The human social practices on Earth have predominantly contributed to the rising climatic changes. EPA has conducted a social study that states one individual produces about 4.4 pounds of waste on a daily basis.
With the growing environmental concern, people are trying to adopt sustainable practices that can help pace that rising concern. One of the ways is minimizing the waste that ends up in landfills, which harms the environment and can help undo some damage.
Going zero waste can contribute to it to some extent and reduce our carbon footprint. Zero waste management is all about reducing, reusing, and recycling. Hence, it gives rise to an eco-friendly lifestyle that aims to reduce the waste amount individuals produce as well as encourage sustainable practices that reduce global warming. There is more to the Zero waste lifestyle.
So let’s learn more about what goes into it and what tips you can use to implement it at home.
What is involved in a zero-waste lifestyle?
The main goal of adapting to a zero-waste lifestyle is to decrease the waste we throw away in landfills, which harms the environment and adds to global warming. It’s the way of living that promotes sustainability, biodiversity, and a healthy balance of life on Earth.
Going zero waste helps you to reuse and recycle items. It saves resources and lessens landfill waste, reducing harmful greenhouse emissions. The concept is all about making eco-friendly choices to protect our planet.
So the zero waste movement is committing to a lifestyle where you send as little waste to landfills as possible. Even though it’s quite impossible to create zero waste, there are a plethora of ways for people to reduce consumption that can benefit the planet. This lifestyle requires people to prioritize recycling and reusing products and goods instead of investing in single-use items.
Such a consumption habit is what builds up landfills and contributes to climate change and global warming. So, if you are interested in transitioning into a zero-waste lifestyle, follow the below zero-waste lifestyle tips to implement at your home:
Get goods and groceries in bulk
If you are starting zero waste management at home, the first thing you can consider is buying your goods and groceries in bulk and storing them in reusable containers and sustainable packaging items.
Bulk buying means you can get exactly what you want and control the amount rather than commercially pre-packaged, pricier products. You can soon see a great difference in your bank account.
Reduce investing in single-use plastic items
Another way to instill zero waste practice is avoiding single-use plastic. Start with avoiding plastic cutleries and get a set of reusable containers and stainless steel cutleries.
Replace the plastic wraps you need to use with bees wrap. Avoid using products available in plastic bags and use clothes and produce bags. Rather than tea bags plastic pouches of spices, or snacks, get one that is freshly made or available on snack counters.
Buy food items from the local farmer
Get ingredients from the local farmer shops rather than spending money on packaged food items. You will consume fresher, tastier, and more sustainable meals to get nutrition. Following a sustainable diet will ensure you use the purchased food products, plan meals ahead, reduce grocery trips, and reduce waste. It is also a way to support the local economy.
Avoid using plastic bottles
You can think of using other ranges of materials instead of plastic bottles, BPA-free plastic, stainless steel, aluminum, or glass. Another way to apply zero waste to plastic bottles is by replacing your soap bottles with bars and making cosmetic products available in sustainable containers.
Add green products to your closet
Another zero waste management practice you can adopt is using sustainable clothing brands. These products are unique in style, gentle to wear, and cost much less than mass-produced clothing. If you fail to donate your old clothes, try to reuse them to make cloth rags or use them in place of paper towels.
Compost your food scraps
Most homeowners and individuals produce waste of 30% out of their yards and food scraps. Rather than dumping them in a landfill, you can start composting and use the compost pick-up service to take care of it. It would significantly shrink the landfill size and reduce global warming.
Adapt to sustainable period practice
Try using BPA-free menstrual cups, period underwear, and reusable cotton pads. This practice will help reduce waste by avoiding up to 10,000 tampons and plastic applicators used in a woman’s lifetime that end up in landfills and give rise to many contaminants.
Keep a check on the ways harmful chemicals come into the home
Make use of your own cleansing products rather than investing in conventional cleaning products, which have harmful endocrine disruptors and other chemicals that go into sewage systems, water bodies, and people contact.
Your homemade eco-friendly cleaning products only require combining baking soda, vinegar, and lemon juice for cleaning countertops, showers, toilets, and floors. Check on your vehicle’s air filter to reduce air pollution and fuel consumption.
Use recycling services
Many day-to-day things you use can be recycled once you finish using them rather than ending up at the landfill. You can even get a fee for giving recyclable items to recycling services. Some recyclable things can include aluminum foil, glass, plastics, egg cartons, cardboard, spare tires, wine cork, paper, VHS tapes, DVDs, metallic items, junk electronic appliances, etc. Try to shop for long-lasting materials and items. If possible, use digital means of completing tasks rather than using printed items.
Final Words
It can be challenging to adopt a zero-waste lifestyle. Zero waste management will take time to incorporate everywhere in your lifestyle, but you can start with your home and try to unlearn your wasteful behaviors by practicing sustainable consumption. It will save you from a lot of stress and waste of money and help the community with the same pursuit. So start your zero-waste journey by utilizing the above tips.
aboutgreenify 
Ravi Ranjan