When Less Is More: Moving to a Zero Waste Lifestyle
We talk about Leave No Trace (LNT) in the outdoors but what about LNT indoors?
I compost, garden, use a clothes line and a rain barrel. I drive a Prius. I make all my personal care products and almost all of my household cleaning products. These habits have developed over time and I get better each time I learn something, but I’m not 100% there yet. I recognize these changes can be a big step for a lot of us, but going zero waste does not need to be a daunting task. There are very simple steps you can take in order to practice Leave No Trace both on and off the trail.
Reusing and recycling isn’t anything new. Hundreds of years ago it was just the norm to re-use what you could. There were no landfills to take trash, no garbage trucks to pick it up for you. Japan started recycling paper as far back as the 9th century. In 1690 a mill in Philadelphia began recycling linen and cotton rags into paper. WWII brought about massive recycling campaigns for rubber, metals, and paper for the war efforts.
Curbside recycling started in the 1960s for cans, bottles, paper, and yard wastes. It wasn’t that recycling was new but that the reasons for it changed. No longer did we need to recycle to get the most out of materials. We now had a need to deal with the massive amounts of waste produced during the second half of the 20th century. Earth Day was first celebrated in 1970, putting environmental concerns on the front pages to expand our societal consciousness of the importance of taking care of our planet.
Growing up in the 60s and 70s, LNT basically meant do not litter. I recall the ads with a Native American man riding a horse and looking at litter strewn highways with a tear in his eye. The tag line was “Keep America Beautiful”. The ad was aimed at reducing pollution and litter. That, and the quote, “Leave only footprints, take only photos” was the extent of LNT.
The practice of recycling however took awhile. Does anyone remember the “The Garbage Barge” in 1987? This barge spent months on the ocean, searching for a location to dispose of its garbage cargo. That was a headline story widely covered and has been credited with awakening Americans in regard to solid waste and the importance of recycling.
We have come a long way from recycling cans, bottles and paper to do our part in helping the environment. Today we have restaurants that have replaced their Styrofoam take outs with biodegradable containers. Canvas tote bags for groceries are more common. More and more, cities are banning plastic straws and single use plastic bags. Eco-travel is now a thing. But it’s not enough. At the rate at which plastic is accumulating just in the oceans it’s predicted that, by 2050, the mass of plastic in the world’s oceans will exceed the mass of all the fish that live there.
The Importance of Plastic Reduction
Plastic debris is found absolutely everywhere, from the Arctic to Antarctica. It clogs street drains in our cities and litters campgrounds and national parks. It’s even piling up on Mount Everest! Plastic is growing increasingly common in the world’s oceans. There’s a massive garbage patch swirling slowly in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Plastic trash is found in the guts of more than 90% of the world’s sea birds, in the stomachs of more than half of the world’s sea turtles, and choking the life out of whales.
When plastics are broken down, one large piece of plastic is reduced into a bunch of smaller pieces of plastic. These smaller pieces are consumed by smaller animals. These become micro plastics which leach into the muscles of fish. Ingesting micro plastics could further expose us to chemicals found in some plastics that are known to be harmful and linked to a variety of health problems. I recommend watching the documentary “A Plastic Ocean” to learn more.
“It’s only one straw,” said 8 billion people. – Unknown
Single-use plastics are the WORST. They make up nearly 40% of all plastics produced annually only to be used for a matter of minutes. If we care about life and the planet we need to make better choices. We need to reduce our plastic dependence every day and choose to live a greener, and more sustainable plastic-free life. There’s so many viable options for plastics. Some are obvious and have been popularly used for quite awhile like reusable water bottles, canvas bags for groceries or shopping. Sometimes you just have to look a little deeper.
How to Get Started
Start by doing a trash audit, which helps you understand the amount of waste you accumulate and what type of waste you produce. Actually spread out your garbage that you collect in one week. This visual can help you see where you can make changes, even if they are just small ones.
Consider:
How much packaging is there?
What can you compost?
What can you buy in bulk?
What can you buy locally?
Can you grow or make your own?
“The most environmentally friendly product is the one you didn’t buy. ”
Here’s some changes I made after my audit and some other ideas to get started:
At the grocery store, start looking closer at the packaging. When faced with a choice of pasta in a plastic bag or in a box, choose the box. Try to purchase items in bulk, especially when you can use reusable containers that you bring from home
Look for companies that have compostable or recyclable packaging
Replace lighters with matches.
For Band-Aids, use paper tape and a piece of tissue or gauze. Fun fact: Band-Aids take 10 years to decompose!
Swap the plastic toothbrush for a bamboo one.
Use a personal electric razor instead of disposables
Use a water pick instead of floss. Floss is made from nylon and coated in wax. A piece of floss will take about 80 years to biodegrade.
Dental Lace can also be used in place of floss. This is made from silk and is compostable. It comes in a reusable glass container for refills.
When out in nature for overnight trips, use toothpaste tabs.
Buy toothpaste powder in glass jars instead of toothpaste in a tube
I bring a small bag with me that has my camping spork, cloth napkins and my bamboo straws so that I can use them eating out instead of plastic cutlery and straws.
Reusable mesh bags can replace plastic vegetable bags.
Buy silicone reusable bags instead of zip lock bags.
Get a glass nail file instead of a disposable emery board.
Felt dryer balls work well in place of dryer sheets and helps reduce dryer time
Swap out paper towels for rags, or find reusable “paper” towels.
Shop at your local thrift store for cloth napkins in place of paper napkins.
Use a Kula cloth at home
What About Do-It-Yourself Products?
If you’re interested in trying DIY household or personal care products, that’s a great way to begin a zero waste lifestyle! To get started;
Think about all the stuff you buy for your personal care and household cleaning; shampoo, conditioner, soap, cleaners for windows, counters and floors. Start saving these containers to re-use for your own DIY products.
Many things can be made from items you commonly have at home.
Think of the benefits of chemical free. Many household products have fragrance to mask the chemical smells, are made with petroleum based ingredients, and/or dyes. In personal care items you’ll find parabens, phthalates, benzophenone, or Sodium Laureth (or Lauryl) Sulfate; all which can cause various health problems.
https://www.ewg.org can tell you the toxicity of any ingredient.
Most DIY products cost much less than a purchased item.
You can find many recipes online to get started on making your own personal care and household products. Have fun! Experiment!
“We don’t need a handful of people doing zero waste perfectly. We need millions of people doing it imperfectly.”
Please remember, whatever you do, big or small, it all matters. Every action makes an impact.
Happy Earth Day!
Patti McCarthy
Married with children. After retiring, lived nomadically for 3 years. In 2019 was Pacific Crest Trail Terminus Host, reinforcing LNT to over 2200 hikers. Currently living in our house in California with our puppy, Juno, where I frequently question if giving up van-living was worth a hot shower and comfy bed.
Patti wrote a book called Hiking Cancer, which documents her experience backpacking sections of the Pacific Crest Trail while undergoing chemotherapy and radiation treatment for breast cancer. Her book can be found on Amazon, linked here.
