Simple Steps to a Zero-Waste Lifestyle

Image credit: Sonia Golemme

Everyday, you and I throw away shopping receipts, plastic containers, and used sheets of paper without giving them a second thought. But though these bits of trash seem trivial to us, they are drastically increasing the amount of waste on our planet. To stop our garbage from consuming the Earth, we need to begin changing our lifestyles as soon as possible. One way to do this is by joining the Zero-Waste Movement.

The Zero-Waste movement is a lifestyle where people aim to have no trash output so that no garbage is sent to landfills, oceans, or incinerators. It began with a book written by Bea Johnson: Zero-Waste Home. In this bestselling book, Bea explained how her family reduced their annual waste to one jar of trash!

Now that more people are joining this eco-friendly movement, maybe it’s time for you to join, too. But where do you start?

You could begin by counting each and every object you throw away. Then, find a way to replace those things with reusable alternatives so you don’t end up dumping them the next time around. This is an easy way to start and soon, you’ll find that you hardly have any trash to take out!

If you have enough time on your hands, you can make homemade products, too. This is a great idea as it stops you from throwing away the plastic packaging, which store-bought products come in. You can look online for simple recipes using beeswax to make lip balm, body butter, lotion bars, etc.

However, if you’re busy and don’t have a lot of time, you can use different methods to go zero-waste. Here are some small changes that make a big difference.

1. Make homemade gifts. When you make gifts for others, you can use resources that you already have, instead of buying something new. For example, you can make origami gifts out of old magazine paper. Remember to only wrap your gifts in newspaper!

2. Replace your plastic toothbrushes with bamboo ones, which can be planted once you’ve used them.

3. When you step out to buy takeaway food, carry your own reusable containers. If you are buying a takeaway drink, check if you can have it in your own flask with a metal or bamboo straw. And the next time you go shopping, carry a cloth bag with you and avoid buying a plastic one.

Bring your own bottle! 

4. You can also visit zero-waste stores to buy items without plastic packaging, and products like shampoo bars so you don’t end up throwing away used shampoo bottles.

Products sold without packaging at a zero-waste store

These small changes can be implemented in every household. As you dive deeper into this movement, you will realize that you’re not only saving the Earth, but safeguarding your health too. Organic products from zero-waste shops are much safer to use than normal products. And drinking from a metal bottle is healthier than drinking from a plastic one.

If you begin living a zero-waste lifestyle, don’t get frustrated when things go wrong. Just remember that everyday, you are making a positive impact on the world.