M11.5: Zero Waste Life

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In my household, there is a lot of food waste. I always tell my mother that we need to find ways to reduce the waste or to compost again. Given that my mom is cooking many vegetables, it wouldn't be a bad idea to add the leftovers into a composting bin. I think it would be a bit difficult to find chicken and beef that is not packaged in plastic and styrofoam. I know there are some meats that are sold at the counter, but they tend to be more expensive than the packaged meat - which will make it difficult to transition. One of the areas where I need more improvement is buying less bottled water. I like to buy the Costco water 1L bottles because of the taste and size. The reason I buy bottled water is because I find it difficult to wash the metal/reusable bottle due to the really small openings versus throwing a plastic bottle in the recycle bin. Knowing that not all the plastic gets recycled, it has made me aware that I need to keep attempting to find the appropriate bottle that meets my needs and also reduce the amount of bottled waters I buy. An additional step I can do is to stop buying the plastic bags - I have plenty of cloth bags and that would help reduce my plastic use. 

 I feel like I've done a small step to reduce my waste. For example, one of the things I have started to do is think twice / three times before I buy any piece of clothing. I have found that I am doing less impulsive buying and saving money.

 I wouldn't be able to have a zero waste life at this point in my life, but more likely later in life where I have a less hectic schedule of work, school, and work again. I know that I can work towards reducing the amount of waste by making conscious decisions more regularly. 


Comments

  1. UnknownNovember 9, 2018 at 6:42 PM

    Hi Daisy,
    I know what you mean. When I lived with my husband's family for 5 years, I tried mercilessly to get them to recycle more, compost more, and not use too much plastic. However, I kept feeling like I was getting no where with them. It wasn't until I moved out with my husband that I began recycling more, composting more, and using glass containers to store my food. I think that the TED talk was interesting and a bit overwhelming until I got to the end. I think that we can all do little things to decrease the amount of waste we produce overall.
    Thank you for your post!
    Kera

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownNovember 14, 2018 at 7:59 PM

    Hi Daisy,

    I agree that is a challenge to have a zero waste life and it requires a lot of dedication and time. I think the small steps you are taking and realizing where you can begin to make changes is a great start. You made a great point about how meats from the counter that aren’t packaged in plastic and organic foods are often more expensive, which makes reducing our waste impact us financially. I have also started to make changes and I am looking into how I can reduce the waste of my household and get my family to compost more and buy more groceries that aren’t packaged in plastic. I think small changes definitely add up to make a big impact. Thank you for sharing your thoughts!

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