lauren Singer: find a place in your area that takes in composting waste. It could be a gardening store, a farmers market, or maybe a helpful friend or a neighbor. When you have a place to take your composting, collect it in the freezer. That way, it will not smell in your apartment, and when its ready to go, just put it in a paper bag and take it over.
There is also the worm composting alternative, but that is a bigger responsibility and has some rules so the worms wouldn't die. I would not recommend this for the beginners because it can be a lot to deal with.
There are some limitations to what can and can't be composted, so make sure to ask or look up what can be composted with the method you're using.
The theory behind reducing one's waste isn't too tricky, but what is, is rewiring your brain to refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle, and rot. If all of this sounds a little too intimidating, I would suggest you start with just refusing, and slowly incorporate the other "R's" into your life.
If you have any questions at all, comment down below, or contact me on my email using the form on the sidebar! I hope you are all doing amazing, and see you back here again soon!
