Zero waste is not possible to achieve, but to limit your waste is absolutely possible. It is possible to produce very little waste without too much inconvenience. It doesn’t take much effort from you, though you may need to change or alter your habits some. But changing a few of your habits isn’t that much of a sacrifice to make sure there is a planet for the younger generations to live on, is it?

The ever increasing waste is killing us all

Waste is a massive issue today. All over the world, nature has gone wild. Cities flood, wildfires are raging, animals are going extinct, glaciers are melting, grasshoppers are invading – the list goes on. Sea creatures are washing up on shores with bodies full of plastic. Turtles are getting caught in plastic when they’re young. They can’t escape and as a result, their bodies grow deformed around the plastic, if they don’t die right away. Birds are choking on waste. Many types of produced sea-salt are no longer safe to eat as there’s a high risk that they contains plastic. The same applies to with fish, seafood – anything from the oceans really.

The manufacturing companies are releasing plastic pellets into the ocean, and they look very similar to fish food or fish eggs. Therefore, the little sea creatures eat them up. Then some of them get eaten by predators, and those predators get eaten by other predators, and up the food chain the plastic travels. Those pellets are also created by the worst kind of plastic. This is the kind of plastic that affects your hormones, and can be incredibly dangerous to ingest. Not just for pregnant people, but for children, adults, teenagers – everyone. When your hormones aren’t regulated, nothing in your body will work as it should.

There are rivers referred to as plastic rivers and people are working on creating barriers to capture the plastic in before it reaches the oceans. Tons of plastic are dumped into our large bodies of water regularly.

Silence and inaction speaks volumes

The even more horrifying truth is just how many people know about the waste and the dying animals and trees, and have come to terms with it. They keep producing immense amounts of waste and they keep eating the contaminated animals. Many claim that they feel fine, but the havoc their eating habits will raise on their bodies may not be apparent right away. And once it does hit them, it may be too late.

People see nature as a garbage dump site

Even when it comes to your own neighbourhood, you can see the problem we have with waste today. People litter everywhere; be it in the woods, in parks or on the street. It is like they are expecting someone else to pick up their mess for them. I’ve seen dumped furniture, burned mailboxes, plastic containers, food containers, coffee cups – you name it, all in the woods. As if the woods and nature itself, was seen as a dumping ground for waste.

My zero waste journey

I began my zero waste journey a few years back and it is just that, a journey. It’s not about competing with others, about bragging about your lack of waste, or even about comparing yourself to anyone else. Limiting your waste isn’t like the picture perfect Instagram stories. It’s reusing the glass jars your food came in. It’s choosing to bring a food container and a travel mug for when you eat out, so you won’t get styrofoam- or plastic containers, or coffee mugs that are literally impossible to dispose of properly.

Your cabinets and your refrigerator/freezer may look like a wondrous mismatch of jars and containers and reused items, but that is the reality of the zero waste-journey. And if you really want everything to match, simply buy some eco-friendly spray paint and decorate the reused jars, or tin cans that you have. But life? Life is real, and it doesn’t always match. In fact, it rarely does. We can’t spray paint each other to make us all the same. We’re not, and that’s what makes us beautiful.

Start small

It may seem daunting at first, but the truth is that just with a few simple changes, you are already doing a whole lot more for the environment than most. It’s easy to say – and many do – that there’s no use in doing such things because your neighbours, colleagues or relatives don’t. That that means your actions would not be matter. But that is not true. One person can’t do it all, no, but you taking the step to change will inspire others to do the same. And the more people that care and do something about it, the closer we get to solving our environmental issues.

Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, it’s not going to get better. It’s not.

Change your habits

Many habits that are considered ‘normal’ today, are habits that produce unnecessary waste. Such as buying paper to wrap gifts in, only to throw it out as soon as the gift has been opened. Getting napkins and straws and forks with your takeout even though you have all of that at home. We all know it just ends up in the trash. Takeaway coffee mugs that you may think can be recycled actually contain a coating on the inside. That coating makes it impossible both to compost them and dispose of them properly. They’re a hazard to the environment, and many people buy and throw them out several times a day. Don’t be that person. Bring a travel mug instead.

