I have always been a wild child. I spent my single digit years with scraped up knees, a truly unacceptable number of mosquito bites, and covered head to toe in the reddish brown of the Earth. If my parents ever needed to find me they knew where to look: in the swamp behind our house, up a random neighborhood tree, or at the dirt hills a couple miles away. I remember the places I lived by the parks and wild landscapes I played in, not by the schools I attended or the houses I lived in.
High school and college kept me indoors, but soon enough I got tired of not having scraped up knees and dirt under my fingernails and took up camping, hiking, mountain biking, rock climbing and any other activity that got me out in the sunshine on my days off, and as the years of my life sped by, I noticed things. First I noticed how wild spaces looked and smelled and I marveled at the natural systems in place that made everything work. Then I started noticing how those things were breaking down.
We live tiny lives, by which I mean we are by necessity focused daily on the tasks of living. We know how much garbage we throw out, or how much meat we eat, or how much water we use, but we have no idea how much the folks in the next town over throw out, eat, or use. The reality is that, for most of us, it’s nearly impossible to see humanity at scale, as an entire city or as a global population. To illustrate, do you have any idea how much garbage New York City throws away each week?
Many years back I signed up for a class at a local non-profit to become a master composter. As part of that class we took a trip to a couple of the main garbage dumps and the main recycling processing facility, and my life was never the same after that day. When I realized just how much garbage a single city, not even a particularly large city in truth, throws away I realized the scale of the problem. Denver is one small city in a country filled with much larger cities, on a planet filled with even bigger cities. When I tried to consider how much garbage that all added up to my brain would just drop a 404 error – sorry, the resource you are looking for is nowhere to be found.
This realization was the cornerstone of the shift in lifestyle that was headed my way but it wasn’t the only factor. Climate change, the plague of plastics, the decline of our food systems, the poison in the air, water, and soil, the appalling rate of animal extinctions, racism and climate injustice, inequality… I started realizing all of these things converged around one commonality, and could be resolved through one committed, focused action.
Buy less and toss less.
Of course, this will not solve every human ill. But it will take us farther in that direction than any other single action will. Dramatically less consumption means dramatically less pollution. Dramatically less consumption means dramatically less extraction. Dramatically less consumption means dramatically less garbage. Dramatically less consumption means people are able to reclaim their power over corporations. Less of those things means more environment left intact, more effective ecosystem function, more habitat for wildlife, cleaner and healthier air and water, healthier soil and food products, less environmental devastation due to wealthier countries extracting from minimally regulated poor world environments, less rich economy garbage being dumped in poor economy communities.
It is inspiring to consider how improved our world would be from even just this one simple action.
Buying less is a topic for another day, here, our focus is on the second portion of the equation – tossing less. Now, to be clear, depending on where in the world we live and what our current lifestyle and needs are, we may not ever get to a truly 100% garbage free life. But we can absolutely eliminate a whole hell of a lot of what we throw away on a week to week basis and save money doing it.
Remember, this is not about eliminating all of your waste this coming Tuesday afternoon. Letting go of our conditioning takes time, shifting our perspective from human only to include ALL life on this planet takes time. Challenge yourself, push yourself just a tiny bit beyond your comfort zone every day, and your life will be forever changed before you know it.
Buy Bulk
Find the closest grocery store with a bulk foods section and start your shopping list there. Bring your own containers to make this a truly zero waste option. This can be a small cloth bag you made or purchased somewhere, an old spaghetti sauce jar you washed out, or a fancy schmancy jar you found at a local thrift store. It doesn’t matter what the container is as long as it is clean.
Bulk food options in many grocery stores are pretty sad. They may have some candy, possibly some nuts. But I have been surprised again and again at how thorough they can be. They may not have everything you are accustomed to cooking with, but with a few modifications to your diet or cooking style you may just discover you can get all of your staples completely waste free. I get all of my grains, flours, nuts and herbs completely waste free, which means less extraction (mining or tree cutting) to make packaging and less packaging in the landfill.
When bringing your own containers to a store you need to stop by the customer service desk to get something called a ‘tear’. Because bulk foods are purchased by weight, you need to know how much your container weighs so they can subtract that weight at the checkout. They weigh the container and then mark the weight somewhere on the container itself. Depending on where you live you may get an odd look when you ask, but you may be surprised, most stores that sell foods in bulk are well experienced with this process. If they are not, thank you, thank you for getting the conversation started. Thank you for forging a path that others can follow after you. Thank you.
Bring Your Own Container
The first time I brought my own glass container to the meat counter at my local grocery store I felt extremely sheepish. I had never seen anyone do that before, I was mildly afraid of what sort of look I’d get, I just felt… stupid. Even knowing just how problematic our addiction to “convenience” packaging is, I felt stupid.
I still feel that way when I pull out my own container to bring leftovers home from the restaurant. But I do it anyway, because the health of this planet and all the lifeforms on it is more important than me feeling momentarily silly.
Meat counters, butchers, ice cream stores, and cheese shops will often drop their product into your reusable container if you ask them to – assuming local law allows it. Some localities have laws that don’t allow it, in which case it’s time to start attending city council meetings or to start making friends with your representatives.
