Human consumption of resources isn't clean. We produce waste in manufacturing of products, and also in the aftermath of their use, be it from food that is quickly consumed or from other products that eventually stop being used or are no longer functional. A lot ends up in garbage landfills. The last 100 years has seen an increase in waste like never before.
In efforts to reduce the amount of waste in our lives, we can become more minimalist and have less things in our lives. We can buy less, and then we use less. We can share with others as well.
A Philosophy for Living
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Zero waste is a lifestyle philosophy that encourages a reduction in waste as well by redesigning the life cycle of resources. The goal is to reduce the amount of trash sent to landfills to reach a zero waste footprint. This can be difficult to do, but that doesn't mean we can't work towards that ideal and get better at it as we make an effort to do so.
The Zero Waste International Alliance defines the philosophy as:
Zero Waste is a goal that is ethical, economical, efficient and visionary, to guide people in changing their lifestyles and practices to emulate sustainable natural cycles, where all discarded materials are designed to become resources for others to use.
Zero Waste means designing and managing products and processes to systematically avoid and eliminate the volume and toxicity of waste and materials, conserve and recover all resources, and not burn or bury them.
Implementing Zero Waste will eliminate all discharges to land, water or air that are a threat to planetary, human, animal or plant health.
As you can see, adopting a zero waste lifestyle is in our own best interest. The pollution of the planet is a problem we have created, and it's up to us to fix things. We're not only harming ourselves in our mad dominance of everything, but other earthlings (animal beings) who have just as much right to exist on earth as we do.
In the past 20 years, there has been a steady increase in the amount of municipalities that have adopted recycling programs. We already employ one of the 5 R's of zero waste philosophy, to some extent. Although, most of us can do a better job of actually recycling and not just dumping things in the garbage.
The 5 R's of Zero Waste
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Refuse
Say no to using non-recyclable products in order eliminate most of your trash and recycling material.
Don't use paper or plastic bags, bring reusable bags.
Don't buy food wrapped in plastic.
Don't buy disposable packaging.
The more we buy of these things, the more it signal's that it's OK and the more it will keep going on being produced inthe same way.
Reduce
Stop buying more things that you don't or hardly use. Give away what you don't use and never will use to others who can make use of it. And then
Have too many clothes? Too many shoes? Too many of anything?
we buy on impulse because we like something at the time, but then hardly or never use it later on. It just takes up space in your home, without adding value to your life. Let someone else have it if they have a use for it since you don't. Good Will, Craigslist or Facebook groups are a place you can giveaway or resell your stuff more someone else who can make good use of it.
Think of simplifying your life. In the future, focus more on needs and less on wants with self-control over what you buy. Be more practical.
Reuse (and Repair)
A lot is disposable and doesn't have a second life. It just ends up int he garbage or recycling at best. We spend money for things that don't last. Money gets wasted in addition to the material.
Shopping bags can be replaced with reusable bags that last for years. Just bring them.
When going to restaurants, you can bring your own tupperware if they give you disposable packaging. It might be an inconvenience for them, but it helps cut down on waste for you, and their bottom line, as they don't need to spend as much in packaging costs. It's a win-win.
Use containers at home for left-over food, rather than wrap things in plastic wrap.
Instead of buying bottled water, buy a water filter and use a water bottle over and over.
There are many other ways we can reuse products rather than be part of a disposable lifestyle.
If something breaks or gets damaged, don't just go buy another. See if you can repair it. Clothes can be mended with sewing. We don't need to own so much stuff, we can borrow, exchange and trade with people as well. Second hand items like clothes, movies, music, books, tools can all be part of a change of lifestyle to reduce consumption and waste of resources.
Recycle
This it the last part after you refuse to buy things, reduce your consumption, and reuse or repair what you have. There will only be a little left to recycle. Be mindful of what can be recycled, and don't just throw it in the trash.
Rot
Anything that is biological/organic, should not be thrown in the garbage. In most cities there is compost collection. If not, see if you can organize a community effort with people to lobby for a compost program to be added.
