A Zero-Waste Life
Consider your household waste stream. Are
there changes that you might be able to make in your life to live a zero-waste
life? Enter your thoughts/ideas into your blog.
Looking at my
household waste stream, there are quite few changes that my family and I can
make to live a zero-waste life. I sat down with my husband and we reviewed our
lifestyle and habits to see where the bulk of our trash comes from. It was eye
opening when we went through topics such as how we purchase and keep food as
well as our shopping habits for consumer goods and products. In the end we
determined that the majority of our trash comes from packaged foods, the
products that we use, and food waste.
When my husband
and I shop at our local grocery store we very rarely buy in bulk by filling our
own containers. Instead, almost all of the items that we purchase are prepackaged
in either plastic or paper containers. Even when items, such as produce, are
not originally sold packaged we utilize the plastic bags that are located near the
fruits and vegetables to separate them from any other items and to keep them “clean.”
After watching “Why I live a zero-waste life,” with Lauren Singer, my husband and I are no longer going use the
plastic bags to place our produce in. Also, we are going to try to buy more items
in bulk, such as nuts and cereal, and fill our own containers rather than using
the plastic bags that the store offers. Additionally, we are going to try to
only purchase items in sustainable packaging such as glass.
After taking a
look at the many products that my husband and I purchase on an ongoing basis,
we decided to first eliminate the items that we do not absolutely need . For example, I am no longer going to purchase perfume, and he is no
longer going to buy cologne. We also decided that we are going to try making a couple
of the items that we absolutely need to use such as toothpaste and shampoo. I
took a look at Lauren Singer’s website “Trash is for Tossers” and downloaded
her zero-waste homemade toothpaste recipe. I am looking forward to trying this
out.
Another area that
my husband and I already knew was a problem was our food waste. We are part of
the households that are wasting 15% to 25% of the food that we purchase. This
is unacceptable. We have decided to plan our meals each week for both home
and work. Then we will make our grocery list/meal plans and only purchase items on the list. Since it is just my husband and I at home it
is easier to buy for just the two of us without worrying about needing to buy a
lot of extra for children. That being said, it is still important that we do not let
our produce go bad and focus our recipes around fruits and vegetables and bring
the leftovers with us to work.
It is frightening
when you take a look at how much trash one person produces on a daily basis. At
my office alone, my trashcan needs to be emptied at least once during an
average work week because it is completely full. This does not include the
trash that I produce when I am at home or when I am traveling. This means that I
am one of the many people that are contributing to the increasing amounts of
trash overflowing our landfills and oceans. After watching the assigned videos
and reading the articles on the topic of waste, I am determined to decrease the
amount of waste that I produce.
References:
· Trash is for Tossers. Retrieved from: http://trashisfortossers.com/
· Food
Waste: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8xwLWb0lLY
Hello Angie! This is a great post! I definitely think that a zero waste lifestle is very important but we can easily forget how to obtain this type of lifestyle. This is because in todays society many people always have so much trash and use so much plastic. This is why change must be made at the manufacturing level.
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