A revolutionary act

We haven’t even gotten so far as to mention the tons of food that is wasted daily on a global scale. Thousands of tons of perfectly good food gets thrown out daily by grocery stores, restaurants, cafes and even by farmers and factories. Enough that we could literally stop world hunger several times over by only using what we throw out. That is disgustingly entitled, and most people don’t think twice about it.

To this day, I can still remember how some of my classmates in junior high viewed food. They’d go to the lunch room, pick up their food on their trays and then they’d go right away to the bin and throw it all out and walk back out again. All to be able to say that they’d had lunch.

Food was not valued in the slightest, and to be fair, we were never taught to value it either. Children should be taught the real value of food and how to grow their own. They should learn how much food is wasted because it doesn’t look a certain way. Or because there are too many varieties so it would be virtually impossible for everything to get sold. They should be shown how to prepare their food properly and what to eat to sustain their health. They need to learn how people have fed themselves over the years of history. To teach children all that, that would be a truly revolutionary act.

The monkey mind seeks praise

When I as a kid was hanging out with a classmate at their house, I still remember how they made themselves a snack, took a bite and then said “I don’t feel like eating now” and threw it out. The food could easily have been placed back into the refrigerator. For many this type of behaviour is a way to express just how much money their families have, and how entitled they are. “I can afford to throw this out because we can just buy new food, no worries”.

That is a very dangerous way of thinking and it is powered by the monkey mind. The ego. The part of us that wants to feel important. The part that wants to hear people sing their praises, wants to be admired, or envied even. But none of that will make them happy, and no amount of admiration will ever be enough. Because it’s not what they needed in the first place.

So what can we do to limit our waste?

Here’s a list of over 55 things that you can do. Simple changes that won’t require a great sacrifice from you, but nevertheless, they will have a great influence on on the people around you. And it will be a step in the right direction in our common quest to heal Mother Nature. Begin your zero waste journey today.

1. Bring cloth bags when grocery shopping. You can buy a pack, make some out of old t-shirts or crochet some very easily.

2. Go plant-based. Even a few days a week, a few days a month even, would make a real difference. And when I say plant-based, I’m not talking about the “fast food” vegans, who buy a ton of packaged food that is the vegan version of the meat they used to eat. Packaged food from companies that actively mess up the environment and stand for dangerous values. Or whom mistreat their workers, that fill their products mostly with additives that you don’t know how to pronounce, let alone what they are. I’m talking about the plant-based food that is consists of actual ingredients that are cooked from scratch. Ingredients that are often bought in bulk and that truly have been prepared while paying attention to both flavour, balance and nutrition. There are bad versions of all types of food. Don’t replace one with another.

3. Go local with your food. No matter where you live, there are bound to be local options, and if there truly are none, grow your own. There are many things you can grow indoor, for free, and no matter where you live, there are still foods you can grow outdoor. You simply need to find out what grows bountiful where you’re at and go from there.

4. Say no to plastic bags. When you have a cloth bag with you at all times, there won’t be any need for them. If you do have some, don’t throw them away. Use them and reuse them as many times as you possibly can. When there’s absolutely no more use in them, recycle them or repurpose them.

5. Bring a reusable mug with coffee or tea that you’ve made at home. Cook your meals at home and bring a lunch box. If you absolutely must eat out, be mindful of where you do so, and bring a food container with you for your takeout. If you do get takeout containers, see if you can’t reuse them at least one more time before you recycle them. Many plastic containers can be used for other things – anything from freezing fruit, to organising your refrigerator, to planting seedlings in. Glass jars can be reused for lunches or for the pantry. Even for canning if they are of a good quality. Tin cans can be turned into all sorts of neat creations. Check out Pinterest for more inspiration and be sure to wear gloves when handling them. Tinfoil can be reused as a container when freezing food, a scrubber to clean ovens and pots, a sharpener for scissors (by cutting it) and more.