As far as I am aware there are no laws requiring restaurants to use their own to go containers, so always, always bring your own. To be quite blunt about it, the pollution and environmental damage from a to go container is very likely worse than wasting the food – and I don’t say that lightly! The best of all worlds is to enjoy your leftovers from a container that you then wash and use again on another day.
Make Your Own
Did you know that yogurt is remarkably easy to make in a standard sized mixing bowl and an oven with a pilot light? If you purchase milk from a local diary that reuses glass bottles and make friends with your local beekeeping organization you can have an endless and completely waste free supply of incredibly delicious yogurt.
Making tortillas from scratch only adds about 20 minutes to your dinner plans, most of which is waiting for the pan to heat up, and can be done while everything else is simmering for a batch of tasty tacos. Corn flour (or wheat flour if you prefer) is typically very easy to obtain from the bulk food area of your local grocery store, and you absolutely do not need a tortilla press. Flattening them by hand will result in a thicker tortilla, but one so delicious no one will mind.
Pasta is also shockingly easy to make, and like tortillas, it requires no special equipment. If you’d like a pasta machine, of course find a used one somewhere! But the noodles are just as delicious if you roll them out by hand, roll it up, and slice with a sharp knife.
The best pasta sauce you will ever have involves fresh tomatoes, onions, garlic, and Italian herbs simmered in a pan until it reaches your desired thickness. Toss in some spinach, artichoke hearts, asparagus, or any other tasty tidbit and it gets even better. Of course hot peppers are always a welcome addition. Prefer to skip the red sauce? Olive oil with some Italian herbs and your favorite veggies is another delicious option.
Pickles, salad dressing, salsa, tortilla chips, pie crust and pie, cake, cookies are fast an easy to make, and can be done completely waste free when ingredients are purchased in bulk sections of the grocery store. For some reason we’ve convinced ourselves that purchasing these things already made or making them with ingredients pre-mixed in a box is somehow more convenient than making them from scratch, but in most cases that simply isn’t true. Mixing up salad dressing takes less time than making a salad does. Mixing flour, sugar, and eggs in a bowl does not take any more time than opening a box and mixing with eggs. And while making a batch of quick pickles might take longer than opening a jar purchased from the store, the jar purchased from the store will never be as tasty or as ethically right as the 15 minutes you spend making one from scratch. And if you have a family, keep in mind that some of the best memories from childhood come out of a kitchen. Making your own is a perfect opportunity for family time and memory making.
I have been surprised and delighted over and over again at how easy it is to make many of the things I’d always previously purchased. And just in case you are thinking I must be living a life of leisure to do this, I am an engineer that has regularly worked 60+ hour weeks over the years. The main difference between homemade and out of a box is planning, and I’m telling you right now, the health of this planet and the variety of lives we share it with is worth carving out a few minutes each week to plan ahead.
Learn how to Cook
The first time I tried baked beans made from the dried bean I started wondering what the hell I’d been eating from the can. The flavor is completely different and so much better. Cooking dried beans definitely takes longer than popping open a can, but beans from a can have the aftertaste of environmental devastation and endless landfills. Seriously, cooking dried beans just takes some planning.
Whole grain rice instead of minute rice, whole oats instead of rolled oats, whole vegetables instead of pre-chopped options – these are all ways of improving our diet and our health as well as reducing our impact on the planet. We have a habit of squeezing mealtimes into the smallest amount of time possible and I find this incredibly sad. Many people think of self care as a trip to the spa, but what about making yourself a dinner of healthy, whole ingredient food with a side heaping of love instead?
Preparing a meal can be more like a ritual, valuable time spent with family, time to talk about school and/or work with loved ones, or as a meditative practice as the veggies are chopped and the pot set to simmer. Larger batches can be made during reading time, craft time, or homework time at the table on a day off, making weeknight mealtimes less time intensive but equally as healthy. Less hurry is called for, more time to relish the acts of making food and nourishing our bodies is what we need.
Buy Used or Rent
At this point in my life most of my shopping is done at a thrift store. With the exception of shoes and underwear, my clothes are entirely second hand. It’s hard to overstate just how impactful the decision to buy used is for the environment. This choice keeps things out of the landfill to begin with, but it also means fewer new clothes will be made, which means a hell of a lot less extraction and pollution from manufacturing and shipping. Housewares are also excellent choices for the thrift store. Silverware, dishes, glasses… all can be found at substantially lower prices at a thrift store, and all come with a comparatively tiny environmental cost as well.
If you are crafty this option opens even more doors. New clothes made from old, quilts made from used t-shirts, curtains made from old blankets… the options are endless, creativity being our only limit. For more ideas about ways to use thrift store finds Google Upcycling, or search for that term on Pinterest.
Many hardware stores offer tools and trucks for rent for those oddball tasks. Some communities even have Tool Libraries, allowing you to rent everything from sewing machines to drills to household tools for a small cost; allowing you to skip having to purchase something you may only use once or twice.
