If you were writing an article about garbage, what would you use for the featured photo? I obviously didn’t want to use a photo of literal trash…
This year, I’ve been thinking a lot about how much waste I create in my daily life. Living on a college campus with a weekly meal plan means that I often get a meal to go. Unfortunately, this requires using single-use bowls and utensils. Even worse is picking up individually-wrapped snacks from our to-go markets on campus. It’s easy to feel guilty about all of the packaging and other waste that I throw away each day.
Growing up, my family began composting while I was in middle school. In any city, compost services are limited, so we stopped composting when we moved while I was in high school. However, Vanderbilt just started offering compost services to students this year, so I introduced composting to my suitemates this past fall. While I think they would agree that it’s not the most pleasant nor the easiest practice, composting is one of my first steps into living more sustainably.
Because of my experiences with single-use goods and composting, I want to learn more about sustainable living and the zero waste movement. So, I’m starting this biweekly column, “All My Thoughts on Zero Waste,” to share what I learn and what I’m trying.
What is the zero waste movement?
The zero waste movement is a lifestyle in which people attempt to completely eliminate the trash that they throw away. It has largely been popularized by people like Bea Johnson of Zero Waste Home, who can fit all of the waste that her family creates in a year into a glass jar.
I think that the lifestyle aspect of the zero waste movement is key to its popularity. By advocating small changes towards a larger goal of creating zero waste, it makes this huge topic of climate change into something that one can combat through their daily decisions. I’m also really interested in the moral aspect of zero waste. Although reducing individual waste may have little real impact, it seems like many people feel better or less guilty about climate change by changing their individual habits. Furthermore, zero waste seems like a hobby or an intriguing challenge for some people. Does that take away from its effectiveness and the overall purpose? I want to dig into that question and others.
Does what I do actually matter?
I’ve also heard that while individual actions are important, the real culprit of climate change is large corporations. It seems to be true that large companies are largely to blame for carbon emissions– check out the graphic in this article. Some even say that individuals are statistically blameless for climate change.
Does that mean that we should forget the zero waste movement and instead just boycott these large corporations? Or lobby Congress for more regulations of fossil fuels and carbon emissions standards?
I think it’s likely that our decisions still matter, and that our collective action has an impact. But I want to learn more about the impact of our individual decisions. How can we have the greatest impact in this area?
This video provides a gentle rebuttal to the zero waste lifestyle, providing some ideas that may have a larger impact. Also, if you’ve never heard of plogging, you need to get on that.
Stay tuned!
I’m excited to start my own zero waste journey. If you know more about zero waste and sustainability than I do, or if there’s a topic that you want to learn more about, let me know! I would love to chat. You can reach me at novelhandco@gmail.com or via the comments below.
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