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For many, the idea of zero waste can be summed up by a small mason jar containing one year’s worth of trash sitting atop a kitchen counter. This is the image that’s been popularized by a series of zero waste lifestyle videos on YouTube and Facebook. While incredible, this bar may be a bit too high for people interested in living more sustainably. And this image may be a bit misleading.
Zero waste is an incredibly broad movement. The goal is simple: to reduce waste. But the ways people go about doing so and the kinds of people and organizations that do so vary. So let’s go a little bit deeper and talk about what exactly the zero waste movement is, why we need it, and what some of the benefits of going zero waste are. And of course, let’s learn how we can reduce our waste one small, meaningful step at a time.
What is zero waste?
The zero waste movement is broad; spanning companies, consumers, and even governmental bodies. Part of this is because the term “waste” itself is broad. It can refer to single-use plastics; food wrappers; food scraps, like skins and leaves of vegetables that we tend not to eat; old textiles; and so many other unwanted items that are discarded and often end up in landfills.
Zero waste aims to reduce all of these kinds of waste in a variety of ways. “Going zero waste” can be as simple as cutting out one’s own plastic usage or making a concerted effort to recycle properly and reuse more. It can also be as robust as city-wide efforts to better divert waste from landfills and to incentivize recycling and composting, or even country-wide efforts to prevent companies from destroying unused products.
While all of the above kinds of zero waste are common, I want to make it clear that there’s no clear-cut one-size-fits-all approach to reducing your waste. You may be the kind of person who wants to personally challenge yourself to live completely waste-free. This could involve investing in a variety of reusable products and hacks that you’ve probably never even considered before. This might be overwhelming to you, so don’t worry, there are other options.
Zero waste can be flexible. My own personal brand of zero waste or low waste living involves doing the best I can to reduce my waste and making the most out of the products I already have. I’ve written a starter guide about zero waste living that explains this philosophy more. But when it comes down to it, I believe that making small changes in even one area of your life–like using reusable mugs instead of single use cups at a shop–can make a difference.
Why do we need for zero waste?
To understand why you, I, or anyone else for that matter might want to go zero waste it’s important to understand the problem with waste. Let’s take a look at a few key statistics.
- According to recent research done by Verisk Maplecroft, 2.1 billion tons of municipal solid waste are generated globally each year.
- 46% of this waste is disposed of unsustainably.
- The United States is responsible for 12% of that waste, despite making up only 4% of the world’s population.
- Back in 2018, the EPA estimated that textile waste accounted for 7.7% of municipal solid waste in landfills
- Note that these figures were calculated at a different time than the research from Verisk Maplecroft
- The USDA estimates that food waste makes up 30-40% of our food supply.
It’s clear that in the United States and across the globe we make a lot of waste. You might be wondering why that is. Largely, generating waste is a byproduct of a very common economic model used all over the world; the linear economy. In a linear economy, to make a product you must first take a raw resource, then create your product, and then sell it. This product will be used and eventually discarded. That discarded product more often than not is–you guessed it–waste.
So, what’s wrong with having so much waste? To take a really commonly-known example, waste that ends up in oceans and lakes can be quite damaging. We’ve all heard of plastic straws and rings hurting sea turtles. Moreover, aquatic trash can create real hazards for humans who either recreationally or professionally swim or dive in lakes and oceans.
But of course, not all waste ends up in the ocean. As we saw above, a lot of waste ends up in landfills. Once there, it will either take up space as it slowly decomposes or be moved into an incinerator where it will be burned. Both cases will result in the emission of greenhouse gases. In fact, the EPA found in 2018 that landfills account for 15.1% of methane gases produced in the United States. Long story short, waste can be extremely harmful to humans and the environment alike.
What are the benefits of zero waste?
Whether it’s your city or you as an individual, going zero waste has several benefits. Reducing waste in any capacity can reduce our impact on the climate. Remember, accumulated waste contributes to greenhouse gases. Going zero waste can also help us preserve certain natural resources. Whether you’re simply buying less or you’re buying from brands that use recycled and repurposed materials, you’re helping to curb the need to deplete natural resources.
Going zero waste also involves redistributing what you have rather than throwing it away. Giving away clothes and food to communities in need is a great way to support those communities. Even one extra t-shirt or one meal could make a difference. Plus when you or a group of people in your community engage with people in need in this way, you can start to form meaningful community connections and create a positive, lasting relationship with the people around you.
And finally, zero waste programs of all sizes help create more job opportunities. The implementation of zero waste programs involves creating more sustainable, steady jobs for more people in a variety of areas such as waste management, recycling, composting, and repairing. A recent study by the Global Anti Incineration Alliance found that zero waste programs create 200 times more jobs than incinerators and landfills do. Needless to say, this particular benefit doesn’t apply to every individual who goes zero waste. However, it’s a great example of the impact that a community of people who are dedicated to zero waste or low waste living can have.
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Zero Waste Tips
Previously, I wrote an intro to getting started with zero waste living, that is a great place to start. But if you want more ideas of how you can reduce your waste or repurpose what you have, take a look at the additional tips below.
- Reuse veggie scraps, like peels from carrots or zucchini; onion skins; or the greens from carrots. You can use them to make delicious vegetable stocks that you can use in soups, stews, rice dishes, curries, or anything else you can think of. You can also use the greens from certain veggies in salads and the peels from carrots or potatoes in breads and cakes. Here’s a great beginner’s video to cooking with kitchen scraps.
- Reuse & repurpose food containers.
- One simple way to repurpose food containers is to clean them and use them to store other items. We’ve all seen a box of Royal Dansk cookies and found a sewing kit, but just about any food container that’s been washed can be repurposed in a similar way.
- Old liquor bottles and glass jars can easily turn into vases or glass centerpieces.
- I had a roommate who even turned egg cartons into planters; here’s a quick guide to that!
- You can even use different jars and containers as makeshift drums as a fun activity with kids. (I’m not sure how much my parents enjoyed this but I loved it growing up). Here’s one quick way to do it!
- Donate your old clothes. There are always people in need who would be happy to have your clothes.
- Learn to sew and patch your clothes to make them last longer (here’s a beginner’s guide).
I’m sure I’ll be writing more about zero waste in the future, so please follow along for more thoughts and tips on The Wellness Feed.