A New Beginning
Today was a pretty special day for me.
Today I (almost) got to meet Bea Johnson of "Zero Waste Home" fame. I say "almost", because while I was in the same room as her, being thoroughly entranced by her Zero Waste presentation... I didn't actually get a chance to shake the woman's hand & tell her personally what an inspiration she is to me.
Boo.
But she got her message across + her enthusiasm spilled over + I'm feeling so inspired to get serious about this zero waste concept - or at least a "heckuva lot less waste" for now - and implement some real changes in the lives of hubby + I.
We are already pretty conscientious about our spending,and we recycle a lot of our packaging. We haven't gotten around to setting up the compost heap yet, but I'm totally blaming that on me being squeamish about worms... I'm dealing with it lol!
But as good as recycling is, it's not the answer. It still utilises so much of our precious resources, and then when it comes to plastic - which is freaking everywhere - it's not much use at all. Fact is, plastic does not go away. Ever. And there's only so many times a plastic item can be recycled before it's no longer recyclable.
So the only option I can see, moving forward, is to just reduce the amount of stuff we consume in the first place. To reduce the amount of recyclable items that we collect. Replace as much as possible with re-usable items.
Hence why I'm a little bit in love with Bea ;) Her philosophy is:
"Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Rot (and only in that order)"
So first: Just say "NO" to the stuff... then use less of it... then re-use it... and only then recycle or compost it.
The first and easiest place to start?
Stop using single use plastic shopping bags.
It's easy to remember to carry a re-usable shopping bag with you wherever you go. I generally keep one or two in my car, so it's always to hand (just remember to actually take it with you when you get to the store!). Or you could carry one of those snazzy compact little baggies that fold up really small & keep that in your purse.
It may sound trivial, and in the move towards zero waste really is only the teeny-tiniest of steps.
But like I've been saying more + more lately: A lot of small steps will lead to big change.
So go fish out that stash of bags from under the sink today! It's never too late to start.
Let's all be the change we want to see in our much cleaner, safer, plastic-free world.
Our precious Earth deserves it, and so do we.
x
Today I (almost) got to meet Bea Johnson of "Zero Waste Home" fame. I say "almost", because while I was in the same room as her, being thoroughly entranced by her Zero Waste presentation... I didn't actually get a chance to shake the woman's hand & tell her personally what an inspiration she is to me.
Boo.
But she got her message across + her enthusiasm spilled over + I'm feeling so inspired to get serious about this zero waste concept - or at least a "heckuva lot less waste" for now - and implement some real changes in the lives of hubby + I.
We are already pretty conscientious about our spending,and we recycle a lot of our packaging. We haven't gotten around to setting up the compost heap yet, but I'm totally blaming that on me being squeamish about worms... I'm dealing with it lol!
But as good as recycling is, it's not the answer. It still utilises so much of our precious resources, and then when it comes to plastic - which is freaking everywhere - it's not much use at all. Fact is, plastic does not go away. Ever. And there's only so many times a plastic item can be recycled before it's no longer recyclable.
So the only option I can see, moving forward, is to just reduce the amount of stuff we consume in the first place. To reduce the amount of recyclable items that we collect. Replace as much as possible with re-usable items.
Hence why I'm a little bit in love with Bea ;) Her philosophy is:
"Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Rot (and only in that order)"
So first: Just say "NO" to the stuff... then use less of it... then re-use it... and only then recycle or compost it.
The first and easiest place to start?
Stop using single use plastic shopping bags.
It's easy to remember to carry a re-usable shopping bag with you wherever you go. I generally keep one or two in my car, so it's always to hand (just remember to actually take it with you when you get to the store!). Or you could carry one of those snazzy compact little baggies that fold up really small & keep that in your purse.
It may sound trivial, and in the move towards zero waste really is only the teeny-tiniest of steps.
But like I've been saying more + more lately: A lot of small steps will lead to big change.
So go fish out that stash of bags from under the sink today! It's never too late to start.
Let's all be the change we want to see in our much cleaner, safer, plastic-free world.
Our precious Earth deserves it, and so do we.
x
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