How is it possible if every day most families throw out a bag full of garbage?
Bea Johnson is the first person
who started living zero waste. This decision has simplified her life and transformed her family’s life for the better. She’s not a hippie, living in the woods. She is a modern successful person and she shares her inspirational story in a book: Zero Waste Home.
who started living zero waste. This decision has simplified her life and transformed her family’s life for the better. She’s not a hippie, living in the woods. She is a modern successful person and she shares her inspirational story in a book: Zero Waste Home.
At first, the term "zero waste" was used by some companies and cities to reflect their recycling practices. We all know the three chasing arrows of the international recycling logo. Sometimes it’s accompanied by the text "reduce, reuse, recycle".
But Zero Waste lifestyle does not promote recycling. Just the opposite, Bea Johnson’s book encourages us to recycle less. Zero Waste is about preventing waste in our lives. It’s about stopping waste from coming into our homes.
So, before reducing, reusing, and recycling - Bea Johnson suggests to Refuse.
Refusing prevents waste. I also learned to say “no” to the things that I’ll use once only (plastic straws). “No” to freebies. “No” to the things, that I can do myself (cleaners for home, etc). “No” to fast fashion, cheap electronic gadgets - everything that would be sent to landfills or the ocean very soon.
Reduce.
My family spent two years traveling and relocating from country to country. So, we reduced our household to the size of our luggage. We left behind duplicates and things that we rarely used: they were sold, donated, given away. The amount of things we own was reduced - but we didn’t notice any inconvenience.
Reuse.
Sounds obvious (and for someone maybe a bit boring). But there are so many interesting options here… Some time ago I used to get rid of clothes that didn’t look brand new. How surprised I was to realize that I just didn’t take proper care of them. And by trying to reuse - I learned how to extend the life of things. (Extending the life of clothes by nine extra months of active use would reduce carbon, water, and waste footprints by around 20-30% each - article)
Also, a lot of things that we usually use only one time can be swapped for more durable ones. There’s a lot of information on zero waste swaps on the Internet. But not much has to be bought, as “Zero waste” is not a consumer lifestyle. We don’t need to buy a starter’s kit as some eco-manufacturers advertise. Refuse and Reduce are the first solutions.
Reusing can be very creative - a friend of mine is reusing oil from cooking, creating artisan soap. (I’ll write more about her soon)
Recycle. Why is it almost the last step? Because recycling is actually transferring responsibility for our waste to someone else. Even in countries with good recycling management not 100% of plastic is actually recycled. Recycling systems are not really energy efficient. Recycling may create a lot of emissions and can be quite expensive. That’s why this method goes only after refusing, reducing, and reusing.
Rot: Nature doesn’t produce waste. Nature has organized everything in a beautiful cycle. While we are stuck in linear consumption. We consume resources, we use, and we waste. There are a few possibilities to compost household waste: I personally wouldn’t compost in my apartment, but some cities offer municipal compost facilities and if not - we can always share food scraps with farmers, using an application. (sharewaste.com)
I learned about Zero Waste from my friend from California, when we lived in Malaysia. Now living in Athens I was happy to meet Bea Johnson - she visited Greece on her tour. Bea Johnson is an amazing presenter and a very inspiring person. I laughed to tears listening to her stories and her adventures on the zero waste journey.
Bea Johnson's book and blog - www.zerowastehome.com
Here's what people ask about my film Architecture Life Dialogue: How are we going to spend on our favorite things?
How are we going to buy stuff?