In general, U.S. society has a very wasteful way of life. You cannot go to a grocery store without seeing tons of food and products that are contained in plastic. If you look in your cabinet, you will find yourself shocked by the amount of plastic products that exist there. You will find unfinished bottles of products that were forgotten or disliked. Tons of food is thrown into the landfill each year and this creates an inability for the food to properly break down which creates more greenhouse gases.
I learned about the sustainable lifestyle over this quarantine. I have been concerned about the state of the world for years but I always felt that there was nothing I could possibly do to help because I was only one person. Recently, I learned about something called the zero waste movement although a better name would be the low waste movement. This movement allows an average person to leave less of a footprint on earth with their lifestyle.
This low waste movement basically covers the idea of creating as little waste that goes to the landfill as possible. It avoids plastic packaging as much as one can and tries to focus on aluminum and glass packaging because those are able to be recycled again and again forever. They can also be reused which is a big focus of this movement. Cardboard and paper packaging are also essential due to their ability to be recycled or composted.
Image from Wix showing landfill management
The low waste movement focuses on more than just packaging. It also focuses on the companies that are being used and there are many low waste and even carbon neutral companies that are used by this movement. Carbon neutral means that the company’s carbon emissions caused by production and shipping are offset by the use of other environmentally friendly endeavors that take carbon out of the air or atmosphere.
Image from Unsplash on the subject of Zero Waste shopping. This specific image is an example of shopping in bulk which is a much used system of this movement.
It was important to me to get involved with this movement because it helps the environment as much as one person possibly can. It focuses on leaving the smallest carbon footprint possible on this earth to help prevent the worsening of climate change that can be controlled by one person.
There are many things in the low waste movement that contribute to a lower carbon footprint. It involves packaging, water usage, electricity usage, transportation, natural ingredients, and many other aspects that cover all of the features of daily life. This allows you to create less waste by buying less in general and paying more attention to what you are buying and the ingredients that are involved. This system has the added benefit of being better for your health due to increased attention.
The title of this blog post reflects my opinion on the first necessity of this lifestyle. One needs to learn as much as possible about the impact of carbon, plastic, and waste in general on the environment. There is no way to be perfect at anything but by changing little things, you can make a big impact. I try to do as much as possible for this movement. I am slowly changing the things in my life in order to be more environmentally friendly.
I put a lot of effort into researching the things that I want to change next or later in life. I look for the products or items that are the best for my life and requirements. I also look for the prices that are the best. I often attempt to find products that are cheaper than the traditional ones that are bought by me or my family. I want to ensure that I still live frugally despite my focus on the environment and it is easier than one would think. I hope to only get better the longer I follow this lifestyle. Little changes can have large effects.