6. Bring produce bags for your vegetables and fruit when grocery shopping. Buy some, make some or crochet some. Easy peasy.

7. Try dumpster diving – the urban way of foraging. It may seem daunting at first, but it’s actually really fun, and you can go with others and make it into a whole evening. Perhaps an idea for a unique first date? It’s generally not seen as illegal. At most it can be seen as trespassing, but by explaining what you are doing, and being sure to leave everything neat and tidy, it should be just fine. You can also reach out to your local grocery stores and ask them how they handle their food waste, if you could have some or buy some at discounted prices to save it from being wasted or recommend them to donate it to a local homeless center. You could also recommend they create a cabinet of need, where they can add food and the community can add food and those who are going through hard times can go there and get what they need.

8. Start bartering with things you don’t need for things you do need. Find ways to get what you need without using money. Trade your skills and talents for what you can’t do and what you need. In time, money will become all but obsolete.

9. Before you buy something, wait 30 days to see if you truly need it. Add everything you want to buy to a folder of bookmarks. Bookmark everything you want to buy. If you don’t find yourself going back to check the items after thirty days, or even remember what you put in there, it’s not a need, and you just proved it’s no longer a want either. It was momentary craving, and you don’t need to feel bad about it. We all get those. The point is that we must learn to not go along with them. To make sure we think twice before we follow our ‘cravings’ to purchase and acquire more.

10. Before you buy something, see if someone else has a spare and would be interested in giving it to you for free. Or if someone has one that you can borrow. You could also inquire if someone else is about to make a similar purchase and if you could purchase it together and share it. There are many solutions out there if you’re willing to look for them.

11. Be mindful of where you go out to eat. Make sure to figure out beforehand where the food comes from, how it was prepared and what waste will be produced from it. You choose who to support and fund with your money so make sure it is something and someone you believe in. You have a voice; use it.

12. Cook for yourself instead of eating out. Cook in bulk and freeze it. You can also easily cook a few weeks ahead and can it. Then you won’t need to refrigerate or freeze the meals and you can just pop open a can, and if you’d like, reheat it. It lowers your electric bill some and it does make it easier to simply pop open a can and eat when you have a busy week. The flavours are often also preserved better with canning than with freezing.

13. Learn how to make food that is commonly packaged heavily at the supermarket, – such as plant-based milks, cream cheese, mozzarella, tofu, tempeh etc. Even bread. Tempeh can be made regularly and freezes well. I believe there are ways to can it as well, but I’ve yet to try that out personally. Tofu can be made at home from soy milk. To make it easier to make soy milk, you can soak a larger amount of beans overnight and cook them, and then either freeze or can them into portions. All based on what you use to make your milk, yoghurt or tofu. Then just pop open a can or defrost a jar of beans to make it. It will reduce the time you spend making it and you will save both money and reduce your waste by making it yourself. Tofu is also fairly easy to make, so you should be able to learn how to make that. Tempeh is even simpler – way simpler. Both are nutritious, delicious and protein-rich. Mozzarella, hard cheese, cream cheese – most plant-based cheeses are quite simple to make and they don’t take a whole lot of time to make either. The exceptions are camembert and blue cheese. Go ahead and try it, you might love it. The taste and the process of making it. Baking your own bread is cheaper – can be completely free even – and it will reduce your waste. It’s also often healthier for you. Making your own sourdough would make it even simpler, and the sourdough is great for replenishing your healthy gut bacteria.

14. Switch to compostable toothbrushes, or try a Miswak. If using an electric toothbrush, look into getting one that you only have to charge once every three months. I have one and it’s great. A water cleaner (electric) that cleans the spaces between your teeth is also well worth the investment. It’s easier to use, it never hurts, it reaches places you wouldn’t be able to and you’ll never have to buy any more disposables for that purpose.

