Top 5 Changes Towards a Zero Waste Lifestyle
Here is a quick guide to help you get started on your zero waste journey. These are 5 initial changes I recommend to everyone looking to get started as they are low effort and high impact. Some may require an initial investment but nothing more than a few cups of coffee worth and others may be items you already have at home. These changes are also some of the first ones I made on my zero waste journey.
1. Reusable Water Bottle
Replacing plastic water bottles for refillable bottles is one of the fastest changes someone can make. This applies to water bottles, coffee cups, tea cups, red solo cups and any other single use plastic cup. Personally I have three reusable cups for different occasions: one larger stainless steel water bottle I use for hiking, a smaller stainless steel insulated tea cup and a ceramic tea travel mug. As a bonus I also have a stainless steel wine cup for sunset walks. What is great about insulated stainless steel is it helps keep your drink cold or hot for a longer period of time.
100.7 Billion plastic beverage bottles were sold in the US in 2014 (57.3 billon of those were plastic water bottles usually ending up in the landfills) 1
In order to produce a water bottle it requires 6 times as much water per bottle as it has in the container itself. 1
Taxpayers pay hundreds of millions of dollars each year in disposal and litter cleanup costs from these bottles. 2
1 Source : Plastic Oceans
2 Source : Container Recycling Institute
Another surprising fact is that the consumption of bottle water has been increasing over the years, even though in the U.S. tap water is regulated with stricter guidelines compared to bottle water. Advertising has convinced the public that bottle water is cleaner and safer than tap water. Although this may be true in the rare occasion such as Flint (which is a whole other topic about Environmental Racism) this is not the case for America as a whole. This number may also be on the rise due to the connivance of grabbing a bottle on the go and tossing it when finished vs keeping a bottle handy to refill.
However we have to consider the fact that it takes a bottles about 450 years to decompose, meaning that although you may be tossing the bottle it doesn’t disappear. Try to keep a reusable bottle in the car to be filled when you forget your normal one at home.
Now the big question, how much can you save each year on plastic water bottles?
According to the Water Project the average American spends over $100 per year/per person on water bottles alone. I recommend saving your money and investing in a reusable bottle that costs about $12 and will last for years.
2. Cloth Tote Bag
Tote bags are a great alternative to single use plastic or paper bags. These are usually used to replace grocery bags but I also leave one in my trunk to use anytime I go shopping, weather that be the grocery store, farmers market or mall.
Along with your tote bag you can carry mesh and muslin bags to the grocery store for your loose fruits, vegetables, nuts and granola. This helps reduce the single use vegetable plastic bags the store provides. Although these are free at the store these produce a large amount of waste as most people throw these away the second they get home.
Worldwide, a trillion single-use plastic bags are used each year, nearly 2 million each minute. 1
Plastic bags are used for an average of 12 minutes and take 450 years to decompose. 2
100,000 marine animals are killed by plastic bags annually. 2
Every year, 8 million metric tons of plastics enter our ocean. 3
1 Source : Plastic Oceans
2 Source : Center for Biological Diversity
3 Source : Ocean Conservancy
How much can you save each year on plastic or paper bags?
Now that you have to pay for your grocery bags. (10 cents/bag in California) it has become an investment to be wasteful. Instead all you have to do is remember to bring your own reusable bags. May times you can get these for free from companies who print their logos on the bag or for 99 cents/reusable bag at the grocery store.
3. Reusable Kitchen Towels
To be honest, originally I made this change because I was tired of paying for paper towels every week. But as I did the research I realized how devastating the consumption of paper towels and other paper products are to our forests.
A common misconception is that paper towels are recyclable but in fact they are not. (Try composting if not bleached) Paper towels are usually made out of recycled paper pulp which is too fragile to recycle. If the paper towel is dirty from food it makes the item non-recyclable as well.
It takes 17 trees and more than 20,000 gallons of water to produce one ton of paper towels. 1
According to the EPA, paper makes up the largest share of municipal waste in the US. 2
Every second, 1,400 square feet of the Canadian boreal are clearcut, a footprint the size of a small house. 3
1 Source : Creighton University
2 Source : Ocean Conservancy
3 Source : NRDC
If you require paper towels try and purchase 100% recycled paper towels over virgin fibers. If every household in the US replaced one roll with recycled paper towels we could possibly save 544.000 trees. This goes for public restrooms and work kitchens as well. If paper towels are the only option try to limit the amount you require or air dry.
How much can you save each year by switching to reusable towels?
In 2014, the average consumer in the United States spent approximately $124 on paper towels, according to Statista. By using reusable towels you can eliminate your need for paper towels.
4. Shampoo and Conditioner Bars
Shampoo and Conditioner bottles are bulky, expensive and produce a lot of plastic waste. The ingredients found within bars are usually safer for the environment and your hair as well as being condensed meaning the bar will last longer. They are also easier for travel as you can pack the bar within a tin can and not worry about the 3oz. liquid limit.
More than 552 million shampoo bottles could be ending up in landfills every year. 1
Only 1 in 5 people consistently recycle items from the bathroom. 1
1 Source : Unwrapped Life
How much can you save each year by switching to shampoo bars?
I don’t have an exact number on this as this may differer depending on the brand you purchase. But most bars cost around $12 which is a few dollars higher than drugstore brands and much cheaper than salon brands. However bars are expected to last longer than one shampoo bottle which will most likely save you money in the end.
5. Second Hand Clothes
Fast fashion is a huge issue when it comes down to resources being used. The fabric that is used within fast fashion is not made to last through the years because they have created a system where you will need to buy new items for the next clothing trend. For example, Zara, a popular fast fashion company comes out with about 20 collections each year. Much higher than the traditional 4 collections, one for each season. These collections contribute to the idea of trends and throwaway culture. And this culture is in part due to the consumers demand for this amount of supply.
Clothing also uses a wide range of resources to produce. Synthetic fibers such as polyester, are made from fossil fuels which produce microplastics when washed. Microplastics are tiny pieces of plastic that wash off your clothes and generally end up in the ocean contaminating fish. An alternative to polyester is cotton, which is considered a more sustainable alternative due to it being a natural fiber and producing less greenhouse gasses. Although we still need to remember that this material requires a high levels of resource such as water and land. One cotton t-shirt requires about 2,700 liters of water to produce.
The average consumer bough 60% more clothing in 2014 than 2000, but kept each garment half as long. 1
When we buy polyester clothes, we’re wearing fossil fuels. 1
Every year, global emissions from textile production are equivalent to 1.2 billion tonnes of CO2. 2
The fashion industry as a whole has an annual CO2 footprint of 3.3 billion tonnes – equal to 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions. 2
1 Source : World Resources Institute
2 Source : Unearthed
This means that second hand is one of the most sustainable options for clothing. This keeps waste out of the landfill and doesn’t require any new materials to be used in order to produce. These items are often much cheaper than sustainable brands and last much longer than fast fashion trends.
The last item I want to call out for fast fashion is working conditions. Many suppliers for fast fashion stores have been exposed to the conditions that workers must face daily as well as low living wages.
With this said I am not encouraging anyone to throw away items they already have and purchase sustainable ones. Use what you have and only when you are ready to purchase new choose the more sustainable options. For example, finish all your current water bottles and make sure to recycle them. Once those are done do not replace them with more plastic, single use bottles but rather invest in reusable bottle. Do not throw way your current shampoo simply because its in plastic. Finish the bottle and only then purchase a shampoo bar to use. Our goal is to use less resources not waste them.
Leave a comment if you want a blog post that dives deeper into any one of these five specific topics.
