2 – Reduce (wasteful habits)

Simplifying our needs to the lowest common denominator saves time and money. If your entire house can be cleaned with vinegar, baking soda, castile soap, and essential oils, do we need to buy separate exclusive products for the bathroom, kitchen, floors, and windows?

The same is true for personal-care products. By reducing our arsenal to the bare minimum, we can spend less time chasing the perfect cream or deodorant and alternatively find natural and healthy products that can be bought in refillable containers and serve a wider variety of our personal-care needs. 

3 – Reuse (it’s a healthy lifestyle choice)

Secondhand shopping extends the life of a product whether its clothing, furniture, vehicles, or books. Our attachment to the smell of newness – “newness” is an actual volatile organic compounds (VOC) created to lure us in! That addictive scent is toxic to our health, the environment, and our psyche.

If we can be humble enough to appreciate and share pre-loved commodities in our lives, we can divert them from the awaiting rubbish bin or landfill. Also, by getting rid of disposables, we avail ourselves to cost-saving alternatives, like cloth napkins, safety razors, menstrual cups, cloth diapers, etc. 

4 – Recycle (every single thing you can)

Though many people take great pride in their recycling efforts, the industry has its limitations. Recycling is an energy-intensive process that is often outsourced globally and not entirely efficient or reliable. Much of what we send to be recycled ends up in landfills or, as in the case of plastic, is recreated into a material that can no longer be recycled.

If you must buy new, choose glass, metal, or cardboard instead. Find ways to recycle within your own home before shifting the responsibility to a third party.

5 – Rot (no really! It’s the one Zero Waste application the least amount of us are doing)

Composting is an opportunity to return vital nutrients derived from plants back to their source—the soil. Biodegradables like veggie scraps, fruit peels, egg shells, dried leaves, and paper can find new life as enriching compost for plants and trees.

In some cities, a separate waste stream is collected for large-scale composting, but if you have a backyard, you can do it yourself. If your land space is limited or non-existent, worms can do the work for you by vermicomposting, which accelerates the decomposition process. If you happen to live near a farm or countryside, look into sharing your organic waste with livestock instead.

Living a totally waste-free life might seem impossible in your current living arrangement. However, if we can start to shift the responsibility to ourselves, instead of someone else to deal with our waste, we may find ourselves to be more resourceful that we imagined.

First published: August 2019