What is "zero waste"?
"We don't need a handful of people doing zero waste perfectly. We need millions of people doing it imperfectly" - Anne Marie Bonneau
It's easy to get carried away with the idea of having a perfect zero waste life-style, but from my extensive research, this is impossible!
The first thing you have to understand is that "zero waste" actually means having or creating zero waste! This means you should use what you already have, buy second hand where possible and fix anything which is falling apart. Alternatively, if you must buy something, then try to source it from a sustainable company.
I know this may sound quite "hippy", but its the best way to make sure you don't create unnecessary waste.
If you didn't already know, the majority of recycling doesn't actually get recycled. You may go to the extent of cleaning your recyclables, making sure you have taken off the labels etc. but not everyone does. It all gets piled into one recycling lorry and then the whole truck is "contaminated" and is then sent to the landfill. The best way to deal with this is to stop buying items which come in packaging, and buy those in packaging that can be reused or composted.
I'm sure you have all seen the awful images and videos of our wild life struggling to survive in the world us humans fill with plastic and waste. This is what we aim to change by going "zero waste". The less plastic consumers buy, the more that companies will see the people don't want it. The term "zero waste" was created for companies to abide by, not the consumers. Companies create far more waste in a day than any household could in a week, and they were supposed to start their zero waste journey to prevent the pollution of plastic, however the majority haven't done this. This is why the consumers, us, are now starting to prompt the zero waste movement in companies by refusing plastics.
Ultimately, it's not just the obvious plastics we see that "zero wasters" are trying to avoid, it is also certain fabrics, micro plastics and any other material that isn't forever recyclable. Plastic can only be recycled once, then they are useless and sent to the landfill.
I know it all sounds a bit much to get your head around, but soon I will post some easy and straight forward swaps for you to start with!
Thank for reading, Katie
It's easy to get carried away with the idea of having a perfect zero waste life-style, but from my extensive research, this is impossible!
The first thing you have to understand is that "zero waste" actually means having or creating zero waste! This means you should use what you already have, buy second hand where possible and fix anything which is falling apart. Alternatively, if you must buy something, then try to source it from a sustainable company.
I know this may sound quite "hippy", but its the best way to make sure you don't create unnecessary waste.
If you didn't already know, the majority of recycling doesn't actually get recycled. You may go to the extent of cleaning your recyclables, making sure you have taken off the labels etc. but not everyone does. It all gets piled into one recycling lorry and then the whole truck is "contaminated" and is then sent to the landfill. The best way to deal with this is to stop buying items which come in packaging, and buy those in packaging that can be reused or composted.
I'm sure you have all seen the awful images and videos of our wild life struggling to survive in the world us humans fill with plastic and waste. This is what we aim to change by going "zero waste". The less plastic consumers buy, the more that companies will see the people don't want it. The term "zero waste" was created for companies to abide by, not the consumers. Companies create far more waste in a day than any household could in a week, and they were supposed to start their zero waste journey to prevent the pollution of plastic, however the majority haven't done this. This is why the consumers, us, are now starting to prompt the zero waste movement in companies by refusing plastics.
Ultimately, it's not just the obvious plastics we see that "zero wasters" are trying to avoid, it is also certain fabrics, micro plastics and any other material that isn't forever recyclable. Plastic can only be recycled once, then they are useless and sent to the landfill.
I know it all sounds a bit much to get your head around, but soon I will post some easy and straight forward swaps for you to start with!
Thank for reading, Katie
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