When you hear the term “zero waste,” it may conjure up images of mason jars, bamboo brushes, and beeswax wraps. But what is zero waste, exactly? And is it really as simple as replacing all of your stuff with eco-friendly products?
Zero Waste: A Definition
In essence, zero waste living is a philosophy and lifestyle centered on producing zero (or very little) personal waste. In recent years, it’s even evolved into a movement due to more people becoming aware of the environmental damage caused by waste and the need to conserve natural resources.
The idea is to create a closed-loop system where resources are not discarded and wasted, but recycled, repurposed, and reused for as long as possible. This is in stark contrast to our current linear system of waste, where items are purchased, consumed, and then dumped into a hole in the ground (aka, the landfill) or the ocean.
What Does Zero Waste Living Look Like?
On a day-to-day basis, zero waste living actually looks more like a combination of self-restraint, creativity, and frugality than anything else. I like to view it as a game to see how little trash a person can make!
The guiding principles are the 8 Rs: rethink, refuse, reduce, reuse, repair, repurpose, recycle, and rot.
1. Rethink
Before leaping to replace everything you own with eco-friendly glass, steel, and bamboo products, the first thing any zero-waster should do is rethink their current lifestyle habits that bring trash into the home.
I recommend starting with a trash audit. Look at the waste you’ve been generating and think about whether or not you can get similar products without packaging. For me, it usually looks like a series of questions that I ask myself.
Questions to help you rethink:
- Do I really need to buy that?
- Are there other items in my home that can serve the same purpose?
- Can I borrow or rent this from someone I know?
- Can I make this instead of buying it?
- Can I get this secondhand?
- How can I get that without packaging?
- Can I bring my own container?
2. Refuse
Next, and arguably the most difficult, is to actively refuse the things that come wrapped in single-use plastic. This is difficult because, well, millions of things are wrapped in plastic. As a matter of fact, packaging amounts to 40% of all plastic. The convenience factor is real, and saying no to plastic-packaged snacks and frozen food is difficult if you’re not practiced at cooking fresh food.
I would recommend that you start by learning how to cook your favorite dishes from raw ingredients. Then, try to get those ingredients without any packaging (for meat and seafood, you can go directly to the clerk and ask them to fill a container you brought with you).
Don’t sweat it if you don’t nail it immediately—it takes a while to find the right places to source your food without packaging. I highly recommend first trying your local Farmer’s Market, since many of their items come in bulk bins.
For items you can’t make yourself (i.e. flour, sugar, pasta, beans, nuts, grains), try to buy them in paper or pick them up at a bulk store (i.e. Whole Foods, Sprouts Farmers Market) in cloth sacks.
Gradually, you can also learn how to dry, roast, can, or bake any additional items you usually purchase.
Things to refuse:
- Food and snacks wrapped in plastic, including frozen food
- Overly packaged goods
- Plastic utensils, foam cups, and sauce packets
- Individual plastic water bottles (purchase a 5-gallon water jug from a water purification store and get it refilled instead)
- Freebies or complimentary items wrapped in plastic (i.e. free samples, hotel shampoos, promotional merchandise, flyers/pamphlets, party favors, airplane snacks, etc.)
3. Reduce
Inevitably, there will be items that you need to purchase. But, more often than not, you need a lot less than you think.
Consider buying durable replacement products that will last the test of time, as well as limiting the amount of each thing purchased so you have just enough. This will minimize clutter, which would otherwise require more storage, cleaning, and maintenance as time goes on. You may also want to consider purging duplicative items.
Things to reduce:
- Bed linens and towels
- Beauty products and toiletries
- Tableware, servingware, utensils, and cups (cut back on seasonal tableware; if you drink wine, use stemless wine glasses for both wine and other drinks)
- Clothing
- Shoes (resist the urge to buy multiple special-occasion shoes)
- Cleaning products (you don’t need specific products to clean every single thing in your house—a handful of DIY cleaning recipes can tackle just about everything)
- Baby products and children’s toys (you can easily get these secondhand)
- Fancy kitchen gadgets
- Large appliances
- Non-biodegradable seasonal decor
4. Reuse
There are many items I use on a regular basis that I simply clean and reuse constantly—especially glass, paper, and plastic items.
Contrary to popular belief, most zero-wasters are not completely anti-plastic, just anti-single-use plastic. If you can extend the life of plastic items for years or decades, that’s better than tossing all plastic after one use or replacing everything with eco-friendly alternatives.
Things to reuse:
- Glass jars and bottles
- Plastic takeout containers (use them for food prep)
- Plastic bags
- Paper shopping bags, gift bags, and decorative tissue paper
- Nursery pots
- Scrap paper
5. Repair
Today, we live in a throwaway culture where many people would rather buy something new than invest time to repair something that’s damaged. It’s so important to change this mindset if we want zero waste living to become second-nature.
Before throwing something out, check online to see if it can be fixed. Consider learning how to repair minor damages to furniture and clothing by taking a furniture refurbishing class or a sewing class. If you’d prefer to leave it to a professional, find a specialist near you who can quote you at an affordable rate.
Lastly, if you don’t think you can fix it, but it’s still usable, drop it off at a donation center for a DIYer to repurpose or flip.
