Zero waste is the process of reducing the amount of rubbish, we send to landfill; and making sure we reuse as much as we can. Zero waste as a lifestyle has been around for years, but was commonly referred to as something 'hippies' did.
It has since been something a lot of people have been eager to embrace, after Blue Planet II aired an episode in 2017 which showed the amount of plastic in our oceans and how it, is affecting our marine life.
[ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IW3jEIYBFzg]
Why Zero Waste?
The average UK household produces more than a tonne of waste each year! In total this equals to the whole country producing 31 Million tonnes per year. As a result, each year over 1 Million marine animals are killed due to plastic debris. Image taken from https://cleantechnica.com/2017/11/06/new-photos-highlight-ocean-plastic-scourge-bottle-deposit-plans-help/Imagine if we could reduce the amount of waste we throw away, as a country to just 1 millions tonnes. Although this may still be seen as a lot of waste, as a country we would be able to save so many marine animals, let alone animals that live on the land. (Hedgehogs, birds, foxes etc)
How does landfill work?
Landfill is a carefully designed pit where waste is buried, ensuring it doesn't make contact with ground water and it doesn't make contact with the air. By stopping contact with the air it stops anything from decomposing. Image taken from https://envirotecmagazine.com/2018/03/22/student-dissertation-adds-detail-to-landfill-mining-feasibility/
How does plastic end up in the oceans?
There are two main ways that plastic, makes it way into our oceans;
Litter - Litter people have thrown onto the ground blows, around makes its way into our streams, lakes and rivers.
Flushed - It's amazing how much waste we wouldn't think about actually ends up in the oceans is from flushing it down the drains. There are fibres from clothes, pieces of plastic from toothpaste. Then there is obviously the things that people intentionally flush down the toilet, baby wipes, condoms and nappies.
Living a zero waste lifestyle isn't something you can do over night! It's about making small changes and then working towards making the bigger ones eventually.
The smaller changes you can make are;
Using canvas bags - The charge on carrier bags has helped this tremendously! Plus once they can be used anymore they can be composted or recycled.
Buying loose produce - We can buy fruit and vegetables loose. By buying them loose the unnecessary use of single purpose plastics is reduced!
NOT USING STRAWS!- You don't need straws in your drinks! If you do like to have a straw with your drinks you can get sets online that are reusable, for a little as £3.
Not using plastic cutlery - This another single use plastic that really isn't needed. If you believe that you may need to use plastic cutlery then, take a set from home or keep a set in your bag.
Not using takeaway drinks cups - Even cardboard takeaway drinks cups have plastic in them! Some places like Costa and Starbucks will give you money off your drink if you take your own cup!
The bigger steps you can make are;
Composting - Putting any of your food waste into composting means it can be given back to the environment after.
Buying your staple food in bulk - By staple foods I mean pasta, rice, flour, spices ect. There are shops you can go to by these things and there are also online stores that you can order and have them delivered to your home!
Buying furniture& clothes secondhand - I wrote a post about this previously! Click here to read it!
Going paper free - I know that this sis something more and more companies are doing now, which I LOVE! But I also am aware that it's not 100% achievable!
As you can tell this is something I have become very passionate about over the past year! If you would like to see more posts on going plastic free or zero waste then please let me know in the comments down below!
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