5 easiest zero waste swaps for a beginner
Going Zero Waste is the most humbling feeling in the world. Realizing you have the power to control the amount of waste you create makes you feel like nothing is impossible. No, we are not dramatizing this. We know when you hear the term zero waste you often wonder why? And how? It does seem really confusing at first but with some easy tips and little bit of efforts you can actually manage to go zero waste and trust me you will never want go back to your old ways of living.
Here are our top 5 picks to start with and honestly these are the easiest zero waste swaps for beginners.
- Bamboo brush
How can my plastic brush be harmful? Sounds silly right? Here is what the statistics say, ‘On an average one person uses 250 toothbrushes in their lifetime. Over a billion toothbrushes end up in the landfills every year’.
Just switching to a bamboo brush solves the problem of all those plastic toothbrushes lying out there adding up to plastic pollution. Bamboo is a natural material that can easily decompose on its own when discarded. The bristles are sometimes made of plastic too which can be separated from the toothbrush, collected in a jar and all sent to recycling at the end of the year.
- Reusable straw
We have all heard about the plastic straw problem. It is the 11th most found single use items in our oceans contributing to plastic pollution and is also a big risk to marine life.
It is the most useless single use items of all time and the most common too. We can definitely do without a straw but we are so accustomed to the idea of drinking everything with a straw that we can’t seem to get over it. This is why a reusable metal straw is our best solution to get over this problem. You can reuse it for a lifetime and it is so easy to carry it in your bag whenever you are going out. #saynotoplasticstraws.
Check out the cute colour options it comes in. Click here to buy.
- Reusable cutlery
You may or may not have noticed that every time we go out for a picnic or travelling or order takeaway, everything that is used to pack/store food is mostly in disposables which are made out of plastic. The reason they are called disposables is because you can just use them once and then dispose them. But do you even realize the kind of damage it has on the environment?
Plastic disposable cutlery, the most common one being spoons, forks, bowls and plates are a major cause of plastic pollution. They all land up in our oceans and landfills and can take up to 500-700 years to decompose. The easiest and the most convenient solution of this problem is to use reusable cutlery. Every time you go out to eat especially street food you can carry the cutlery set with you. Today food delivery services like Swiggy and Zomato give you an option to opt out of cutlery from your order. There are also options like compostable/biodegradable cutlery made out of natural fibers that can be used during travels and they work just as perfectly as any other plastic cutlery but unlike them they biodegrade naturally when discarded. (Remember to clean all the food before discarding compostable cutlery so that it can be decomposed properly)
- Reusable bag
The millennial generation probably never knew that there was a world before them where plastic bags didn’t exist. Its true guys! We don’t need to get everything in a plastic bag every time we go shopping. Billions of plastic bags are used every day just once or twice and then thrown away. They all land up in dump yards, oceans, sometimes just the side of the road. Animals, birds, fishes, they all feed on them thinking it is food and end up risking their lives by choking on that plastic. Chances are, the fish you are eating for dinner has shredded plastic in it which will eventually get inside your stomach and release toxins in your body.
Solving this problem is literally a no brainer! Just get a reusable bag and always keep it in your car or your handbag whenever you go out to shop. Always refuse to buy anything in a plastic bag. Encourage your friends and family to carry a reusable bag with them as well. Reusable bags can last for years and all you need to do is wash them once in a while to make them look just as new. You can also get some produce bags to shop for fruits and vegetables. They are so much more feasible in the long run and is a fantastic zero waste swap as a beginner.
- Reusable bottle
One million plastic drinking bottles are purchased every minute around the world. This statistics alone should be an eye opener to give up plastic bottles right away. There is no ocean left in the world which is not full of plastic bottles. Even though they can be recycled only 1% of them actually end up in a recycling center. As much as it looks convenient to just buy a bottle whenever you feel thirsty, it’s time we address the damage its causing to our environment and to our health by drinking from a material which by nature is toxic for our body and put some efforts to refuse them.
Carry your own reusable water bottle wherever you go. Even if the water gets over you can refill it easily. There is no shame in carrying your own bottle and let no one suggest otherwise. Remember and be proud of all the plastic bottles you save from ending up in our oceans and our landfills, every time you choose to carry your own bottle.
Click here to buy reusable bottle made out of copper which is considered the most abundantly available and easily recyclable material with a lot of health benefits.
Even if a zero waste lifestyle seems a lot right now, just take it step by step and constantly remind yourself that you are doing this not just for you but for the planet and the survival of our future generation. In no time you will realize how easy it is and that it now comes voluntarily to you. Hope you like our suggestions and give them a try.
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