Minimising land waste
Around one fifth of our household waste is made up of plastic from food packaging.
If you have been carefully putting it into recycling, remember not all gets recycled by waste management companies or the recycling plants. Much of it is dumped in land fills, or shipped to other poorer countries for their landfills which pollute their soil!
There are different kinds of plastic made from different chemical blends some of which are toxic.
What you can do
Going zero waste
Global citizens everywhere have joined this movement. You can find zero waste interest groups online in many cities and countries.
You don’t have to be a vegetarian, vegan, or ardent eco warrior to do this. Anyone can try out going zero waste. It is the simple act of producing the least amount of rubbish in your own environment. When you get good at it perhaps no waste at all.
We can all have relapses but to help, think about Simple 6 steps to get you started. Refuse, Reduce, Reuse. Repurpose, Recycle and Rot.
What others have done
Aiming for zero waste cities
Get inspired and follow the examples of households, communities, towns, and cities have become, or are becoming zero waste!
Zero waste campaigns are being championed through zero waste or bulk buying stores. Consumers are voting with their pockets.
A checklist
Replace all your disposable containers with reusable or repurposed.
Buy packaging free and take your own containers to fill where possible.
Visit zero waste bulk stores and the local markets for groceries, instead of big supermarkets.
When eating out carry your own containers to bring back take aways or restaurant food.
Think before buying online. Do you waste packaging that you'll accumulate through online shopping?
Set a challenge at home or with friends and monitor how you are all doing with reducing the following:
General waste
Pesticides and chemicals in food
Reducing harmful chemicals in your home or workplace
Donating organic kitchen waste for bio compost.
Use recycled paper, and paper and cloth goods for the home.
Replace kitchen paper towels with napkins, small towels and old scrap material.
Call for change
Check out Zero waste suppliers for various activities that may be in your area or look up traditional methods from around the world of how to buy, store, clean and beautify.
Here's an inspiring story of a town in Japan which is zero waste!
Start taking action in your household, street, community, village, and town and call on your village and town council to learn from this story and implement the same in your area!