If you have a backyard in the city or country, composting shouldn't be an issue. Just put the food waste into a pile and let it rot. Or learn how to compost better with covering like straw/hay or tarps to get the process to move along quicker. Start to grow a garden with your own food, and use the compost to enrich the soil. This will save money on food and composting for the garden.
I was already pretty conscious of my consumption, being somewhat minimalist in my way of living. I was already recycling all that could be, and I composted all biological material. But, last year there was a zero waste festival in Montreal. My girlfriend and I have similar life goals, and she wanted to go, so we went. I learned some more things to do to help me lessen my contribution to waste. I hope this information interests you to try to improve your reduction on waste.
Thank you for your time and attention. Peace.
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Man, all true. I will say that going from full in consumer to full on minimalist was one of the toughest things that ever happened to me. Also, one of the best eventually.
I can totally understand the fear of immediate overhaul of a person's life. The trick for most people is incremental change.
Start with nit using plastic bottles. Easy. Buy a nice Nalgene or other quality bottle, slap some rock and roll stickers on there and you're ready to rock.
Once you are used to carrying your own water, start carrying reusable bags to the store. Then your own takeaway containers etc.
Your first choice in this direction will have a real impact on the world, and will make every subsequent forward decision that much easier.
As always man, thanks for the post!
Yeah,s mall changes can work better fro most as big changes are harder to do, unlearning habits is often hard.
Greetings @krnel very interesting and radical the way in which you approach the idea of reducing waste to zero, is an arduous task but there is nothing that can not be achieved with patience and will, I am starting with awareness campaigns towards Mother Nature with the planting of trees, the recovery of land in sectors affected by human beings in terms of "development", oriented in teaching and showing that it is nature(https://steemit.com/ecology/@renny-krieger/recovery-and-planting-of-trees-in-the-semi-arid-zone-of-los-quediches-reservoir) but definitely on the other hand we must also orient people to leave consumerism because many of them believe they are atoning for their sins with the planting of a sapling and continue to acquire on the right hand side and sinisterly objects that they do not use or things with a near expiration date that in the end only end up in waste bins helping to increase the amounts of garbage in the dumps. @renny-krieger
Yup, doing a good deed with the right hand and think it washes away the left hand misdeeds :/
The funny thing with consciously reducing your waste footprint, you tend to save money as well.
Buy less, waste less, save money. It's common sense really but with all the advertising shoved in our face every day we tend to spend money on shit we don't really need.
I also try to minimise the waste I produce as much as possible, it's shocking just how much crap people throw out every day.
Very true; it takes consistent and conscious effort to actively minimize how much waste is being created daily.
Yup. A garbage can doesn't get emptied for so long ;)
Important points to apply:
Unfortunately not everyone has an awareness of how important it is applied in everyday life.
Thanks @krnel for his enlightenment, for me this One a valuable lesson.
Yeah, we can make things change by changing how we do things. The industries will respond to what we pay for.
This would be the dream :) I wrote a paper mainly about different bio-composites materials and using plant based materials to replace plastics, and as we know it can be done and is possible, but it’s just slightly more expensive to manufacture as it’s not in mass production... and, well, the oil Corp etc that makes plastics etcetc....
I’m in China right now And it’s ridiculous with the plastic use. It seems like they have no idea about plastic waste or anything. What I hate back home in the uk (it’s getting better) is looking around in a supermarket and seeing plastic everything! Apples sat in plastic mold, wrapped in plastic, laminate sticker with polymer print, then put in a plastic bag etcetc.... it drives me crazy!
Yeah, why do fruits need to be in plastic... it's container crazy in some supermarkets :P
Very important post at a crucial juncture when whole world is facing the wastage issue. Many efforts are put in to wastage utilisation...though it can be done through joint effort by every nation or by each people. The theory of 5 R is crucial too in making people understand the way to control wastage and limit usage as per the need......resteeming to make people aware...the more people aware the more light it will bring...
