Mountains of trash.
Avalanches of junk rolling into the oceans.
Where are we going with the piles of “useless” things?

Do we just ship this junk to other places when we run out of room?

Is recycling really the answer? Is burning it all really the way to go?

Why do we think we can just keep tossing things on the ground as though there are no repercussions?

How do we stop this wasteful lifestyle? Is there a way to live without waste in our society?

Waste simply means a resource that has not been utilized properly.
“One mans trash is another mans treasure.”

Reduce, Reuse

Lets just recycle more things!

Bad news, the recycling industry is an economically unsound industry, glass complicates matters since it just turns into shards before it even gets to the facility, new packaging materials are making it difficult to recycle effectively and debate can still rage over if it’s more cost effective for a city to bury its waste and then turn it into a park rather than build a hugely expensive recycling facility that may have a return on investment.

Though there are some good reasons to keep going.
For now we will move past recycling.

How about we try out reducing and reusing?

Zero waste.

Now that might sound like some crazy person hoarding all of their trash just to say “SEE! I DON’T LITTER! I’M SAVING THE PLANEEEEEEEEEEET!” while surrounded by mangy cats and rats.
This is not the case.
It’s mainly hipsters putting utensils in jars.

The main thing here is looking at the things you use on a daily basis and seeing the true waste involved in using said thing.
An example: apples. Do you buy them individually or in a prepackaged bag? If you buy individually are you putting them into the plastic bag at the store or using your own reusable bag? If you buy the prepackaged bag, or use the store provided plastic bag, do you use those bags ever again or do you immediately throw them in the trash the second you get home?

Looking at what you buy and use on a daily basis from this perspective will help to make a positive impact on the environment. Even if you think it’s silly and little, that doesn’t mean it isn’t having an impact.

Also for the love of all that is holy, don’t do this: “I have plastic clothes hangers. Plastic is bad. I’m throwing them out and getting bamboo ones so I can be zero waste!”

That is literally the exact opposite of zero waste.

If you have things that are plastic and that you use daily, keep using them! Once they start to break down, see if you’re able to repurpose them into something else. If you can’t repurpose it, sell it or give it away to anyone, only then should you throw them out and replace them with something that isn’t plastic.
Also try your best to recycle whatever it is that you absolutely have to throw out.
If you want to be super awesome, TAKE RECYCLING INTO YOUR OWN HANDS, WITH THE POWER OF PRECIOUS PLASTIC!
That is literally a website that shows you how to build and operate your own plastic recycler. It’s a pretty intense build process though, so recruit the neighbors and build one for your neighborhood!

Having trouble coming up with ideas for repurposing that weird broken plastic crate? Make art out of it! Think windchimes, dioramas, birdfeeders, cat forts, a statue of a robot rebuilding itself out of broken crates!…you get the idea.
Or go down this amazing Reddit rabbithole to find all of the amazing creative solutions other people have already come up with!

This is what zero waste is. Reusing all of those things that you would end up throwing away. Then reducing the amount of things that you must use that require you to throw something away.

Of course this can be hard if you like buying brand new electronics, but do you really need all of those brand new electronics?
How many perfectly fine TVs or cellphones have been carelessly thrown away because someone wanted something bigger and shinier?
If your electronics are broken take them to an Electronics Recycler. If you don’t want something anymore sell it or donate it.

To replace those things look to second hand shops, garage sales, Craigslist/LetGo/Offer Up, “Buy Nothing” groups, or friends that don’t want that super shiny TV anymore.
There are a plethora of options for you to get a newer version of whatever electronic you want, and you don’t have to deal with all of the waste that comes along with buying it brand new.

Want newer clothes, tools, vehicles, toys, exercise gear, etc? Don’t immediately jump to Amazon to see what amazingly cheap deal you can get. Check all of those other local options for replacing or getting “new” before having something shipped from across the ocean.

If whatever you need or want absolutely needs to be new, check to see if you can do a DIY option first. You’ll have a lot more control on the kinds of ingredients that go into the product if you’re sensitive to anything. Plus, it turns out doing this DIY stuff isn’t all that intense (says the guy who DIY’d his house).
Looking up DIY options for deodorant, toothpaste, soap/laundry soap, makeup, leave-in conditioner, etc. you’ll find how simple things can be. Sure they won’t always have the shelf life of a manufactured product but you’re cutting out so many chemicals that you don’t need in the first place.
All you need to do is set aside a weekend or even just a few hours to try out a DIY option. If it doesn’t work the way you need it to, no biggie, you can go back to a product that works for you. Plus, now you’ll have ingredients to make other DIY projects if you want.

Need to buy products that you can’t DIY properly? Check out the Package Free Shop.
They have all kinds of sustainably made beauty products that come in as little packaging as possible.
Plus they have way more than just beauty products! This would be a go to website to find a good “zero waste” replacement for most things you have!

There may even be a brick and mortar zero waste shop in your city!
Being in Seattle, there is Eco Collective which is perfect for finding replacements to all of the cheaply manufactured products you have.

Take a look at Literless, a website that goes into far more detail of how to really get started in a zero waste lifestyle and good replacements for wasteful products.
They even have a US wide zero waste grocery store locator. This lists out what each store has for buying in bulk such as food, cooking oils, soaps, beauty products or letting you know if they offer package free options on other items.

Zero Waste…in THE FUTURE!

The future is a weird place of dumb ideas that sound really cool, but are meh in action.
But there’s hope in the zero waste arena.

Here’s Tomorrow Machine to show us just how far we can go with this zero waste stuff if we really want to.
Food containers that have the same shelf life as the product inside, “self cleaning” plates (really they just hate water and kick it to the curb), transparent touch screens made from nano-cellulose and self opening-biodegradable packages.

This is just one group that is testing out where we can really go with how we more sustainably interact with our environment.
It’s up to us to show that we really want to treat this planet with the respect it deserves and support lifestyles that promote the health of the earth rather than bringing it more disease.

All we have to do is go a little outside of our comfort zone, only to realize that beyond it is the most comfy cloud couch of them all.