Zero waste: what it is and how the Zero waste lifestyle works. Reducing your environmental impact is possible. This is demonstrated by people who embrace a zero waste lifestyle, but what does this term mean? In this article we take a closer look at how it is possible to live without waste. If we're wondering how to reduce waste and become more sustainable, we can do so by approaching a new lifestyle. Here are our tips for starting a zero waste life. WHAT DOES ZERO WASTE MEAN? The term "zerowaste" comes from English and literally means "zero waste". In recent years, faced with the urgency imposed by the climate crisis, many have looked for ways to make a difference. Although plastic recycling is strongly encouraged in some countries, in reality only 9% of the world's plastic is recycled. By now, so much plastic waste has been dumped into the environment that an entire island of waste has been created in the Pacific Ocean. That's why some people are choosing to change their lifestyle by following the zero waste philosophy. Those who embrace this approach decide to minimize the amount of waste they produce every day. Some people manage to fill only one small jar of garbage in a year. How does he do it? What is the secret of zero waste? Let's discover it together. I WANT TO BECOME ZERO WASTE, HOW DO I DO IT? More and more people are asking themselves how they can reduce their environmental impact. A first step is to reduce the amount of waste produced. The first step is to accept that you have to gradually change your purchasing and consumption habits, always remembering that this is a process in which you have to put effort and initiative. To begin this change we can proceed step by step. For example, starting to reflect on the waste that we first produce outside the home as: plastic bottles; lunch containers; take-away cups; straws; ice cream spoons; paper napkins bottles for detergents, cleaners or shampoos For each of these disposable products we can find an ecological alternative or avoid consuming these objects at all. We can choose to eat ice cream with a cone, we can always carry a water bottle and a cloth napkin or, even, prepare lunch from home to choose reusable containers. ZERO WASTE LIFESTYLE: HOW TO START The first steps towards a zero waste lifestyle involve self-analysis and planning. In what sense? First of all we have to self-analyse: find out what our waste is and in what quantity. Let's check the garbage, both differentiated and undifferentiated, and find out what to focus on to improve. Let's remember that: plastic glass; paper; metal; are most easily recycled. As for Plastic, recycling it is not enough, we must minimize plastic where it is not needed and plan to buy refillable products in reusable containers. Here, in fact, is the second step: we plan. Let's find alternatives to the products we usually buy with more sustainable packaging or no packaging at all. Let's sit down and make a list of the waste we want to reduce, the products they contain and start marking possible substitutes. Precisely because this is a gradual process we start to organize the replacement of even just two products at a time. ZERO WASTE ALTERNATIVES A good way to start planning our zero waste lifestyle is to start doing so by subdividing the rooms in the house, such as: bathroom; laundry room; For each of these rooms we can make a list of the waste we produce. For example, in the bathroom we will find: toothbrushes, cotton buds, cotton pads, sponges, toothpaste. Or in the kitchen we will find: sponge for dishes, napkins, plastic tubs that contain food, envelopes, cling film for food preservation. For each of these products we can find a list of alternatives. An area that affects the whole house is cleaning. Also in this area there are many alternatives, one of them is the one proposed by R5 Living that includes an initial kit of reusable bottles and cleaning products in refill, which can then be followed by the purchase of only refills of the product. In this way, waste will be kept to a minimum. Also for the bathroom you can choose R5 solid shampoos, minimize the packaging, avoid two plastic bottles, and to better store them you can use the shampoo holder in 100% recycled plastic from the separate collection of our city, Bergamo. All we have to do is arm ourselves with patience and prepare for change!
