Zeroing In on Waste, the Latest Eco-Friendly Movement
Going zero waste is one of the recent movements in eco-friendly living. Zero waste is all about doing everything you can to produce no trash whatsoever, sending nothing to the landfill. Some people take it as far as eliminating toilet paper and choosing reusable methods instead. While plastic straws have been heavily debated in the news and media recently, going zero waste is becoming the next big topic for saving the environment.
Becoming completely zero waste is far from an easy task. You have to think through everything in your daily life. The good thing about the movement is that as more people endorse the lifestyle, more products are being made to make it easier. Things like bamboo toothbrushes made out of plant materials and compostable packaging can replace everyday plastic toothbrushes that have to be thrown out every few months. Other things you can do include using glass or metal containers to store food instead of Ziploc bags or plastic tupperware. The same goes for using reusable water bottles and dish towels instead of paper towels and plastic brushes. All of these things are easy substitutions to make and cut down both waste and plastic being disposed of into the environment and landfill.
On a bigger scale, many manufacturing and tech companies have set zero waste goals for themselves to work towards. Companies like Procter and Gamble, Microsoft and even Google have made commitments to cut down their waste going to the landfills, some as much as 90% by 2020. This could have massive environmental impacts that could help clean up our oceans and reduce plastic waste.
Hearing zero waste can be pretty daunting. The idea is really just to cut down as much waste as you can, after all, no one expects you to be perfect. Making small changes can be really helpful in cutting down trash. It can be easier than you might think, and a lot of things even save you money in the long run.
As college students, there are a lot of small things we can do to move towards zero waste. Switch the plastic container of body wash for bar soap. Use dish rags that you can throw in the wash instead of buying a new roll of paper towels every week. Buy some clothes second-hand rather than buying into fast fashion items that you often end up getting rid of after a few months. All are easy things to do that cut down your waste by a lot.
There are endless amounts of online resources if you want to do more research or need some tips. Zero waste blogs and youtube accounts are all over the internet and are super helpful for finding everything you wanted to know about the lifestyle. As college students it seems nearly impossible to be completely zero waste, but making just a few substitutions can have a big impact on the earth in the long run.
We have linked some blogs all about going zero waste if you’re interested:
https://www.goingzerowaste.com
https://www.tinyyellowbungalow.com/zero-waste-in-college/