What is Zero Waste & why is it time to change your habits

Zero Waste is a global movement that advocates reducing our rubbish production for the good of our future on our planet. How do we accomplish this? We need to develop ecological consumption habits and reduce the amount of garbage we produce. It’s easier than you think, just be aware and use existing solutions.

Is it possible to reduce our garbage production by one hundred percent?

Currently no, but that’s okay. We should aspire to reduce our garbage production as much as possible, each one to the best of his ability. Every reduction contributes, from the smallest to the largest. We do not need a small group of people who reduce their waste completely, but a large group of people who make efforts in this direction.

We produce waste in almost every area of our lives and there are small habits that can help us significantly reduce garbage production in various areas. This does not mean that you have to change all your habits today, but you definitely can decide to change one habit now and move at your own pace towards a better future for all of us and our children.

Why even make an effort towards Zero Waste?

Earth is collapsing under our pollution and it has a direct effect on our quality of life and our future here. We produce a lot of garbage and this garbage takes a lot of time to decompose (disappear). While on Earth it pollutes our soil and groundwater, occupying a large area of land and creating harm to many animals.

More on topic: “Plastic forever – Where does all the plastic go?”

We produce more garbage than we can contain.

There are many countries that are unable to cope with the amounts of garbage they produce, which creates severe damage to natural resources and the creatures that live in the area. Furthermore, harm to creatures that live in different areas of ours also has an impact on our quality of life and our future. Every creature that lives on earth (except humans) has a vital influence necessary for the ecological balance. The ecological balance allows us basic living conditions like oxygen, fertile soil and clean water.

In order to enable a future for humans on Earth we need to start changing our habits and act differently.

We are in an era in which it is much easier to throw away and buy new – industries deal in cheap, poor quality. The production process itself pollutes the environment and after a short use we throw away the product, adding to the cycle of pollution. It’s time to think about the future, consider the environment and look at things from a different angle. Everything has ecological consequences and it is our job to make sure that our actions have as few negative consequences as possible. We have no substitute for our planet and it is time to respect and preserve our home.

In the next post I will detail ecological consumption habits and how to reduce the amounts of garbage we produce. But in the meantime I will challenge you to adopt the following small habit into your life toward zero waste.

Whenever you want to throw away a product, ask yourself the following questions:

• Can I fix it?
• Can I make something new out of it?
• Do I have someone to pass it on to?

If you still do not find further use for the product, check if you have the option of sending parts of it or the whole for recycling. Before you buy a new one, ask yourself if you really need another one and whether the same product has ecological alternatives.

Good luck, and share in the comments if you have adopted the habit.