15. Make your own laundry detergent, or use soap nuts , vinegar and baking soda, or even ground chestnuts.

16. Make your own cleaning products (so simple and frugal). All you need is lemons, baking soda, possibly some soap (gall soap or aleppo) , and then apple cider vinegar. Those together replace most cleaning products on the market. Baking soda (food grade is best in my opinion, it’s also a two for one) can be bought in bulk and apple cider vinegar can be made even from apple scraps. Apples you most often get for free during late summer/fall and you can often pick them wild. A solid gall soap and aleppo could last you so many years, even decades. When it comes to stains, try rubbing a slightly moist Aleppo or gall soap on the stain, if the combination of baking soda and apple cider vinegar does not work.

17. Be conscious of the packaging when grocery shopping. Don’t choose the heavily packaged food. Honestly, the jury is still out on the effect of eating food that has sit in plastic for a long time. Better be safe than sorry. If it can’t be avoided, look into choosing a brand that is less likely to have chosen a hazardous plastic or is more likely to compensate for their waste in other ways. Or find a way to reuse the packaging, alternatively, look for one with a packaging you can reuse.

18. Switch to a menstrual cup or cloth pads. You can even make your own. There are also cloth tampons. It’s more sustainable, it will save your budget (though menstrual products should all be free) and it does simplify your cycle greatly. It can even improve the healthy bacteria in your vagina – as tampons and disposable pads can mess with that, especially those with perfume – and it can reduce your pain levels if you have painful periods, endometriosis or PCOS. If you’re transgender, a cup or cloth pads could also be easier to manage. You wouldn’t have to purchase the disposable menstrual products, that are heavily gendered and marketed toward women, which can and often does cause dysphoria. It could make you feel more comfortable with your period, whether you’re cis or trans, young or old.

19. Switch from paper towels to cloth wipes. When I started living on my own years ago, I was taught that paper towels were something you always had at home, something you needed. But I never ended up using them. I’ve gone by just fine with clothes. If you do use them and truly need them, find more sustainable options. Who Gives A Crap is one brand that creates and sells both toilet paper, paper towels and tissues. It’s worth checking out.

20. Try using cloth wipes in the bathroom instead of toilet paper. If that’s not possible for you, get plastic-free toilet paper. Some plants have leaves you can use as toilet paper. A bidet or a portable bum wash may also be some options worth considering.

21. Get eco-friendly supplies for doing the dishes such as coconut husk scrubs, wooden dish brushes, loofah sponges – there are many more options but you’re free to find the one that suits you and your needs best. You can grow your own loofah sponges and there are other things in nature that can be used for cleaning. If you have cast iron pots, the best way I’ve found to clean them is with dry, used coffee grounds. Nothing else needed.

22. Save brown paper from online orders and use it to wrap presents and wrap glasses or china when you move. If you get bubble wrap, use it to pack precious items or to winterproof your plants outside. Cardboard boxes can be cut into pieces, made soft with water and then turned into fire bricks. Just make sure you remove the plastic first. The plastic can be turned into eco-bricks.

23. Wrap presents in cloth. The recipient can then also re-use the cloth, so it’s two gifts in one.

24. Stop using teabags and use loose tea instead. Or dry herbs and make your own. Want to take it one step further? Grow your own herbs and forage for herbs in nature, dry them and then make your own tea. Simple, and you’ll learn a lot about natural health.

25. Buy food in bulk. Some waste will be produced, but a lot less than if you hadn’t bought it in bulk.

26. Look for a package-free shop and bring your own jars and bags there.

27. Make sure you recycle what needs to be recycled, and more importantly, limit your use of items that will need to be recycled.

28. Make your own juice and plant-based milk. I used to own an appliance that made it very simple to make your own soup, porridge, plant-based milk, flour, ground coffee and even tofu. It is called Soyabella. Today I use my Magimix to make my milks, and honestly everything else. It is one of the best investments for cooking I’ve ever made.

