Reducing Waste from our Lives (part 2)

Yeah, I know. There fate of the world doesn’t rest on how much garbage each of us produces. Fixing climate change will require the will, cooperation and resources of the largest world governments, and that’s not going to happen anytime soon. Still, I want to live the best way I know how, so I strive to make small changes to my lifestyle each year to reduce waste from my life. These days, my wife and I produce less than a tall kitchen bag of waste each week. Not perfect, but not terrible.

I blogged about this topic nine years ago after reading the book, A Zero Waste Lifestyle by Amy Korst, and looking back on it now I realize that I still practice nearly all that I recommended in that post. Since then, I’ve become aware of a few other items that weren’t widely available last decade, so I thought I’d offer a bit of an update for those looking to do more.

Recent inclusions are all about reducing plastic waste:

1) I now use bars of shampoo and conditioner that typically come in small cardboard boxes, similar to bars of soap, rather than large plastic containers. My most-recent purchase is from Anihana, though there are a lot of options. The products themselves are effective; my wife and I have been using them happily for over a year.

2) For many years I’ve wished that laundry detergent came in refillable bottles. This hasn’t come to pass - at least not that I’m aware of - but another option was brought to my attention earlier this year: laundry detergent sheets. These are great. I’ve been using those produced by Kind Laundry for about five months. Sixty loads come in a small box, so they take up almost no space and create almost no waste while still being effective.

3) It would be great if we could return our wine bottles for refills like in some European countries, but barring that option, boxed wine is becoming more in vogue with apparently some very good-tasting wines. I purchased my first box of wine last week after reading an article on the subject. Yes, boxes are still wasteful, but glass bottles produce much more of a carbon footprint, and in the United States only 31% of glass is recycled. A box of wine (3 liters) is the equivalent of four bottles, lasts for 4-6 weeks, and produces far much less waste. I’m not going to give up bottled wines, but I do intend on experimenting with boxed wine for a while to see if I find a variety that really works for me.

Aside from these recent additions, I stand by the following strategies that I’ve been using for over a decade:

1) Use cloth napkins and real dishes, even for outdoor events. I can’t stand using plastic dishware that gets tossed in the garbage after one use.
2) Compost all food-based scraps. This is easy if you have a yard, and it means your garbage is much less messy.
3) Use reusable produce bags as well as grocery bags. People sometimes push back on this, but I’ve been using the same canvas bags for over two decades and my house isn’t inundated with unwanted plastic bags. Produce bags don’t last as long, but are still a worthy investment.
4) Use cut-to-size pieces of washable fleece instead of Swiffer sheets. They work perfectly.
5) Avoid buying liquids like milk, water and soda that come in plastic bottles. Luckily, there are plenty of alternatives today.
6) Eat less meat. This really should be number one. If the entire world became vegetarian, we’d be much better off. I still eat meat, but it’s typically limited to a package of lunch meat and maybe three or four dinners a week. It’s a start.

Nope - none of this is going to save the world, but it isn’t hard to live just a little less wasteful, and to me the personal benefits of less mess and less garbage are worth it.