Things to repair:
- Minor dings on furniture (use furniture repair markers, colored Sharpies, or a dab of paint)
- Water stains on a piece of wood furniture (usually a hot iron and a cloth can do wonders)
- Rusty pans, oxidized pots, and tarnished bronze (use an abrasive cleaner like Bar-Keeper’s Friend to clean it)
- Pilling clothing, armrests, or bed linens (use an electric fabric shaver to make them as good as new)
- Soiled whites (soak them overnight in Oxi-Clean and then wash them in the washing machine), fabric with grass stains (use vinegar), and fabric with blood stains (use hydrogen peroxide)
- A minky blanket that’s no longer soft (wash it with vinegar and baking soda)
- A non-functional strand of Christmas lights (use a LightKeeper Pro to fix the connection)
- Broken pottery (if the damage isn’t too severe, you can super glue it back together and give it a coat of textured spray paint. You can also try your hand at Kintsugi, which is the Japanese art of mending pottery with gold or silver.)
6. Repurpose
The area that offers the most creative license is repurposing (aka upcycling). Like repairing, it keeps items out of the waste stream by giving them a second lease on life, albeit in a different way than their original, intended use.
Things to repurpose:
- Small glass jars and shot glasses can be used as plant propagation containers or tea light holders
- Decorative candle jars can be used as bathroom storage containers
- Plastic lids can become drip trays for small plant pots
- Plastic mushroom containers can be used as microgreen/nursery pots
- Old cotton t-shirts can be cut up to make DIY beeswax wraps. You can also use them to stuff poufs or flat pillows. At the very least, they can become scrap fabric or a rag for your next sewing, craft, or woodworking project.
- Metal bed frames can become plant trellises
- Tin containers can be transformed into pencil/pen holders by gluing on a piece of decorative paper
- Pretty much any ceramic, metal, wood, or plastic vessel can be made into a planter as long as drainage holes are added
7. Recycle
Contrary to popular belief, recycling should be the last resort of all the steps outlined for zero waste living. That’s not to say that it isn’t important—but realistically, only 9% of all plastic that enters the recycling bin will get recycled.
Keep in mind that even the best materials can only be recycled a few times, with the quality going down each time. Moreover, creating usable raw materials takes time, labor, and energy. Oftentimes, it’s so expensive that it’s cheaper to make a brand-new product. Also, cross-contamination in recycling also renders some batches of items unrecyclable.
But don’t be disheartened—recycling is still essential in fighting waste, as imperfect as it may be. I encourage everyone to recycle when there’s nothing else they can do with an item. Also, don’t forget to purchase items made from recycled material, because that’s pretty much the point of recycling to begin with.
Things to keep in mind when you recycle:
- Make sure you correctly sort your plastics, glass, and mixed paper.
- Rinse out all food and organic debris first, as it may produce gas as it decomposes during shipment and become a hazard to recycling personnel.
- Drop off plastic bags, bagged air, bubble wrap, and plastic mailers (remove sticky labels first) at your local grocery store. Many grocers (i.e. Safeway, Target, Walmart, and Whole Foods) offer a recycling program for plastic that ships them directly to plastic recycling centers.
8. Rot
For anything biodegradable, rotting (aka composting) is the way the planet naturally recycles nutrients back into the earth. Decomposers like fungi, worms, maggots, and soil bacteria quickly take care of any animal or plant matter that’s left exposed to the elements, turning it into fertile, rich organic matter called humus in weeks.
Many of us participate in the practice of rotting already, through commercial composting and other municipal yard waste services. If you do, keep up the good work! If not, consider requesting a compost bin from your county.
If you live in an area where commercial composting isn’t available, start your own home composting system or ask a neighbor or a family member if you can use their bin. You can also reach out to local gardeners in search of food scraps through a BuyNothing group or a neighborhood social networking app like Nextdoor.
Things to rot:
- Food scraps, tea bags (remove any staples, plastic, and foil first), leaves, and branches. Note: when doing home composting, refrain from adding meat, bones, and dairy to your compost pile, as they can breed harmful bacteria and attract wildlife. However, these are fine to add to your commercial compost bin.
- Food-soiled paper and cardboard (that’s not lined with wax or plastic), toilet paper, paper towels, and paper napkins
- Human hair, nail trimmings, cotton tampons, pet hair, and animal bedding from vegetarian pets
- Jute rope, cotton twine/thread, and woven baskets
- Any 100% plant-based fabric (cotton, linen, hemp, burlap, etc.–just make sure they’ve been cut into smaller pieces first)
- Christmas trees and wreaths (leave them on the curb to be taken to the wood chipper—make sure to remove any wires and metal parts first)
- Deceased animals (while not suitable for commercial composting, it’s fine if you bury them in your yard. Plus, a proper burial always feels right compared to putting them in the trash can or flushing them down the toilet).
Conclusion
Zero waste living is the personal practice of producing as little waste as possible.
By following the 8 R’s–rethinking, refusing, reducing, reusing, repairing, repurposing, recycling, and rotting–we limit opportunities for waste to be generated and keep consumer goods in a closed system of constant use.
Remember, the most zero-waste thing you can do is to use what you already have. Before buying a trendy, eco-friendly alternative, finish maximizing the usefulness of your current items or give them away to someone who will.
And, above all, celebrate the small wins! Zero waste living is a journey–not something that will happen overnight–so don’t beat yourself up if you can’t retire your trash can immediately. As long as you work on one thing at a time and never give up, change will happen.
As Anne-Marie Bonneau, a prominent zero-waster, always says, “we don’t need a handful of people doing zero waste perfectly. We need millions of people doing it imperfectly.”
