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For most people, recycling is the first thing that comes to mind regarding waste elimination. It serves as a starting point to sustainable living.
People hail recycling for its convenience. The practice requires minimal effort, and anyone can learn it—young or old. Government sectors placed recycling bins all around schools, parks, and malls for this reason.
However, sustainable living does not solely consist of recycling. On the contrary, working toward a zero-waste lifestyle takes precedence over reusing paper and plastic waste. Remember: recycling only mitigates pollution damages. It does little to address the root cause of the issue.
If you genuinely want to help the planet, follow these best practices and move toward a zero-waste lifestyle:
Set Realistic Goals About Waste Elimination
The term “zero-waste” comes with several misconceptions. It creates the false stereotype that eco-conscious individuals never throw out anything. Adopting this misconception hampers progress.
To increase the success of your plans to live sustainably, set feasible goals. While completely going zero waste might seem like the ultimate achievement, no one can lead an absolutely “zero-waste” life.
Instead, focus on realistic objectives, such as sending less trash to landfills. Create a full-scale sustainable lifestyle plan revolving around mindful habits.
For instance, instead of wasting thousands of toilet paper rolls every year, switch to an Arofa handheld toilet bidet. Clean with soap and water to use less toilet paper. Not only does this practice minimize your paper waste, but it’s also more hygienic.
Overall, stop being a mindless consumer. Go above and beyond to reduce your daily waste by relying on less disposable goods, investing in items with a long lifespan, and purchasing only what you need.
Buy Second-Hand Items
Shoppers generally avoid second-hand items. Materialistic, consumerist trends formed a society that views brand-new goods as a status symbol. Meanwhile, people reserve pre-loved goods for the needy.
This consumerist-driven mindset only worsens the effects of pollution. Fast-paced trends increase the demand for brand-new items, thus forcing manufacturers to double their production speed. The adverse effects of increased factory operations include:
- Over reliance on nonrenewable resources like minerals and fossil fuel
- Further contribution to land, water, and air pollution
- Stimulation of throw-away culture, encouraging shoppers to dispose of perfectly usable items
- Supports the proliferation of sweatshops paying below minimum wage
Opt for second-hand items whenever possible. Get a used car instead of a brand-new one, wait for your phone to break before upgrading, and stop going on shopping sprees.
Rely on Less Single-Use Products
Society’s unhealthy obsession with throw-away culture stems from convenience. Let’s face it—disposable items are easy to use. For instance, you would have a much easier time buying multiple disposable water bottles than reusing and washing the same jug every day. Unfortunately, single-use items contribute to the planet’s growing waste problem.
Landfills typically consist of single-use items. Studies even show that consumers discard 50% of plastic packaging manufactured after usage. The most commonly used disposable items in residential and commercial establishments include straws, cups, plates, bottles, and grocery bags.
However, relying on fewer single-use items shouldn’t pose such a challenge. Instead of ditching disposable goods altogether, swap them for eco-friendly alternatives, such as:
Washable Cotton Pads
Cotton pads play a crucial role in any beauty routine. People exhaust about a thousand pads per annum for skincare steps like applying facial toner, removing makeup, and spreading moisturizer.
Sadly, they’re quite harmful to the environment. Despite the light, the tiny composition of cotton, manufacturing just two pounds of it wastes 5,700+ gallons of water. This amount would keep 10,000 people hydrated for a whole day.
Maintaining healthy, glowing skin is essential, but not at the expense of the environment. So, replace disposable cotton pads with LastRound reusable facial rounds. Each pack comes with seven washable pads, which you can reuse up to 1,750 times.
Reusable Bags
Plastic bags stand among the biggest contributors to the planet’s growing waste problem. The global population uses 500 billion plastic bags annually, which require over 60 million barrels of oil to manufacture.
To reduce the impact of plastic bags, bring a reusable bag the next time you do your groceries. Opt for the large tote bags from WISELIFE. They have a spacious interior capable of carrying 50 lbs. of luggage safely.
Under-the-Sink Water Filters
Longitudinal surveys show that 75% of Americans don’t drink enough water. While several factors contribute to poor water drinking habits, most people forget to drink water if it is inaccessible. The overreliance on bottled water makes potable water a scarce resource.
Instead of buying bottled water every day, invest in a reliable under-the-sink water filter. Options like the SK99 from Frizzlife are easy to install, inexpensive, and capable of providing on-demand potable water 24/7.
Make the First Step Toward a Zero-Waste Lifestyle Today!
Overall, the key to going zero-waste is consistency. Instead of overhauling your current lifestyle, work toward building mindful daily habits. Small, consistent routines yield better results than extravagant, unsustainable efforts. Create a convenient, accessible waste reduction plan that you can commit to no matter what situation arises.
Win a Zoku Reusable Pocket Straw
To help you on your zero-waste journey, we are lucky enough to have a Zoku Reusable Pocket Straw to giveaway so that you don’t have to utilise plastic straws when you are out about.
PRIZE: Zoku Reusable Pocket Straw
To enter, complete the Gleam widget below, all entries are optional and each one completed will gain you more entries into the random draw.
Zoku Reusable Pocket Straw
