September 25, 2018
I wrote this for my English class.
Living a zero waste life
The zero
waste lifestyle is an emerging culture among concerned individuals towards the
environment. According to Lauren Singer, environmental activist and
entrepreneur, zero waste is a persona thing that means she doesn’t create any
trash or landfill trash. To her it is to make a positive environmental impact
on earth and leave it a better place than it was when she entered it. And she
has been living consciously for the past six years. She has only accumulated a
Mason jar size of trashes.
So how
does one go zero waste? As for Lauren, the first thing she ever did was to
examine her trash can. The best way to minimize your trash is to learn what
exactly stuff you are sending to landfills. When Lauren evaluated her trash,
she saw 3 sources or culprits. These were the plastic food packaging, hygiene
products and organic food waste. Thereafter, she stopped buying packaged food.
She opts to bringing her own produce bags, mason jars and she fills them up at
bulk stores. As for her fresh produce, she goes to her local farmer’s market.
For her hygiene products, she does the DIY projects. She makes her own
toothpaste, detergents, soaps, and basically everything. All of her clothes are
either second-hand or made out of pure cotton and not synthetic fibers. Lastly,
she says no to one time use plastics.
Why, but
why? Why would someone go to extreme lengths besides the obvious help it does
to our environment? Then let me explain, first, Lauren is able to save money.
She has proven that you can live sustainably without bankrupt. For example, she
buys second hand clothing items that are way cheaper than fast fashion. She
also doesn’t buy products/foods with packaging because she says that 15% of the
product cost is embedded by the packaging. Second, she eats a lot better. Most
packaged food in the market is processed foods full of chemicals and things
that are not good for you and the environment. As a result, her diet improved
and her weight stabilized. Thirdly, she compost. Bonnie Plants explains that
composting is a natural process of recycling organic materials such as leaves
and vegetables scraps into a rich soil. Lastly, her decision to change her
lifestyle inspired many to change and live sustain ably. Her decisions made a
massive impact. Hence, it keeps a lot of plastics from the ocean, landfills and
the sewage. But don’t get me wrong, you don’t have to immediately buy produce
bags, throw all of your clothes and household item away. Let me explain, living
zero waste is a decision to make better choices for you, the community and the
environment. As Lauren Singer says going zero waste doesn’t happen overnight
and that it will take a lot of time to learn these practices. Eventually, it
becomes second nature to you to help the environment. I do hope so in the
efforts of the likes of Lauren Singer and others, our carbon footprint and
trash would be a thing in past.
xoxo,
J.A.A.
xoxo,
J.A.A.