Yup, the more ppl are aware, the more they can change the world for the better.
I really hate initiatives like this... because, they miss the forest for the trees.
People do not have much knowledge about what goes into making a product and all the waste that entails.
An example:
For the same energy involved in shipping (weight), plastic (bags or cloth) and manufacturing, you can have 100 of those cheap t-shirt bags, or you could have one reusable bag. Do you really use the reusable ones 100 times each? (And i am probably underestimating the amount of cheap bags you can get)
Stores have to keep food away from the germs of people. A thin layer of plastic is the cheapest, and cheapest to the environment. There is nothing cheaper, including comparing it to the energy used to heat water to clean reusable containers.
Further, we are looking at only the end goods.
The choice between paper and plastic bags looks a lot different if you knew the horrible chemicals that are used to turn wood into pulp.
What we really should do is have a high temperature, dual stage burning power plant at each land fill. Turning all the plastic bags back into clean energy. (because it takes more energy to truck the plastic back to the plant then it saves in reusing the plastic)
This all sounds suspiciously like corporatist propaganda. I'm curious where you get your numbers on the cost per use of disposal bags (which can be recycled but rarely are) and permanent bags. I have had the same canvas grocery bag for nearly ten years. If it tears, I see it up. I fully expect it to last another ten years or more.
Also, how do they turn plastic bags into clean energy? I have never heard of this before(not surprising though, I learn awesome new things all the time) is there an article you could link me?
Very easily. It is because i manufacture things, and know the prices and costs of manufacturing. You can go online and order t-shirt bags. See the prices, and compare.
A canvas bag is definitely nice. I have the same backpack i have been using to collect groceries for decades. The bags sold in stores are plastic cloth. And not as durable. Further, i have seen people throw them out because they got something spilled in them. And spills are more common then we would like.
The cheap plastic bags that i have acquired have all been used instead of buying thick plastic trash bin bags.
I believe the term to look up is "high temperature rocket stove" or a two stage rocket stove. But basically, it has a vortex burning secondary chamber where the temperatures get up to a couple thousand degrees, burning everything. Efficiencies are very high and pollution is very low.
You use a similar thing for burning garbage.
But, wouldn't you know it, the govern-cement won't let it happen.
You see, the garbage department is over here, and the power company is over there, and we can't have them intermingling.
Ah rocket stoves I'm familiar with. But it seems to me your last statement just confirmed what the original post was pointing to.
We can blame the government and the system or recognize that each of us has the power to change those systems and little bit with our choices. You prove this is with your own grocery getter. If enough people cease a practice then that practice becomes impractical, irrelevant, and unnecessary. The few holdouts that still take the bags will have no choice but to follow or else learn to juggle.
The problem is one of awareness and apathy. Changing those two things requires education obviously for the next generations and reprogramming for current ones.
Additionally as a minimalist (like hardcore as shit with literally everything I own in a backpack for the better part of a decade minimalist) I have no problem pointing out that in much of the "developed" world people use way too much shit. Television and Internet ads, pop culture, parents and friends condition people to equate their identity and value to things. This is a major flaw in the system and hurts all of us in the long run.
Our obsession with status through materialism has potentially cost us great advancements in knowledge and understanding.
Miss the forest for the trees? I think you're the one missing something. Get a bag and reuse it for years. What's so hard about that? Pay for a bag (plastic/paper) (plastic/paper) in a grocery store, throw it out, or pay for a bag that can be used hundreds of times a year, for years to come. I've had mine for over 5 years, still using them. Some are made of plastic, some are made of cotton or other material.
No, food doesn't have to be wrapped up. All the fruits and veggies... yeah they need to be wrapped when they aren't... lol. Look at that orange, can't have it with it's skin on, we need to peel it and sell it to you in a plastic container... yup... good use of resources. Nature already covered it up. Beans don't need to be put in plastic. Cauliflower. Broccoli. Yet some stores sell it with plastic, and some don't.
