If you’re interested in going zero waste or trying to live a more sustainable zero waste lifestyle, but you feel completely overwhelmed – it’s totally normal!
It IS overwhelming on many levels and it takes time to get used to doing things differently and not falling back on your regular consumer habits.
Society in general is built almost entirely around consumer comfort and it can seem there are no win-win scenarios, when trying to take sustainability into account.
It’s all a work in progress, but slowly it’s getting better and more achievable.
Why is a zero waste lifestyle such a headache?
A truly sustainable lifestyle is something that takes time to develop, because there are just so many dang variables!
You need to take into account not just the nature of the actual materials used to make a product, but its entire life-cycle.
That means sourcing of the materials and what it takes to grow or produce them. The actual production process of the thing, the packaging, the shipping and then, finally, its end of life. Can it be recycled/reused or will it end up in a landfill.
It’s a lot! You basically need to decide how crazy you want to make yourself and go from there – I’m not kidding!
Can YOU achieve a zero waste lifestyle?
First of all, an actual ZERO waste lifestyle is almost impossible – it’s preferable to think of it as a low waste lifestyle – as low as possible. For convenience’s sake, most people just call that zero waste anyway. But succeeding at it will depend on a few things.
Sometimes it’s pretty straightforward. There are a great many zero waste swaps that are a breeze! But other times with a zero waste lifestyle you’ll be choosing the better of two evils – it’s just the way it is!
Related content: Beauty Products I Still Prefer to Buy as a DIYer
A zero waste lifestyle in baby steps
If you’re taking your first steps into a more sustainable zero waste lifestyle, take a deep breath and keep these 8 things in mind.
1 – Instead of trying to go zero waste off the bat, aim towards as low waste as possible for you
If your goal is to eliminate all plastic from your life – first of all, you’re a star! – but it’s nearly impossible at this point.
Don’t overwhelm yourself by trying to be perfect right from the beginning. I’ve been on this path for years now and this is still something I struggle with. There’s plastic everywhere and you end up feeling guilty one way or another.
So aim for the lowest waste product you can possible get, at any given moment. Consider not only where you live, what products you have access to, but also where you’re at financially.
It’s okay – when you can do better, you will.
2 – Start small and take it in steps
Make it easier on yourself and focus on those items that produce the most waste in your life.
Look at the stuff you’re using that is maybe single-use and disposable, even if they’re not plastic.
Look at those things that you use up very quickly and need to replace often.
And of course, very important, consider the amount of plastic packaging that those most-used items come in.
Very common and easy beauty and hygiene zero waste swaps are things like face wipes, face pads, toothbrushes, toothpaste, razors, Q-tips.
In the Kitchen, things like grocery and produce bags, food storage containers, takeaway utensils, reusable food wraps.
3 – Replace things as they run out
Don’t go crazy trying to replace everything immediately, in some giant clear out session. That can be both overwhelming and actually produce more waste. Finish what you already have first.
Either do a bit of research on the items you want to replace before replacing them with a more sustainable swap, or shop somewhere where they do most of the vetting for you.
Online shops like Life Without Plastic, Earth Hero, Thrive Market and Azure Standard, for instance offer a huge variety of products and they’re built around a sustainable and low waste model.
4 – Give starter kits a try
If you just find the whole decision making process overwhelming, or you just want the basics now to start with, try starter kits.
You can find them in many brick-and-mortar zero waste shops, but also in some of the online marketplaces mentioned above.
If the element of surprise tickles your fancy you can also give eco, sustainable subscription boxes a try.
There are a few companies out there, whose sole purpose is to curate and hand select products, tools, and zero waste swaps for you and deliver them on a monthly or otherwise regular basis.
Earth Love is one of the most popular in this category. Each season they will put together a box which includes a book, a mix of full-size eco-conscious, ethical, artisanal products from different categories (body care, home, apothecary, snacks, teas, apparel, accessories, etc.). They also include eco-guides and tips and all boxes are in support of an environmental non-profit.
Like Earth Hero, they’re part of the 1% for The Planet organization, which means they will donate at least 1% of their annual profits to environmental causes.
Subscription boxes of this kind are also an excellent way to get to try more unknown and exotic products that you might not otherwise be aware of, or ever think to spend money on – which is also kind of fun!
5 – Do a cost-benefit analysis when deciding whether to DIY to simplify, or to shop, full stop!
Depending on your natural tendencies, tastes, skill level, lifestyle and time available, it might serve you better to either make a DIY version of something, or to buy it made from a good company.
Remember, there is an increasing number of excellent sustainable companies out there with really creative and well made products, in every single category.
By supporting those companies, their sustainable products and business models, we’re sending a powerful message and helping society change for the better.
In the long run, we’re encouraging the creation of even better, more creative products and more variety of offer – also when it comes to price.
Some very common and easy things to DIY are for instance toothpastes, mouthwashes, deodorant, face toners, face and body oils.
However, it’s not for everyone. Some people either just don’t enjoy DIYing, or the end product just doesn’t meet their needs. It’s perfectly fine if that’s your case. I absolutely love DIYing, but there are still a few products I never bother with and just usually buy made.
There’s a lot of glamourizing around the zero waste lifestyle aesthetics. Like in everything else, it’s easy to get caught up in that perfect “I-make-everything-from-scratch” Earth Goddess image.
