The Reality of “Zero Waste”

and what does it truely mean

Lifestyle

Have you seen those claims that in order to live sustainably you must be able to fit your full year’s worth of trash into a mason jar? Here is one YouTube video showcasing this lifestyle.

This idea is based on the claim that you should be able to recycle, reuse or compost almost everything. And those few things you can’t, end up in the trash jar. But I want to talk about this type of expectation.

Although I admire anyone who is able to accomplish this, I fear that it scares people away who are interested in learning about sustainability due to the extreme nature of it.

So I think it is still important to say that this is an unrealistic reality. It may be attainable for some but the majority of clients I work with are not looking for this type of change.

I don’t want this idea to scare people away from the idea of living a “zero waste” lifestyle. Because to me “zero waste” is not the goal, but rather to learn what areas you can improve and do your best. Think twice before making a purchase, possibly compost, or reuse an item rather than trashing it. But I never go into a one-on-one session saying “Ok by this time next year you will now produce zero waste”.

Why? Because I don’t even hold those expectations for myself. We are all learning along this journey and we can learn from our mistakes. Did we buy too much food at the grocery store and it went bad? How can we prolong vegetable life, can I grow it instead or simply buy less next time?

But expecting people who all living different lives to work within one zero waste model doesn’t work and instead intimidates people into believing they shouldn’t even try.

Instead, let’s try. Let’s all make a difference whether small or big. Your difference matters and if you choose to only change one thing, that is a more sustainable life. Because this first change may lead to a second or third. Or it may lead to your friend or family making the same change which contributes to a more sustainable society.

Now that doesn’t mean we can’t learn anything from this “zero waste” lifestyle. There are many habits we can incorporate such as shopping for products with as little packaging or plastic as possible, composting our food waste instead of trashing it, and being open to better solutions than our current habits.

So now I ask you to take some time and think about what “zero waste” living means to you. What area can you challenge yourself to improve in? Don’t worry about being perfect but rather continue growing.

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