Sure, maybe some things need to be kept fresher so the store makes money, and maybe "don't buy food wrapped in plastic" seems like an absolute, but you can choose to look around and put pressure on stores to change their way of selling food. One store here, Loco, has nothing wrapped in plastic, while other stores do. It's possible to change.
I haven't been in a store that has wrapped produce. New one to me.
But i have seen stores selling meat, poultry, sushi and sandwiches covered in plastic wrap.
Good for you, using the same bag for years. Most people i have watched sorta collect bags, and throw out if they get soiled.
What i hate is people insisting that i have to buy the expensive plastic bags, because it will save the environment. While i know that more energy went into expensive plastic bag then all the cheap bags i would use. More energy means more waste to the planet.
It is not that i don't care about the environment, i do. And i make less trash than anyone i know. I repair and fix more things than anyone i know.
However, don't tell me (and force me) to do things that i know are more harmful to the environment, because... i don't know, because they sounded good when you heard them?
Paper mills are awful, smelly, chemical filled places.
Paper really shouldn't be used for bags. The only better thing about paper vs plastic is that paper breaks down under soil. Else, we are just paying more energy for less.
And as i responded to another reply. We should be burning all the trash to make energy.
I always tried to waste less,but zero waste is incredibly difficult when you do not farm your own foods.
Well we can keep at it and do the best we can and try to do better ;)
howdy @krnel this is an excellent post with some great ideas.
It seems like I read an article about cities having major problems
and expenses with overwhelming amounts of garbage with landfills
that were overflowing and they were having to go farther and farther
away from the city to build huge landfills at much greater costs to
them and the environment.
Yeah... once the land areas get filled, gotta go dump it in someone else's yard eh... :/
Great post, thanks for tagging @ecotrain! I think the hardest of these options is REFUSE, because it often means going without the desires.. and i HAVE to be honest,, i am a SUCKER for nice packaging,.. that said ill never buy an apple in a plastic covering.. that is insane!
our purchases dictate the supply, so it is SO important how we use our buying power!
thankfully, there is no such thing as waste, or garbage really.. and i believe that ONE DAY .. hopefully not too far in the future, we will go back to our dumping grounds and see them as the goldmines that they are!
Yup, we can change how things are done if we don't buy it, but most people don't care so they buy it anyways...
This is the subject to encourage to become Eco Friendly and yes, there is tendency which is used by humans and that is own more and more and sometimes they buy those products which they never use but just they buy because they can afford to buy. And the next thing is related to food aspect, and in this world tons of food is being wasted everyday and just think if we intake that much we need and if we can use food stuff effectively then we can help with food to those people who are unable afford it.
Recycling is effective thing and we have to use our imagination and practical use cases of some products and then we can recycle it. Yes, many communities, groups and individuals are focusing on Recycling but it will not prove effective until every individual is implementing towards the cleanliness and not attempting any wasting of resources.
Thanks for sharing this post with us and wishing you an great day. Stay blessed. 🙂
If you compost, especially in the city, always mix high volumes of carbon with your compost (newspapers, straw, leaves, etc). I know you mentioned this, but one reason to always do it is to reduce the smell that attracts animals like rats and raccoons, which can lead to crackdowns against composting in the city.
Ah, good to know ;)
Thank you for sharing things like this. More people need to understand the impact we have on this Earth and that good habits are just as easy to form as bad habits. Keep spreading positivity!
Hi, I'm new to this platform. God bless your work and keep growing physically and mentally, I hope you go through my blog and follow me @carlosdap11 I follow you too
It is really interesting read @krnel. before 1990 we lived in very natural way of life. May be just only one plastic in a week, because every thing wrap in banana leafes. but now many people do not care the nature especially in my area. I have had 2 trash bin, one for organic and one for non organic. and the organic goes to my garden and vegetable plants. But always donno what to do with non organic except to burn it.
Alright! We're on the same ship :)