Zero waste - how to achieve it?
(At least) 10 Tips and Tricks to Go Zero Waste
Ten is a small number when there are so many tips and tricks. Each one of them is as easy as the next one to use, even in our part of the world. Wanna bet? ;) 1. Use cloth handkerchiefs instead of paper ones wrapped in packaging. There’s an idea for a nice present for someone. 2. Use dishcloths instead of kitchen paper towels. Trust us, kitchen paper towels are not as indispensable as you might think. 3. Instead of using plastic containers for your leftovers, try using metal or glass ones. It’s healthier! 4. Always carry with you glass or stainless steel water bottles or reusable cups. Having your juice out of a plastic cup with a plastic straw or sipping your coffee out of a Styrofoam cup is not as healthy as you might think. 5. Instead of using aluminum foil, cover the containers with leftover food with plates. That’s all the more reason for you to think of a cool new recipe and polish off what’s left more quickly. 6. Pay your bills online as often as possible and choose to receive them via email instead of your mailbox. You’ll save money and paper this way. 7. Don’t take flyers that are being handed to you at shopping malls. Do you even need them? Put a sign on your mailbox saying that you don’t want any special offer flyers. 8. Don’t buy newspapers. And the ones you already have you can use as wrapping paper. 9. If you feel like you need to give someone a tangible present, at least get one that’s not producing more waste (steam iron, toys and picture books that use batteries, etc.). 10. Don’t take ATM slips. You can see your account balance on the screen. 11. You don’t believe in magic? Try cleaning your faucet with baking soda and vinegar! And, your bathtub, sink and mirror, too. 12. Buy in bulk and stay away from packaged products! Buy local and seasonal products! 13. There’s no point staying away from packaged products if you end up putting them in plastic bags. Always have with you at least one tote bag. 14. Switch from pads and tampons to menstrual cups. You will feel rejuvenated. We guarantee it! ;) 15. Try making your own toothpaste and soap. 16. To contribute to a greener environment, walk or cycle, or take the bus whenever you can… riding the bus is better than taking the car. 17. Try making a compost pile. You can even throw in hairs or floor sweepings. Start from the thing that seems the easiest to you. Soon enough you’ll be hooked. And, don’t forget to share your knowledge with your friends and family! That’s the only way to go zero waste! This is how Bea Johnson does it: |
1. Refuse or say No to what you don’t need.
Take your coffee-to-go or the freshly squeezed orange juice in your own cup or bottle and ask the waiter to pack the leftovers from your lunch with your colleagues in your own container. Avoid freebies – do you want them because you need them or because they come for free? Don’t take leaflets just so you’d toss them in the nearest bin and write down on your mailbox that you don’t want junk mail. It doesn’t seem that difficult, right? 2. Reduce what you need. Before going shopping, always make a list and think twice if you really need another pair of jeans or sneakers. Do you really use all of the kitchen appliances you have? Do you really need the myriad of cleaning products when you can let the vinegar and the baking soda do their magic? Why stuff your living space with furnishings and home decor, which make house cleaning harder when you can donate that money instead or pay for your German or yoga course? 3. Reuse what you don’t need. Buy secondhand, replace plastic bags with cloth ones and keep away from packaged items. Would you dare to avoid the paper bag and buy bread in a pillowcase or cheese in a food container that you bring with you? 4. Recycle what you cannot refuse, reduce or reuse. There shouldn’t be much left. 5. Rot everything else. Turn fruit and vegetable peels, hairs and floor sweepings in a compost and use it to green your balconies, your friend’s garden or the lawn that's in front of your building. So, what's the first thing you'll do? |
What you have missed from our first newsletter:
The concept of Zero Waste has developed as a reaction against the consumerist society which incessantly fuels the insatiable human nature to the detriment of human dignity, natural resources and the environment as a whole, leaving us, as an eternal inheritance, piles of waste that cannot be endlessly recycled even in the most developed economies. It uses nature as a model because there is no waste in nature. Since achieving Zero Waste depends on products and processes whose components can be dismantled, repaired and/or recycled – not burned or buried – waste-free living is not only ethical and visionary but also efficient and economical: it does not only bring health benefits and considerable time and money savings but also holds a great potential for linking communities, businesses and industries. Adopted by a growing community as a personal philosophy, the Zero Waste concept defies the entire social system of making, consuming and disposing of stuff by teaching us to refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle and rot. Exciting, right? |