Zero-waste living in reality
Have you ever seen pictures of zero-waste living?
When I think about zero-waste living, two different images come to mind. One is the perfect picture of a zero-waste lifestyle with new soap bars and new brushes, perfectly matching and labelled glass jars, clean cotton totes, everything made from natural materials. And the other one is that of my own life. I've been practising a lifestyle that is perhaps best described as a constellation of zero-waste, voluntary simplicity and minimalism for more than 10 years. Zero-waste living is not perfect. Soap bars leave residue and at times melt, brushes age, cotton bags acquire stains. Buying perfectly matching glass jars is expensive. The glass jars I have were home to organic pasta sauce. There are still many plastic objects that I live with. My prescription medicine comes in plastic packaging. I keep the pots that store-bought basil plants came in to reuse them for other plants. There are many objects in my life that have stains, holes and cracks, yet they are still functional and beautiful.
Oftentimes, my practice is not perfect even when I know better. There are times when I choose the most convenient option, such as going to a supermarket rather than a food market. As I was writing these notes, I discontinued this activity for some hours to go out for a drink with fellow humans. Having a drink is not in any way a genuine human need.
What helps me on this journey is acknowledging and embracing imperfection, having empathy for myself. Much waste is not even generated by us, consumers. It is associated with long and complex supply chains. While I can do my best, I cannot take responsibility for fellow humans' actions and social systems. What makes zero-waste easier for me is emphasising sufficiency and combining zero-waste with other ideas such as minimalism, voluntary simplicity, slow living but not taking anything to extremes. For a period of my life I took minimalism to an extreme and lived furniture-free. I derived much from this experience, including learning to see everything in a more nuanced way.