With the many gifts that the Earth gives us, it is nothing but unfair that litter and pollution are constantly sullying the environment. Waste management becomes an issue as much of society begins to become just simply ignorant with the way they dispose of their trash. Many have claimed that what people recycle actually all gets thrown away in the same trash as the nonrenewable waste, ultimately neglecting the three big R’s.
Reuse. Reduce. Recycle.
Zero Waste living is a philosophy and concept that promotes the constant reuse of resources (such as jars and Tupperware). The main takeaway of going zero waste is for no waste to be sent to landfill, oceans or incinerators. It reduces the risk of plastic and other trash being dumped and the air getting polluted. At the rate that society is moving and improving technology, some may assume it is hard to adapt to the lifestyle. If everybody took a small precaution to help towards the benefit of society, planet Earth could be recovering slowly but surely.
Instead of picking up several plastic bags every time you are on your way out of the grocery store, bringing a more spacious reusable one would save not only time but space as well. Supporting local farmers markets would also save tons of customers from disposing of the plastic bags most produce comes in at the store. Fixing up your electrical devices instead of buying new ones would also count towards Zero Waste management since it focuses on reusing the same products for as long as you can before it is truly unable to be used anymore.
Recycling as much as possible is an easy step to take in order to jumpstart your journey to helping out the environment. Although it may be true that things disposed of in recycling bins do not actually get sent to be reprocessed, it doesn’t hurt to take the chance. Find out what types of trash are renewable and nonrenewable, that way you’ll be able to tell the difference and separate your waste. Eliminating paper products is also an influential way to minimize waste. Instead of repurchasing paper towels/napkins constantly, switching over to washable cloths will help change the dependence that people have on partially using paper then throwing the whole thing away.
Living with little to zero waste can be time-consuming and take away from the convenience of why the extra packaging was created. However, it is a selfless way of living that greatly benefits not only yourself but the people around you.