Zero Waste Life
Lauren Singer's choice to live a zero waste life is admirable. It is challenging to live a zero waste life, especially in a society that heavily relies on plastic and a culture of abundance and disposability. Everything is packaged in plastic, which creates perpetual waste.
I purchase my fruits and vegetables from the Farmer's market and I use reusable cloth grocery bags that can be washed. My family and I compost food that is no longer edible and recycle plastic. I'm ok with drinking tap water, but my relatives do not trust it and continue to consume bottled water. I try to use all my products to the end of its life. I have had my laptop for almost 10 years now and I drove my first car for 11 years before it broke down and I had to replace it. I haven't gained weight or grew any taller in the past 10 years, so I keep my clothing. We have reusable tupper ware and we use metal eating utensils.
Unfortunately, I am clueless on how to make my own personal products, but if I were taught and trained, I would be open to incorporating that practice in my daily life. I would walk or bike to work to help reduce the carbon footprint in the world, but work is more than 30 miles away. I walk to the grocery store when I do my errands.
Hi Allyssa,
ReplyDeleteThank you for you post on this topic. It was very interesting to hear Lauren's take on this and her adoption of the zero waste lifestyle from the highly publicized zero waste home in Mill Valley. I think many of us, in this day and age, do try to recycle, drive less, and use reusable shopping bags whenever we buy groceries. However, I think the general consensus of the lifestyle that Lauren speaks of will seem unattainable. Nevertheless, I think campaigning for a step-by-step adoption of a zero-waste lifestyle and its benefits will likely get us closer to that goal and have a greater impact on our society as a whole.
It sounds like you are pretty conscious of the waste you are creating. Your post reminded me that I have been meaning to start composting at my apartment and to get my roommate on board.
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