By Alaina Lightfoot
There was genuine shock on my face when my youngest sister, at just 11-years-old, accompanied me to a Starbucks on a weekend visit and very firmly told the barista that no, thank you, she did not need a straw. She had brought her own. My shock continued as she reached into her purse and pulled out a reusable metal straw. After she finished her drink, she then lovingly washed it out and put it away before we continued with our day. I’d like to say I taught her that, but unfortunately this is one I can’t take credit for. She informed me it was a trend among children her age right now, all of them buying reusable straws with the rallying cry of “save the turtles.”
Oh sweetheart, I thought, if only it were that cut and dry. I did not, however, say this, but instead commended her for her efforts. Anne-Marie Bonneau, a noted zero waste chef, recently shared her thoughts that “We don’t need a handful of people doing zero waste perfectly. We need millions of people doing it imperfectly.” I am far from perfect in my efforts, and I know so many others have seemingly insurmountable obstacles in their own way. Time, money, and yes, privilege, all play a factor in how close we can get to reducing our own personal environmental impact.
I was first introduced to Zero Waste the way any good millennial seems to be introduced to anything these days, the internet. I was fascinated when I came across a video of Lauren Singer, founder of the Package Free Shop, who can fit multiple years’ worth of waste to landfill in a small mason jar she displays proudly on her counter. She made it all sound so easy, and if she could do it in her small Manhattan apartment, then I thought, surely I could accomplish Zero Waste to Landfill in my own tiny space.
I dove in headfirst, recklessly auditing my life and removing anything that didn’t fit this new ideal. It wasn’t long before I was up to my ears in reusable alternatives, and I managed to fail spectacularly and go back to my old ways. Now, years later, I’m toddling my way through the baby steps of a Zero Waste journey, and I’d like to share some practical tips with all of you.
The first thing I’d invite you to do is look up others in the Zero Waste space. See their perfectly organized flat lays on Instagram of their grocery hauls, their bathroom products, their bamboo, and steel, and glass… and then promptly forget it all. The first thing I’ve discovered with zero waste is this, it doesn’t have to fit into an aesthetic.
Instead, try out one or all of these tips to get started on your own Zero Waste adventure!
1. Give Up Your Plastic Water Bottles—and use a cup instead.
I have fond memories of a favorite professor who, to my horror, drank her water from a large cup she brought with her every day to class. She had no fancy water bottles that I was so apt to purchase, and she didn’t need one. Right at her disposal she had something that could help her save thousands of plastic bottles to landfill each year. So, she practiced one of the main R’s of Zero Waste—repurpose—and so opened my eyes to how easy it all can be.
2. Let Your Produce Roll Free!
Yes, I sometimes get odd looks from my cashier on this one, but trust me, you don’t need those thin plastic produce bags every time you make a purchase. There are now lots of beautiful reusable options out there, but don’t feel like you must go out and buy them! I put everything except my greens in my cart and let them roll free. Lots of produce comes with its own wrapper from nature, but even things like tomatoes and peppers will be okay in your cart. I promise! Unlike some other plastics which can be recycled only a few times before being sent to landfill, those thin plastic bags are extremely difficult to process, and almost no curbside recycling programs take them. Leave them behind and let your produce wear what nature gave it!
Read related article: Rediscovering Recycling
3. Compost, Compost, Compost
Some cities, like Ann Arbor, are starting curbside composting programs in addition to recycling and trash pickup. If you don’t have that as an option in your area, take the time to research other options. Sometimes farmers markets, restaurants, stores, or other establishments will collect compost scraps. You can also start your own compost pile in your back yard! Most people think things like fruit and vegetable scraps are harmless to throw in the garbage. They’re under the assumption that these scraps will decompose in a landfill. In reality, food scraps get too buried to properly decompose, and the pressure lets off high amounts of methane gas that contributes to climate change. Composting is one of many moves you can make toward more conscious living.
4. Replace As You Go
For some changes in a Zero Waste journey, there aren’t sustainable items already on hand. Sure, you can use the Tupperware you already have for food storage rather than plastic wrap, but what about dental floss? Or toothbrushes? Some non-recyclable plastics take a little more care to get out of our way of living. Luckily, there are lots of amazing companies both locally and globally putting in the work to make sustainable living available to everyone. Rather than doing what I did when I first started down this path and trying to do it all at once, may I highly encourage that you replace as you go. Toothbrush worn out? Try a compostable bamboo alternative instead of buying another one that’s plastic. Out of Keurig pods? Buy a reusable pod to fill with fresh ground bulk coffee every morning.
There are what can feel like an endless amount of changes we can make to be more sustainable. However, this slow replacement method will help make it light work.
5. When in Doubt, Throw it Out!
While this may seem counterintuitive to everything we’ve talked about thus far, there’s no shame in throwing something you’re unsure about in the trash as you’re learning about your area’s recycling capabilities. Something as small as one grocery bag in a curb side recycling bin can cause several pounds of lost recyclables at a facility. For the plastic you can’t avoid, please take the time to research if it is recyclable or not.
While Zero Waste to Landfill is a huge topic around which several books have been written, I hope these few tips gave you a jumping off point in your own sustainability efforts. Remember, just because our efforts are imperfect doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try. Any difference is better than no difference at all. I encourage you to take a moment and reflect on how you too can charge at sustainability with the same childlike abandon my sister exhibits every time she whips out that reusable straw.
Now, go forth and reuse. Thanks for talking trash with me!
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On a cloudy afternoon this past winter, as we stood in the muted, gray light of our kitchen, I said to my wife, “When I die, just put me in the ground, maybe wrapped in a shroud—or in a pine box, or something like that—and let nature do its thing.”