You don’t have to be like that to live a sustainable lifestyle. If you enjoy DIY, go for it! If you feel it’s a fuss and you have better things to do, just support a good company with a sustainable product. Everyone wins!
6 – Consider secondhand FIRST
Always keep in mind that the MOST sustainable thing you can do is to consider secondhand FIRST.
If you cannot find what you’re looking for to your satisfaction secondhand, or there are no good resources where you live, and you really want it, try to buy what you need from a sustainable company.
Invest as much as you can in quality products, not just when it comes to the material used, but also in the production process. They’re usually more expensive, but they will last you longer, if not forever.
If there are no secondhand shops near you, try the ever growing online secondhand market. Places like Threadup, Facebook marketplace, or even Craigslist – there are many online resources.
7 – Prioritize the most sustainable materials
When buying new clothes, try to prioritize the most sustainable materials. What are they?
Polyester and the like are basically plastic (also made from petroleum), which means they don’t biodegrade ever. Or for all intents and purposes, anyway – I mean, if it’s gonna take thousands of years…
On top of that, every time you wash them, they release micro-fibers (basically microplastic) that end up in our water supply and in the food chain. The earth is choking in plastic!
The quality of the garments themselves is also very poor. They’re a huge part of the fast fashion industry and made to be worn for a season or two. Incredibly wasteful and the landfills are covered in them!
What are the most sustainable fabrics?
Of the natural fibers, the absolute most sustainable and durable (better quality) are linen, hemp, and tencel (a new very soft fiber made from wood pulp).
All of these are very sustainable in terms of the resources needed to grow them, very durable as materials, and completely compostable.
Cotton will be a good choice if it’s organically grown, otherwise the industrial cotton industry, in general, is not very sustainable. Cotton takes a huge amount of land and resources to produce, and the quality itself is only so-so – not very lasting.
Leather, if not secondhand, is not very sustainable or good for the environment either. It needs a crazy amount of chemicals to turn the animal hide into something durable enough to wear. If you can get it secondhand, or made traditionally, then it’s a good choice because it is breathable and a very sturdy material.
8 – Don’t factor in recycling!
When trying to go for a zero waste lifestyle, don’t factor in recycling when considering your purchases. The recycling industry is HEAVILY flawed. In the case of plastic, it pretty much doesn’t work at all!
A few very important things to know are:
a – Plastic can only be recycled a very limited amount of times
Plastic is made from petroleum (oil) and most of it can only be recycled at best 10 times (very generous estimation).
It also degrades every single time you try to recycle it and requires a certain amount of virgin plastic, in order to produce a new stable container. Which means it’s not sustainable at all.
It’s also less expensive and you get a better quality if you just make a new plastic container altogether, which is why most companies go this route.
b – Contamination of recycling is a huge problem
There are different types of plastic produced and not all are recyclable where you live. The smaller the number on the bottom of the plastic container, the more recyclable it is (1 or 2 is much better than 4, 5 or 6).
Few people in the general public know about this and end up throwing all kinds of plastic in the same recycling bin. If the recycling gets all mixed up with items that don’t belong, they will not be recycled. They’re considered “contaminated” and if there’s too much contamination, they will just send the whole lot to the landfill.
Contamination is also plastic (or paper or glass) that has grease or food waste attached and, therefore, also cannot be recycled.
On top of that, certain packaging is made of a mix of materials, like aluminate laminates, which are made of both aluminum and plastic (common containers for squeeze tubes, for instance).
In order to recycle them, these materials must be separated, which for the most part does not happen.
c – Recycling IS a business too
Related to the previous point, recycling IS a business too. They need to turn a profit in order to stay in business.
If there are no companies that provide a particular recycling service in a particular area (or country), then all that “recycling” will end up in a landfill.
An example of this is the tetrabrik pack, which is a combination of aluminum and paper. You must separate both materials to be able to recycle them. In Spain, for instance, for a period of a few years (2 or 3), these were recycled, but the only company that offered this service/technology went out of business, so now they are no longer recycled in the whole country.
The public is not really made aware of that. They’re just “trained” to put the tetrabriks into the plastic recycling bin, which they continue to do, and they assume it gets recycled – no problem. Never assume! Always check!
Bottom line, ALWAYS consider which items come with the least amount of packaging period. And of that packaging how much plastic, or mixed materials can you avoid altogether!
Bonus tip: check out the excellent Shelbizzleee on YouTube
This woman has saved me a headache (and several breakdowns) on numerous occasions. She not only studied sustainability in college, she has a real passion for it. She lives and breathes this zero waste lifestyle (or low waste lifestyle), while managing to still stay a sane human being!
She has a ton of content on zero waste swaps, so if you’re looking for a swap that’s proving a bit tricky, definitely check her out – she probably already found it.
She will make your life easier on this sustainable/lo waste/zero waste lifestyle journey, trust me!
A zero waste lifestyle, or even a low waste lifestyle, is a noble thing to try and achieve, to the best of our ability. But it’s not easy and it does take a lot of adjustments and time. It gets easier, or in any case, more second nature, so you’ll stress less.
Make an effort to take one more baby step at a time and don’t be afraid to make mistakes. You’ll learn more and more every day and you’ll make better choices.
Let me know in the comments if you have any questions and feel free to share any handy-dandy zero waste lifestyle tips of your own!
