12 Useful Zero Waste Tips Make Your Life Better

Looking to create a more sustainable home for you and your family? Check out these zero waste tips that are simple and so effective!

Zero Waste living has become a popular environmental aspiration. Many approaches to zero-waste living exist, and individuals are turning to them for various reasons; individuals from diverse backgrounds, inspirations, motivators, household sizes, and ages.

Zero Waste is a lifestyle choice that aims to minimize harmful environmental impacts by generating less waste. The lifestyle strongly correlates with minimalism: a way of life that aims to keep personal possessions at a minimum; only purchasing items that are of essential value, or can be used for a variety of purposes. It is often used as a way to save money, space, and personal time; as fewer things equate to less mess and maintenance, which equates to less time spent cleaning and decluttering. There are so many zero waste tips to make your life better!

The true aim of zero waste is not to just keep waste out of landfills, but rather to redesign our entire cycle of resource extraction, consumption, and waste management so no resources are wasted at any point along the way. That’s why the importance of zero-waste living is becoming more and more obvious.

I. Benefits Of Living Zero Waste 

• Reduces waste and pollution: Many disposable things end up as trash. These things cause a build-up of waste that is usually destined to end up in landfills, causing pollution. If these piles of waste are burnt, it leads to air pollution as well. 
  
• Protects wildlife and the planet: Several waste products end up in oceans, landfills, and even on the streets. These negatively impact animals both on land and in water. It also leads to environmental pollution, which is harmful to human health. A zero-waste lifestyle embraces sustainable materials.
  
• Help you save money: Zero waste living helps you plan your life by prioritizing only useful and essential items. This also helps you reduce purchasing disposable items that don’t last long.
  
• Eliminates unnecessary items in your home and life: A zero waste lifestyle helps you eliminate clutter in your life. This lifestyle makes you intentional about everything you own. Through refusing, reducing, reusing, recycling, and rotting, you’re assured you only own what you need. The zero waste tips below will show you how to take advantage of the household items.
  
• Focuses on quality and long-lasting items: A zero waste lifestyle also means focusing on quality over quantity. This allows you to own things that are sustainable, durable, and high-quality.

II. 12 Useful Zero Waste Tips Anyone Can Do

A lot of these zero waste tips are SUPER easy to do, it just takes a little bit of commitment. Obviously, you don’t have to do everything on this list. Going zero waste is a journey, and a lot of times there is more than one option.  To support your journey, we’ve compiled 32 zero waste tips to guide you. We’ve divided these into tips within the home and when you’re out.

1. Zero Waste Tips within the home

a. Focus on long-lasting and sustainable clothing 

One of the prominent zero waste tips is to make sure every time you buy a clothing item, it is sustainable. People tend to purchase items impulsively, especially with the incentives of discount codes and sales. This usually leads to tossing out things that do not fit into one’s living style. Whenever you feel like making an impulsive purchase, stop and reflect on the possible consequences of that action.

b. Reuse and Refill

The practice of reusing and refilling containers at home helps to prevent turning them to waste products. These containers include plastic containers, bottles, and glass jars. This practice debunks the idea that going low waste or zero waste means only shopping for new items. Even within your household, you and your family can repurpose containers instead of buying new containers. For instance, you can reuse things like old jam jars, shampoo bottles, and food packs. Great zero waste tips for you!

c. Avoid paper waste

This includes junk mail, business cards, and greeting cards. To avoid paper waste, you have to be conscious and intentional about reducing it. Studies show that Americans use 85,000,000 tons of paper a year. The average family throws away 13,000 separate pieces of paper each year. Also, most of this waste is junk mail and packaging.

d. Sustainable period products

One of the most important zero waste tips for women is switching period products to more sustainable ones. Rather than using disposable pads, consider period panties or silicone reusable period cups. These options are sustainable alternatives to conventional menstrual pads that typically include plastics. This means that they are not biodegradable or compostable. Also, reusable options are safer and help you save money over time.

e. Use natural and alternative cleaning products.

Many conventional cleaning products contain toxic ingredients. Also, they usually come in plastic bottles. Switching to natural cleaning products is a meaningful lifestyle change when switching to zero waste. You can either purchase these products from zero waste shops or make them yourself.

f. Embrace DIY

DIY culture is essential when discussing zero waste tips. Personal care items, cleaning products, and other household things usually come in plastic packaging. To avoid unnecessary and non-reusable packaging, you can embrace do-it-yourself practices. A zero-waste lifestyle helps you discover creative ways to make products by yourself. This involves using natural ingredients to create your products.

2. Zero waste tips outside the home

a. Own refillable and reusable bottles 

Whenever you’re out, either on an errand or going to work, it’s always a good idea to have a refillable bottle. Unlike a disposable plastic bottle, you use a refillable water bottle over and over again. Also, they look much better than plastic bottles anyway. These zero waste tips are also applicable to people who drink coffee regularly. Own a reusable coffee cup that you can carry along on the go.

b. No plastic straws

Single-use plastic straws are major polluting items. It can be difficult to comprehend that something as little as a straw can cause so much damage. However, these little items accumulate with different people using them. In the US alone, the population uses about 500 million straws every day. As many as 8.3 million tons of plastic straws pollute the beaches in the world. Also, these plastics usually end up in the stomachs of aquatic animals, causing severe damaging effects. Reusable straws come in different materials like stainless steel, silicone, glass, and bamboo. By saying no to plastic straws and yes to reusable straws, you’re on your way to living a zero-waste life. 

c. Reduce office waste

Of course, we also generate waste within the office environment. Use both sides of paper when printing or writing, refuse junk mail and invest in sustainable office supplies. Rather than tossing out extra office materials, you can donate them to schools that need them. Also, develop an office culture of refillable items; these include refillable pens and markers. You can share these zero waste tips to your colleauges!

d. Meal prep

Planning your meals and packing your lunch eliminates waste from takeaways. Many times, these takeaway foods come with plastic cutleries. Snacks also come in plastic wrappers, which lead to waste. Turn eating out into a zero-waste practice by packing your lunch before leaving the house. This saves money and prevents impulsive buying as well. Also remember to use your own reusable lunch boxes!

e. Think about whether you really need to buy something

It might sound counterintuitive of a homewares store to suggest you buy less but that is what we all need to be doing. Overconsumption has a lot of impact on the plastic and other waste we get through globally.

Being more choosy about the brands you support financially, and taking into account their packaging and values really can make a difference and help reduce your waste at home & buying better means things last longer. Moving to a more zero waste lifestyle means choosing better, more sustainable options that have less impact on our planet. I think this zero waste tips is the best way to help you save money!

f. Reusable bags for grocery shopping

The plastic bags we accumulate whenever we go shopping constitute waste eventually when we throw them away. To avoid accumulating such, a zero-waste lifestyle tip is to own reusable shopping bags. So when next you’re going to the grocery store, remember to take your bag along. This will make it easy to reject plastic bags from the grocery store attendant.

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The mission of Zero Waste Initiative is reduce the use of disposable plastic products, provide people with safe, convenient, eco-friendly, recyclable and zero waste products, trying our best to save our planet

Together we can make a difference!

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