29. When you need something, try to find it second-hand first. Browse thrift shops, talk to friends, family members and neighbours and ask them if they know where to find one, to keep their eyes open for you. Someone is bound to know someone and you could make a bundle while giving an item a second chance at life while saving it from the landfill.

30. Cook in bulk and freeze or can the food. Personally, I tend to can more right now. But I’ve done both and I can vouch for both. There is no way you’ll always feel up to cooking, and some days are just ridiculously busy, so cooking ahead is a kindness to the future you.

31. Use a Wonderbag when cooking. (a non-electric slow cooker) You can also use it to store homemade baked bread to have it stay fresh for a little longer than on the counter.

32. Decide to, as much as possible, limit your waste to only food waste (banana peel etc) and use a Bokashi to turn it into fertiliser and compost for your soil. Then regrow the food in that soil. Banana peels can be used to make fertiliser either by laying them in water for a few weeks and then using that water, or dehydrating them in the oven and sprinkling the pieces on top of the soil.

33. Mend your clothes and take good care of them. Don’t buy new ones simply because there’s a tiny hole or mark in one. If you have clothes you love, wear them and mend them until you can’t anymore, and then use them as patterns and make new ones. The same fit, but a new fabric and a new handmade, sustainable version of it.

34. Never throw something away that can be re-designed, sold or donated.

35. Bring a metal straw and a spork with you everywhere (chopsticks or a fork, knife and spoon from your kitchen works too) to limit the need to accept disposable straws or forks.

36. Keep a pantry with the items you use the most, all purchased in bulk. You can build the pantry gradually, it doesn’t have to cost much, and it will save you a lot of time, money and homecooked whole foods will be better for your health than packaged food.

37. Quit plastic in your kitchen and use metal and glass instead. If you still have plastic containers, don’t throw them out. Of course not. That would not be sustainable. Use them until they have had their lives, and then find a new use for them, or turn them into eco-bricks.

38. Don’t support fast fashion; support small brands instead. Or better yet, support small brands second-hand.

39. Learn how to sew and start making some of your own clothes and your family’s clothes.

40. Learn how to cook from scratch and learn more about nutrition. Value the food more.

41. Use sustainable cutlery and tableware.

42. Create a capsule wardrobe with sustainable fashion.

43. Always think twice before making a purchase.

44. Make your own makeup with common household items.

45. Make your own hygiene products with common household items.

46. Make your own candles.

47. Make beeswax wraps to wrap your food in and quit plastic wraps.

48. Use a safety razor instead of a disposable one (they wear out way too quickly) and learn how to use it SAFELY.

49. If you see trash outside, use a glove or a piece of cloth to protect your hands, and pick it up and throw it in the bin/recycle it. We can all do something to help, and you’ll have improved the experience of that place for the next person who won’t need to see what the person before you did to it. Nature is not a place for disposing waste.

50. Log your waste and learn how to make use of the waste that you do produce. If you have a fireplace, you can turn all old cardboard boxes into firebricks. Old magazines and paper can be turned into handmade paper used for cards and crafts.

51. Instead of buying new clothes, re-design old ones, or trade clothes with friends and family. Ask around for what you need.

52. Trade clothes, food, books – anything really – with friends or create a Facebook group and trade large scale. When you are sick of something, trade it for something you want. Always make sure to treat your possessions well so they can be reused.

53. Use cloth diapers for your children, you can even make them yourself. When you’re children don’t use them anymore, they can be used to make cloth pads for periods, and the liners can be used when cleaning. Most cloth diapers and liners can also be resold. They have a high second hand value.

54. Use glass bottles for your babies. If that isn’t an option, be sure to use BPA free plastic bottles.

55. Learn how to forage for food and grow your own food, both indoor and outdoor, whether you live in an apartment, a house or a cabin in the woods.

Remember that this article isn’t about doing all of these things, but finding some that resonate with you and your way of life and gradually working them into your life. Every action, however small or insignificant it may appear, it matters. YOUR actions matter.

Good luck and stay sustainable!