Zero-waste consumers live a lifestyle that prefers zero waste products and aims to reduce waste, maximize recycling, avoid immoderate consumption and that can be reused, repaired, or recycled. Today’s shoppers live in a highly globalized world that greatly impacts their daily routines and influences their utilization of goods and services. The majority of products that are provided on the market today are imported and travel great distances from manufacturing places to point of consumption.
The environmental aspect of zero waste products
However, the growing amount of waste encounters an increasing consumer awareness and participation in environmental issues. The conflict between consumer determination for eco-friendly consumption and the wasteful product offerings arouses consumer initiatives that aim how to go zero waste. Zero-waste living is a process that does not happen overnight but by taking a few small steps at a time that can be initiated by starting to reduce our rapid cycle of consumption and disposal. The first initiative could be saying no plastic straws in the ordered drinks, plastics are harmful to the environment and is non-biodegradable. Use handkerchiefs instead of tissue paper, another great initiative is swapping a plastic toothbrush for a bamboo toothbrush. They will last longer and look aesthetically pleasing. Avoid plastic packaging and buy food from bulk stores where customers can bring their own reusable containers. Saying no to plastic bags is a good head start in going zero waste. Composting is by far the fastest way to reduce waste. As soon as someone starts composting, the need to put out the trash from once a week to once every few months is reduced. Organic waste enriches the soil and makes the soil fertile.
Zero waste gifts
Another way of going zero waste is gifting zero-waste gifts like second-hand or used toys, books, and hand-down clothes. For holiday cheer that does not t turn into holiday eco-anxiety, try giving zero waste gifts this year. These are gifts that are placed with the philosophy of zero waste living: to send no or less trash to landfills or burners, thus minimizing the impact by using compostable, or reusable products. Try gifting E-books instead of regular books. They will not only reduce carbon footprint but also will not end up in landfills. Another great low-waste gift is low-impact makeup. The days of stockings stuffed with plastic lipstick tubes, single-use eyeshadow holders, and chemical-laden mascara are gone. It is a good thing that glitter and glam on that special day are still possible, thanks to zero-waste makeup. Zero waste personal care products make exceptionally sustainable gifts. One can always use a bit of pampering, after all. There are countless zero-waste beauty and personal care products these days that come either naked, in glass or tin jars, or in cardboard boxes.
The Idea behind Zero waste products
The ‘Zero waste’ philosophy is based on the idea of controlling materials in ways that preserve value, reduce environmental impact, and save natural resources. It seeks to ensure that products can be repaired, reused, or recycled back into nature or the marketplace. Implementing zero waste requires switching from waste management via burners and landfills to an upgraded resource recovery system. Many people question why zero waste is important and for that its simple answer is that it reduces climate impact. Reducing, reusing and recycling can become a key part of a climate change strategy to reduce greenhouse gas exhalations. The current culture of consumption is not sustainable. Extracting raw materials from the natural ground requires large amounts of energy and that causes pollution, whether it is logging a forest, mining minerals, or drilling oil reservoirs. Processing these materials requires more energy and causes more pollution. Once they are used, the goods are simply dumped in a landfill or disintegrated on a burner.
Community
In contrast, a zero-waste approach uses natural resources and reduces pollution from extraction to manufacturing, and to disposal. Reusing means fewer products are made, as people buy less, and products are made to last. Recycling keeps trash out of landfills and incinerators and provides manufacturers with recycled goods instead of raw materials to make new goods. Another importance of zero waste is that it promotes social equity and builds community.
A zero-waste approach can build community capacity, support communities, and protect community health. Community projects concentrated on reuse and recycling help in relocating useful goods to those in need, from leftover food donated to shelters, to furniture for refugees, to business clothing for those entering the job market. Strategies like composting at a community garden, tool sharing, and skills sharing to reuse and repair, build capacity to minimize waste and costs.it ensures everyone has access to tools to reduce, reuse and recycle waste where they live, work and play. This allows everyone to participate in protecting the environment and reducing global warming. It also protects the health of the neighbourhood by reducing pollution in the air, water, and soil by keeping toxins and waste out of landfills. One of the benefits of zero waste is that shopping becomes less and less frequent and automatic. It turns into a more minimal activity. Beyond that, it is buying only long-lasting and reusable items, like clothes, furniture, and electronics. This can also help saving some extra cash. It also minimizes household food waste. For instance, a way to do that is to cook an appropriate number of portions and not let food rot. The goal is to buy only what is needed, rather than buying what is on sale or at a discount. The zero-waste movement encourages a circular economy. This type of economy is designed to be developmental. It enables job creation while strengthening bonds of community. Moreover, the economic potential of recovering and reusing valuable materials represents new business opportunities that can help to grow a local economy.
In the past 50 years, humans have consumed more resources than in all previous history. This take-make-dispose system is not sustainable and needs to change on every level of the production process: manufacturing, distribution, purchasing, and disposal. Now it’s high time to start living a sustainable life.
