When the term “zero waste” is brought up, people initially thought of “recycle”. The world seems to have a perception and tells us that recycling and composting as much as possible is a way to achieve zero waste. But, is this right?
Recycling is not a solution to our waste problem. How so? Recycling depends on way too many variables to make it a dependable solution. It requires energy to process, but it also lacks regulations to coordinate the efforts of manufacturers, customers, municipalities, and recyclers across the globe.
What we put in our recycling bin is out of our control, and what happens to it is uncertain.
While some recycles accepts all types of plastics, there is only a market for very few of them. And those that have the chance of being recycled are turned into plastic lumber that will no longer be recyclable. It will end up in a landfill, or worse, the incinerator where the resource will be lost forever.
So, what does it mean to have a zero waste lifestyle?
Zero waste is not about recycling more, it’s actually about recycling less by preventing waste from coming into our home in the first place. Recycling is a last resort. As a matter of fact, zero recycling is a goal.
The problem in today’s society, eliminating disposables from our lives seems absolutely impossible. However…
Disposability is a modern concept — They promise us time savings in our lives, so we can be more productive. But, here’s the catch… Don’t the products that they sell rather hinder efficiency? They need to be bought, discarded; then bought, discarded. What a waste of time and money that is!
How do we stop that endless cycle?
Eliminating disposables is actually quite simple. It can be achieved in three steps.
#1 — Simply eliminate single-use products from our lives
There is a reusable alternative for every single disposable item out there. Even the items that we would have never thought that we could live without, like paper towels, menstrual products, floss, etc. The trick in adopting reusables is to keep an open mind to the alternatives and give yourself some time to get adjusted to them.
Because, the truth is, when we eliminate those single-use products, we also eliminate investing our time and efforts for things that may be unnecessary. We don’t have to go to the store once we ran out of the item. What’s more, we no longer have to put them in the car, carry them into our home, store them then sort them. We’ll also get financial savings as we don’t have to pay the extra price of the packaging.
#2 — Buy Package-Free Products
Start the habit of secondhand shopping. Because, obviously, used items do not come in packaging. Also, when buying consumables like food, in bulk and using our own containers (glass jars, cloth bags). But, what if we don’t have bulk where we live?
When we adopt a zero waste lifestyle, we acquire a selective vision — we no longer see what’s packaged — and we only see what is available to us unpackaged. Over time, we’d realise that bulk is everywhere. We just have to look for them.
#3 — Stop Accepting Freebies
Consuming doesn’t just happen through the act of buying. It’s also through the act of accepting things that are handed out to us. Business cards, for example — Businesses just LOVE throwing them to us. But, if we think about it, about 90% of the time, when someone tried to give us a business card, we’ve already had a contact with the person. So, there’s really no reason at all to accept their contact info printed on a little piece of cardboard.
Now, in this society, saying “no” to things that are handed out to us might seem odd. It might even be accepted as rude. But the trick here is to be armed with a few sentences.
“That’s really nice of you, but no, thank you.”
“No, I’m good.”
“No, thanks”
Accepting is condoning, just as buying is voting.
Every time we make a decision, we have the power to support a practice that is either sustainable or one that is not. Every time we buy or accept disposables, well, it’s a way for us to perpetuate, not only this unresolved recycling system, but also all the practices that the materials entail.
Did you know that BPA contained and released by some plastics into food has been linked to cancers and smaller penises in infants? Now, that means that when we buy that plastic packaging, not only that we condone the depletion of natural resources and that unresolved recycling system, but also the use of toxic materials. We also condone the use of taxpayer money to manage waste, instead of funding more useful programmes, like schools, libraries, transportation infrastructure, land conservation.
On a personal level, well, every time we spend our money buying something that is disposable — use it, then throw it away — it’s literally like throwing our money away. Or a portion of that trip we’ve always wanted to take, or that retreat we’ve always wanted to go on.
When we eliminate single-use from your life, when we buy without packaging, and we stop accepting freebies…
We vote for a healthier, more sustainable, unpackaged world for our children.
We’ll free ourselves from the fictitious needs that the marketers have created in our society. We will no longer spend our time and money buying and disposing of items, but focus on what matters most. We’ll have time to spend with friends, with family, a hobby, and ultimately… We’ll have money to fund our dreams.