Flexible Ways To Go Zero Waste
In the last blog post, I told you to have a mindset before you start with your blogging journey but today I want too get in deep in the topic of zero waste and want to tell you about what is zero waste and what are the practices that you can follow to live a zero-waste lifestyle without compromising anything.
Now the question that arises is that what is Zero waste and who founded this. so,
ZERO WASTE
Zero waste is actually a principle focussed on waste prevention that encourages the redesign of the resource life cycle so that all products are reused. The goal for this is that no trash must be sent in landfills, incinerators and oceans. This definition was adopted by the zero waste international alliance (ZIWA). when I was reading what Wikipedia says about this I found out that there is a term known as
CRADLE TO CRADLE
Cradle to Cradle focuses on designing the industrial system so that materials flow in closed-loop cycles which mean that waste is minimized, and waste products can be recycled and reused. Cradle-to-cradle simply goes beyond dealing with issues of waste after it has been created, by addressing problems at the source and by re-defining problems by focusing on design. The cradle-to-cradle model is sustainable and considerate of life and future generations.
now the question that arises is why we must live in the path of Zero waste and why it is important to do so?
HEALTH
A major issue with landfills is hydrogen sulphide, which is released during the natural decay of waste. Studies have shown a positive association between increased lung cancer mortality rates and increased morbidity and mortality related to respiratory disease and hydrogen sulfide exposure. These studies also showed that hydrogen sulfide exposure increased with proximity to the landfill.
Household chemicals and prescription drugs are increasingly being found in large quantities in the leachate from landfills. This is causing concern about the ability of landfills to contain these materials and the possibility of these chemicals and drugs making their way into the groundwater and the surrounding environment.
Zero waste promotes a circular material flow that allows materials to be used over and over, reducing the need for landfill space. Through zero waste the number of toxins released into the air and water would be decreased and products examined to determine what chemicals are used in the production process
STARTING OF THIS MOVEMENT IN HOUSE
In 2008, Zero Waste was a term used to describe manufacturing and municipal waste management practices. Bea Johnson, a French American woman living in California, decided to apply it to her household of 4. In 2009, she started sharing her journey through the popular blog, Zero Waste Home, and in 2010, was featured in theNew York Times. The article, which introduced the mainstream to the concept of waste-free living, received much criticism from people confusing it for a bohemian lifestyle. These critical reviews began to shift after images of the family and their interior was widely broadcast in worldwide media. In 2013, Johnson published "Zero Waste Home: The Ultimate Guide to Simplifying your Life by Reducing your Waste".Dubbed “Bible for the zero waste pursuer” by Book Riot, it provides a simple to follow the methodology of 5R’s with in-depth practical tips on how to eliminate waste in a household. Translated in 27 languages (as of 2019), the international bestseller helped spread the concept to a wide audience. Some of Bea’s followers and readers went on to 1) start their own blogs, such as Lauren Singer, an eco-activist living in New York, whose Social Media channels spread the concept to millennials, 2) open package-free stores, such as Marie Delapierre who opened the first unpackaged store in Germany(based on the model of Unpackaged, the first package-free concept in our modern era), 3) launch non-profit organizations, such as Natalie Bino, a founding member of Zero Waste Switzerland. Over the years, the Zero Waste lifestyle experienced a significant increase in followers. Thousands of social media channels, blogs, unpackaged stores, lines of reusables and organizations have emerged worldwide. And in turn, the fast-evolving grass-root movement created a demand for large corporations, such asUnileverandProcter and Gamble, to conceive reusable alternatives to disposables.
YOUR IDEAL ZERO WASTE LIFESTYLE
As I talked before about setting up intentions but now I have to talk about something more that is dreaming your ideal zero-waste lifestyle and thinking about how it looks like and what your life would be like, How you would work in that situation and what things you will buy and what works you will do. Believe me, things are going to be very much easy when you will do this and this will bring clarity to your mind after you know what to do. Write everything down and this will surely boost your motivation after you realise what to do and then map some milestones that will help you do this.
KNOW YOUR WASTE
Whenever you will see a youtube video or anything related to this you will find that all of them say this phrase and then continue on the others. This phase is "Know your waste". knowing this part will help you going through your progress chart. For this the thing, you must have all your gear, for this I mean to say gloves, masks, a sheet to put your garbage in etc. I do not know about you but in my country, all kind of garbage in one place and dry, wet and even hazardous waste is disposed of together. for this activity, you need to take everything out and then you need to note what goes to your landfill from your house. This kind of activity does not need to be done on a single day but needs to be continued for a week. I personally did not take everything out but what I did was that I put the garbage in the bin with my own hand and by noticing that I was able to do it not fully but for some extent.
Now as I used the word flexible in the heading I want to talk about flexibility. For this I mean to say that you must know your surroundings and the situation you live in. With the word situation, I want to address the fact that I am not a parent or the owner of my house, so everything that happens in my house needs the permission of my parents. I am sure that you must be also aware of your situation and I want you to not take as a disadvantage but as an advantage. For me, I can not buy all the products zero waste but I prefer to insist my mom take me to the shopping so that I can minimize the stuff being shopped which is wrapped in plastic and another way I use to tell my mom about what swaps we can make and if I do a great influencing she is ready to do it. The conclusion for this passage is to know your situation and hunt for substitutions if you can not find the original things to make the greatest swap to live a sustainable life.