How much waste did you produce yesterday? Lauren Singer produced one Mason jar full of waste in the last 4 years. You might ask yourself how that work, because I asked myself the same question. In Lauren Singers Ted Talk she explains what her motivation for a Zero Waste life is. How she managed to get to the point where she nearly didn´t produce any waste anymore. But first we should know how she defines Zero Waste:
“To me, Zero Waste means that I do not produce any garbage. No sending anything to landfill, no throwing anything in a trash can, nothing. However, I do recycle and I do compost.”
In comparison the Journal of cleaner production lists the definition of Grass Roots Recycling Network as a design principle for the 21st century.
“… Zero waste maximizes recycling, minimizes waste towards zero, reduces consumption and ensures that products are planned to be reused, regenerated, repaired, and recycled internally or back into nature or the marketplace…”
All right so now we know that Zero waste does not mean not producing waste at all, it rather emphasizes on recycling (incl. composting) and the reuse of products. During her Ted Talk she made a very valid point, which stuck in head. She asked the audience to take a moment and think about the daily waste they are producing per day. Consequently I started realizing how many things I throw away every day, although I always thought that I was cautious about my disposal behavior. So fare I tried to minimize buying plastic packaged food and to eliminate the usage of plastic bags, using refillable water bottles and tried to bring my own lunch or buying it fresh and without packaging.
So fare a good start don’t you think?! Nevertheless there are so many things I never thought about before, like all the beauty products and hygiene product, which always come in new plastic container or the samples you often get at drugstores. This list could be continued for a very long time.
However what are some further steps, someone can take to reduce their amount of waste? Lauren Singer posted a list of things, which could be easily exchanged to more environmentally friendly alternatives. She also wrote a post about 2 easy steps to Zero waste, which are very interesting to read and to consider including in your life. From my point of view such stories like Lauren Singer’s are very inspiring and motivating to work on yourself (in terms of being more sustainable). These people show that changing to an even more environmentally friendly lifestyle is possible and not that hard. Moreover I believe that every contribution counts and that one individual can have more impact on their environment/ community as they ever thought possible.
kiannab
January 28, 2017 — 6:41 pm
Loved your post! I agree that zero waste should be the direction society should accept and understand is the right way to go. How do you think zero waste will affect businesses? Some businesses thrive on the aspect of consumerism and making excessive purchases (ie the Fashion Industry)- do you think we will be able to replace the jobs that are lost from reducing consumption?
IsabellaBruckmuller
January 30, 2017 — 10:36 pm
Thanks for your comment kianna. From my point of view the Zero waste approach could/would affect the majority of companies not until it is mandatory due to law, or to stay competitive.
Concerning your second question, I think it will be more likely that a worker gets replaced by technology instead of being redundant due to consumption decline. However I do believe that the renewable energy industry and the boom of technology will create various job opportunities in future.
KatherineApplebaum
February 12, 2017 — 4:49 pm
Great post! I heard about the idea of living a zero waste lifestyle in the beginning of this year and am also working towards reducing the amount of waste in my life. One of the biggest struggles I have is grocery shopping. Do you think grocery stores will begin to adopt the idea of zero waste? If so, how do you think they might change?
BronteGoldberger
April 9, 2017 — 5:06 pm
When I was in high school my sister had a best friend named Lara. Lara’s mother was a hippy mommy and was very much ahead of her time. Madison came home from Lara’s house one day and told us all about how Lara’s entire home (four people plus two dogs) produce only one small garbage bag of waste every week. I was shocked, my house produced two large bags every week. I realized just how many things I was not properly disposing of, even when I had the means to recycle. The idea that we can actually have a huge impact on landfills is foreign. We assume that it would be nearly impossible to produce less waste, but the truth is, it is not as difficult as we fear. Thank you for reminding me of this lesson, it is always important to get a refresher on things that are important but difficult to carry on.