Zero Waste: 5 rules of ecofriendly life

Reducing waste production is becoming more and more popular today. Humanity is trying to reduce the use of plastic, which, according to environmentalists, in a couple of years will flood the ocean, and will decompose for centuries. And though it is almost unreal to produce no waste in the modern world, to reduce the amount of rubbish is quite easy, according to womo.ua.

How to reduce garbage and save money

The concept of Zero Waste begins with saying no to unnecessary, emotional purchases, the habit of using what you already have. You just need to replace all disposable items with reusable things, repair broken ones and find destination for all the things in the house, compost organic, and give materials for recycling.

Zero Waste-activist, author of the book ‘Zero Waste Home: The Ultimate Guide to Simplifying Your Life by Reducing Your Waste’ – Bea Johnson has formed some simple rules, following which, one can approach the environmentally friendly life.

The so-called 5R:

1. REFUSE – refuse unnecessary;
2. REDUCE – reduce consumption;
3. REUSE – use repaired / repair;
4. RECYCLE – sort and send for recycling;
5. ROT – Composting organic waste.
So, details about each of these rules.


REFUSE – Refuse unnecessary

To avoid rubbish, it’s better not to buy it. First of all you need to look through all the things you already have and buy only what you really need. All purchases should be thoughtful, so that unnecessary, bought emotionally things did not go to the waste bin later. We can say that the concept of Zero Waste is closely linked to minimalism.

Avoiding unnecessary things will save you from most of the waste, save money and time to clean up. And the habit of saying “no” to goods in the package, souvenirs and free gifts, as well as disposable items – will save the planet. After all, the more we consume these things, the greater is the demand for their production.
By the way, it’s worth remembering that most of the disposable things are cheap, and most likely chemicals were used in their production. Such products can emit toxins. So, giving them up, you reduce the amount of garbage and also take care of your own health.

How to implement the first rule?

Simply:
1. Buy products at the markets and in small stores where you can negotiate with the seller to purchase with/in your packaging. In supermarkets, most of the goods are already packed, so it’s going to be harder to refuse from extra packaging.
2. Do not take business cards and promotional brochures. If the information they contain may be useful to you, you can just take a photo. So you will have the necessary data and refuse the garbage.
3. Stop pathological collection of things and free your home from unnecessary things.

REDUCE – Reduce Consumption

Almost everyone in the house has things that are not used. The reason for this is emotional purchases, the impact of sales and advertising that pushes us to buy things that are useless to us. It is therefore necessary to reduce uncontrolled purchases. Just ask yourself: “Do I really need this thing? Will it bring me joy in a month or only on the day of purchase? “

REUSE – use reusable / repair

The next step is to introduce into your life the reusable things. Choose a pair of eco-bags for shopping at the supermarket. You can buy or tailor bags for products – as an alternative to plastic bags. And for your favorite drinks, you can take a bamboo or glass cup and a multiple use straw – you no longer will have to throw a cup with polyethylene after each coffee.
Environmental alternatives can be found in most disposable household items: wooden brushes for dishwashing, bamboo toothbrushes, scallops, handkerchiefs, water bottles, etc. And for the things that already exist in your home, you can give them second life. An old food container can turn into a flower pot, chees packages can be used as organizers for small things, etc.. Things that broke can be repaired and use further.

RECYCLE – sort and send for recycling

After three previous rules entered your life, not so much garbage is left. But it should be sorted and everything suitable for recycling should be recycled. These resources can be reused and won’t be sent to the landfill.
ROT – Composting organic waste
And the final step of Zero Waste is composting. Of course, in a private household composting organic waste is simple, but there is also a solution for residents of multi-apartment buildings. You can buy a special bucket and put there: vegetable and fruit peels, husk, egg shells, porridge, stale bread, remains of tea and coffee. As a result, you will get great fertilizer for plants.


Following these rules, their author Bea Jones, together with her husband and two sons during the year, collects only one jar of rubbish. Will you agree that the result is impressive? In addition, according to various data, following the rules of 5R, you can save up to 40% of your budget.