While I Wholeheartedly Support The Movement To Reduce Plastic Pollution, Let’s Not Stop At Straws.

low waste walmart grocery haul :) 

Free ways to be more environmentally friendly/zero waste

Email companies about their packaging and role in sustainability. You can easily do any company you like to buy from - even encourage less packaging waste to organic environmentally friendly ones because sometimes it’s hard to get those products without plastic.

Pick up trash and properly recycle it if you can

Learn and spread that information. Online, in person, make a cheap zine or pretty picture to post online to get more attention. And don’t spread false info, you should check multiple sources especially since big companies may like to shit talk about options that oppose them.

Eat less. Eat less meat. Eat less packaged products. Eat out less. Eat less dairy and cheese.

Eat more in terms of what you already have so you don’t have food waste. Meal planning can help with this. And be sure to look up actual expiration times on foods you buy in order to keep track and because the sell by/use by date is more for actual stores vs you eating it. Just, you know, have common sense and make sure it’s not chunky, smelly or slimey.

Dumpster Diving. Some people live solely off the food they find in dumpsters. Just do your research, check local laws, and bring gloves.

Start a garden with your food scraps. 

Compost. You already have the banana peels, grass clippings, etc. Might as well try to compost it then add whatever compostable packaging you get after.

Buy less, that’s a given. First rule of zw is to use what you have. And focus on your needs vs feelings, “cheap deals” or aesthetic.

Recycle. That’s not free if you have to pay the trash company fees to be apart of their recycling program like I do. But there probably are recycling bins locally. It depends on your household number, location to the recycling bins, transportation but the easiest option would be to just collect it over a period of time if you have space at home then take it all to be recycled. Grocery stores like Walmart also have plastic bag recycling bins because grocery bags tend not be accepted at certain recycling programs. Here’s a good guide on recycling plastic.

Re-use. You really don’t need those aesthetically pleasing mason jars or fancy jars off Amazon. Use glass jars you already buy. Jam jars, pickles jar, sauce jars, spice jars, heck even wine bottles. You can even find or reuse the plastic bottle tops and put on the glass jars for instant shaker or squirt bottle. Plastic ones too. I put little craft stuff in my soy sauce containers. You can still reuse water bottles for a while before recycling it. Also try to re-use things your family or friends don’t use anymore.

Repurpose/upcycle/DIY. There are already a million different ideas out there on how to find new uses just about everything you already have. And sometimes DIY is better than buying. You can make underwear from t-shirts. Mesh curtains can become produce bags. Beewax wraps - and even vegan versions of this - seem to be cheaper and easy to make. You can un-knot old knit/crochet products and make something new with the yarn.

Use fossil fuels differently- which you’ve already been told. Cold water saves on energy used to heat it up. Wash clothing less. Turn down the house temperature a little bit. Turn off light and electronics. Car pool, ride a bike, use public transportation, make one trip a month to that one bulk store two hours away vs multiple in a shorter time span.

Free Stuff/Trading. Use Freecycle, find a local group for free stuff on fb, organize a clothing swap, look on the side of the road because people throw out perfectly good household stuff like chairs and appliances.

Choose slow shipping and less packaging. Two day shipping means trucks aren’t packed to full capacity which means more trucks driving back and forth thus more emissions. Vox did a good video about it here. If you shop at Amazon you know you can have your package wait and get all your items in one box. But you can do more! Shelbizlee did a great video about reducing Amazon packaging.

Consider, think and research. There are endless things to think about and consider your options. Easy stuff like buying secondhand instead of new, choosing a glass or cardboard option vs plastic in your grocery store, checking for local options. But there’s also having to consider if it’s more zero waste and sustainable to diy or purchase from an ethical company. And you might even want to reduce your recycling more since plastic can only be recycled a number of times so then you have to reconsider IF and how you can re-design your zw routines even more. These are things that are different for everyone but don’t get overwhelmed by seeing lots of problems and not being able to solve every one in your lifestyle. Doing the best you can is the goal.

Immediate fossil fuel phaseout could arrest climate change – study

Scientists say it may still technically be possible to limit warming to 1.5C if drastic action is taken now

Climate change could be kept in check if a phaseout of all fossil fuel infrastructure were to begin immediately, according to research.

It shows that meeting the internationally agreed aspiration of keeping global warming to less than 1.5C above pre-industrial levels is still possible. The scientists say it is therefore the choices being made by global society, not physics, which is the obstacle to meeting the goal.

The study found that if all fossil fuel infrastructure – power plants, factories, vehicles, ships and planes – from now on are replaced by zero-carbon alternatives at the end of their useful lives, there is a 64% chance of staying under 1.5C.

In October, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said the difference between 1.5C of warming and the earlier international target of 2C was a significantly lower risk of drought, floods, heatwaves and poverty for hundreds of millions of people.

Christopher Smith, of the University of Leeds, who led the research, said: “It’s good news from a geophysical point of view. But on the other side of the coin, the [immediate fossil fuel phaseout] is really at the limit of what we could we possibly do. We are basically saying we can’t build anything now that emits fossil fuels.”

Continue Reading.

500 followers!

Thanks to everyone following me thus far, I started this blog about 2 months ago to document my low waste/low impact journey but found that I also enjoy sharing resources to encourage others to do the same. If you are interested in seeing any specific content or have any comments, send me a message! Thanks again and Happy Earth Day!

What is needed are ecosystems that are designed to produce our food, fuel, animal feed, medicine and fibers, and ecosystems that can do so without the use of fossil fuel technology, those that can tolerate extremes of weather and potentially changing climates, and that can thrive without supplemental irrigation from vulnerable and increasingly expensive public utilities.

Restoration Agriculture: Real World Permaculture for Farmers - Mark Shepard (via postciv)

being a part of the forest feels good

Vegetables are delicious, u guys just don’t know how to cook

Vegan holding an asparagus like a cigarette: “meat? I haven’t heard that name in years”