Kick Start a Waste-Free Life

by Anna Katigbak

Great wonders have been spotted across our beloved planet! Our oceans, once the bright glimmering infinite blue, have now become dark garbage-infested waters. Our lands, once dominated by great landforms, are now being challenged by the towering mountains of trash. Not only does waste contribute to distorting our lands and waters, but also to millions of species living off our planet. On top of that, the leading cause of our planet’s impending doom is us humans. 

We have to take responsibility for our actions. Our beloved earth has given us so much—the sustenance we get and a place we call home. Now is our time to take action, but what can we do? How can we fix these problems? The answer to that is going waste-free. Basically, going waste- free is living a lifestyle that produces the least amount of trash by reducing consumption and using reusable things such as shopping bags, glass jars, and metal containers. Why bother living a waste-free life you ask? Living with less helps us live with more. The less trash we produce and discard, the more we take back our planet from the invasion of garbage. We need to protect our planet, and going waste-free will help us do this.

Okay, I know, I know. Living a waste-free life is easier said than done. Frankly, I haven’t gone all out on the path to going zero-waste yet. Quick disclaimer! This really can’t happen overnight. However, this shouldn’t stop us from putting some effort into saving our planet. It sounds difficult—sure, but not impossible. Knowing this, I did some research on how we can start on this movement! I came across this blog, “going zero waste ,” where I found a bunch of articles how we can kick-start living a waste free life—or at least living with less waste for now.

Since converting to a full blown waste-free life can’t happen with just a snap of your fingers, I’ve listed a couple of things to do this:

1. One of the leading contributors to landfills is plastic. What you can do is to try to ditch the plastic bags, and replace them with shopping bags! To add to that, instead of using clear plastic for fruits and vegetables, use reusable produce bags. Check out this DIY produce bag tutorial on how you can make one at home.
2. Instead of using plastic and Styrofoam containers for food, use stainless steel or glass containers. Besides these containers being more stylish, it reduces the chance of the food staining it. So go for it!
3. Reduce your paper consumption by using cloth such as dish towels and handkerchiefs instead of paper towels and napkins.
4. Say no to straws and single use utensils! These utensils are discarded after just one use. Bring your own utensils and always opt to use reusable metal straws .
5. Stop buying bottled water. Use refillable and reusable water bottles instead! Water bottles are one of the most discarded items in landfills. Let’s do something about this.

While it’s true that it’s difficult to live a waste free life, there are ways how we can take steps towards saving our planet. Through simple lifestyle changes, we can make a difference in the fight against the destruction of our planet.