Get Creative
These days, holidays are filled to overflowing with plastic. Christmas trees are often plastic, ornaments are plastic, lights are plastic, many of the items under the trees are plastic, wreaths are plastic, wrapping paper is often coated in plastic (and is not recyclable) or is made of plastic too. Other holidays are just as bad: Plastic Easter eggs and baskets, plastic masks and costumes… the list goes on and on.
Many years ago I pushed my family to try a gift-free Christmas, with a focus on making blankets for a pot bellied pig rescue my sister was involved with instead. They agreed, very reluctantly, and everyone (including me) agonized about that choice right up until Christmas morning. It was such a big change from what we were used to! But I can’t tell you how much fun it was sipping mimosas and tying up hand-made blankets for the pigs in that shelter. We’ve never gone back. Our Christmases are entirely gift-free, or involve only an exchange of homemade foods.
I also gave up all conventional holiday décor. This was mostly easy for me, I’m not a big decorator anyway, but giving up decorating for Halloween was H. A. R. D. Until I got creative! Now all of my holiday décor comes from Nature herself. You can find some ideas I’ve used for Yule (Christmas), Ostara (Easter), and Samhain (Halloween). In truth, I have come to treasure the look and feel of these nature-based decorations so much more than I ever enjoyed the fake blood and plastic Christmas tree!
Preserve Summer’s Bounty
If you live in a temperate climate, summer is the time of great abundance. Learning how to preserve that abundance for the cold winter months can save have a significant impact on the amount of garbage you produce and the pollution resulting from your food choice, not to mention save considerable money.
I shop at my local farmers markets, and when the market is in full spring I frequently buy extra. Extra strawberries are turned into freezer jam or dried for winter snacking. Peas are dried for snacks or frozen for winter soups. Cukes are pickled and greens are fermented into kraut or kimchee.
This does not require a considerable effort on my part. Last weekend I made seven jars of strawberry rhubarb jam, sliced about a dozen peppers for drying, and tossed some greens into a jar to turn to kimchee all in about 2.5 hours, and that included clean-up! An hour here, a couple hours there, and by the end of the summer you may just have enough jam, pickles, frozen peas, dried fruit, and herbs to carry you through the first farmers markets the following year! Even if you don’t, offsetting your consumption by even just a handful of jars counts! We do not need to remove grocery stores from our errand list altogether to make a serious dent. But the more you are able to avoid, of course, the better!
Go Local
The next time you are in the grocery store take a minute to look at where all those items on display actually come from. You will quickly discover that most of the items arrayed before you can from far and wide, and that doesn’t even cover where the packaging came from or the source of individual ingredients! All those distances translate to shipping, either via roadways, waterways, or airways, and all of those mean huge uses of oil and gas and massive outputs of carbon.
The closer the items are to you, the less pollution they generated, so shopping local is a big deal. This also supports local farmers and local businesses too, which is a total win!
The best way to get local food is from a farmers market or a local food coop. Big chain grocery stores often won’t buy from local businesses simply due to something called the Economy of Scale. In other words, for a big chain grocery store it’s much less expensive to buy ALL of their strawberries from one or two growers and ship it to their stores all over the country than it is to negotiate hundreds of deals with small local producers. This saves the big chain store money, but it costs you and me so much more in environmental costs – climate change, air pollution, water pollution, and the loss of small family farms.
The more you can purchase from local farms or local crafters the better. This does require some leg work sometimes. And sometimes you won’t find what you want. But the more you ask the more likely it is that someone will start making or selling the item(s) you are looking for.
Compost
Last, but certainly not least, compost, compost, compost! Tossing food waste into a landfill impoverishes the soil around us. Remember that in nature nothing is wasted. Leaves and plants that die of in the winter and unharvested produce all turn into food for something else, including soil microbes that break those things back down into the elemental form. This makes their nutrients available once again to trees and plants the following spring. When food waste is thrown into a landfill this critical process does not happen. Instead of returning critical and often rare nutrients to the soil landfill’s hoard it, or poison it, so it is essential removed from the circular patterns of nature.
Even if you don’t have a garage or an outdoor patio composting is possible. Some units are small enough to fit under the sink in your kitchen.
Composting food waste keeps the circular nature of Nature intact and helps nourish plants and animals for years to come. Composting is quite simple, and even if you don’t have a yard, a garage, or a patio, you can find units small enough to fit under your sink.
Summary
This is far from an exhaustive list of ways to reduce your waste. For me, though, taking these actions has resulted in the elimination of almost all of my garbage. Most of my waste are things like carrot tops and squash butts, all of which go into the compost bin. Things that still hit the garbage bin, though, are containers and packaging for medicine, and random other items that I’ve not yet been able to find a replacement for.
I feel a deep sense of satisfaction at how far I have come down the zero waste road. As a druid and a witch I feel so much more deeply connected to Nature now that I understand how our routine habits impoverish now, and have learned to participate in the circular rhythms of life, death, and rebirth with the products I use the foods I eat.
That said, I am far from perfect, and still have a long road ahead. What have you done to reduce your waste that I didn’t touch on in this article?