ENTRY SEVEN

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.