Zero-Waste: It's Not Out of Reach
I was reading the most recent issue of Fast Company when I came across an article about a company called Baldor that is taking the food shortage crisis seriously, confronting it, and finding both helpful and profitable solutions. The fruit-and-veggie processing company
that would dump about 150,000 pounds of waste per week is now putting all that waste- including cantaloupe rinds, pineapple hulls, and banana peels- to good use by selling them to other vendors who make animal food and air fresheners and whatnot... basically, whoever will buy it can buy it. The company has not only eliminated a lot of their garbage bill, but is earning more revenue, has diversified their revenue streams, has reduced their carbon footprint, and is now known as an innovative and forward thinking company. Pretty amazing, right?
It's really great to see big corporations making commitments to helping our current environmental and climate crisis. But, to me, it also serves as a great reminder of how much I waste and how I should be making changes like Baldor has.
Do I use too much toilet paper? Am I chucking things in the trash when they're still good, even if it looks borderline? Do I use too much shampoo when I wash my hair? Can't I turn off that foyer light more often?
These seem like such small questions, but you all know just as well as I do that we (as denizens of planet Earth) are in big trouble and need to make some big, immediate changes if we're hoping to inhabit this planet much longer. So why aren't we changing? Because this is a very hard change. We've been raised to live our selfish, consumerist lives and now we have to change all that? No fair! Too bad- make the hard but right decision with me right now: we have to change.
The Zero-Waste trend as you've seen all over the news (and your Pinterest feed) is the first and easiest step into an environmentally friendly lifestyle. It's not asking you to really live without any waste (though that would earn you mega extra brownie points, if you could); moreso just to do everything in your power to not waste anything. If you monitor your waste like you monitor your budget, you can make a difference in saving the planet!
Live by the key mantra of the 5 R's: Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, and Rot the Rest. Refuse to buy brand new things that are just going to go in the trash or back into the cycle of consignment stores and whatnot. Reduce your current carbon footprint by turning off lights, letting in natural light, taking shorter and cooler showers- in general, reduce what you consume (and set measurable goals to do so). Reuse as much as possible- not tissues or toilet paper, but replace paper towels with terry cloth towels and wear the same pair of jeans a few times before washing them. Recycle everything that you can, which is a lot these days. Rot the rest- simple as it sounds. Learn to compost (it's really not hard) and let it rot to use in gardening. Oh yeah, take up gardening.
What I plan on doing once I get to my new house in Cincinnati is starting with these key tactics to help the environment. I recommend you all join me in my crusade to follow Captain Planet and help Mother Earth!
-Go Paperless in the Kitchen! Yes, it is possible. Especially with the use of E-Cloths and easy recipes found everywhere online to make your own cleaning fluids (that are safe for the environment and as powerful as Clorox wipes), you can go paperless in the kitchen. It will be a weird change, but imagine the money you'll save on paper towels every year...
-Reign In The Makeup Budget. I'm mostly talking to women, but I know there are some guys out there too that need to work on this. Makeup is generally not good for anything but our self-esteem, and even then it's like we're putting band-aids over our insecurities. It's time to buck up and stop using all this junk. Only buy what you need to as far as makeup goes, and when you do buy it go with higher quality brands that hold themselves more accountable to quality control. But if you only wear makeup a few days a week? Imagine how much you'll be saving on cotton swabs and pads, brush cleaners (which you can make your own of), brushes themselves, paper towels, tissues, etc...
-Make Everything You Can. I've already said you can make your own makeup brush cleanser and kitchen cleaning fluids, but you can be making so much more than you knew- including laundry detergent, face masks, perfumes, candles, body scrubs, hair sprays, soaps, YOU NAME IT. Get crafty one weekend and make a bunch of this stuff in bulk. It will save you soooo much money and save the environment some hassle. Check out my Pinterest page for some of the many tutorials.
-Shop Smarter. For everything. Bring reusable totes everywhere, don't use plastic bags. Buy everything that you can in bulk, whether we are talking raisins or chia seeds or Clif bars. Buy used everything, from books to clothes- never buy new. All of these little decisions lead to a big result.
As you may be able to tell from all this, going Zero-Waste (or at least less-waste) doesn't only help the environment- it helps you in every way imaginable! No longer are you unaware of what's in your products, because you made it! You don't have to break in your jeans or shoes, because someone else already did it! And your shopping list will cut in HALF if you're making all of this stuff for yourself!
Get some good canning jars, stock up on cloths and rags, and ditch your bad shopping habits- for Earth's, and your own, sake.
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