>>DANIELLE: Hey everyone, in this video we're talking about why we love the zero waste movement.
And also why we don't necessarily think it's something that everyone could adopt
but that's not necessarily a bad thing.
We've been thinking a lot about this and we think there might be actions;
easier actions maybe
that we could take
that would have a bigger impact on reducing the amount of garbage that's being sent to landfill.
So in this video, we're sharing four tips that we think could help you
have a big impact on the global waste problem without having to go zero waste.
Before we get to the tips, I just want to say a quick
thank you to Ecosia for sponsoring this video.
If you haven't heard of them already,
they're like a green Google and they plant trees in deforested areas around the world with their ad revenue.
So it's a really amazing free service. You don't have to sign up or login;
and basically you just search the internet using Ecosia and they take care of the rest.
Chances are if you're watching this video,
you're probably trying to find ways to reduce your environmental footprint and this is a rare opportunity
where you can have an impact without having to do too much. So we'll put a link to Ecosia in the description
so you can check them out and we hope you'll click that link.
Now let’s figure out how we're going to solve this global garbage crisis.
First of all, this is not a video against the zero waste movement.
We think it's really inspiring that people are finding ways to reduce their garbage output to almost zero
and that they're sharing how they do it on social media;
and we think the zero waste movement is so extreme that it's attracting
a lot of attention to the global garbage crisis
Which is really important.
But adopting a zero waste lifestyle can be very challenging and time consuming
and it can be hard to sustain the commitment over a long
period of time, at least that's what we found in our personal experience.
It can also feel really intimidating to start or impossible to achieve
depending on other factors like where you live, for example.
The fact that reducing our waste is difficult, doesn't mean that we're not trying hard enough
or that we're failing in any way. The cards are stacked against us.
The majority of food and other products that we want or need to buy in
our everyday lives are sold in
packaging and it can take a big effort to find a package-free alternative.
If you want to contribute some of your time and energy
to helping solve the garbage crisis, but you're not able to go zero waste, we hope you'll consider some of the tips
we're about to share.
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Tip number one: Go to the source.
Going to the source means thinking about where waste is being produced in the first place, and that's where things need to change.
Instead of spending time trying to find a plastic-free alternative just for our personal household,
we could potentially have a bigger impact
and help make sustainable low waste living more accessible
to more people, if we go straight to where waste is being created and try to make a change there.
For example, the other day
I went to the grocery store and I wanted to buy some organic apples;
and the only organic apples available were already
pre-packaged in a plastic bag with a handle.
I'm perfectly capable of putting my own apples into my cart.
I don't need them to be pre-packaged in a bag.
So this is a perfect example of unnecessary packaging that could be eliminated.
Someone who's living a zero waste lifestyle would refuse to buy that bag of apples and that's a great way to vote with your dollars
and to make sure you don't bring that garbage home.
But that doesn't stop dozens of other people from buying those apples in the plastic bags
so we haven't actually eliminated the source of the waste.
We might be able to have a bigger impact by contacting the company whose packaging the apples in these bags
and contacting the store who's selling these bagged apples,
to let them know that we'd rather see a package-free alternative.
A quick interruption to the video. We're really excited.
We were just about to upload the video and we got a response from the Apple company and they said,
that they have a team in place to research and implement different solutions to plastic packaging.
So we were really excited about this response and just wanted to share it with you to show how we started a conversation with just
one message. Obviously things are not going to change overnight, but I think instead of having us be on opposing sides
it's good to start the conversation and just you know
talk to the companies who are making this waste and see what can be done about it.
So thanks for the response, Stemilt, and now back to the video.
The apples are just one out of thousands of products that are
unnecessarily packaged and it's an example of waste that could easily be reduced if it wasn't used in the first place. Other examples of going
to the source to help reduce waste could be to talk to your grocery store
about having a bulk food section.
It could be talking to your local coffee shops and restaurants about using real dishes and
having compostable takeout containers,
or at the very least using containers that are recyclable.
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Tip number two: Improve waste management where you live.
We love when we visit a new city or a town that has a
composting program and a recycling program.
It shows that that city or town has a commitment to properly managing their waste and also makes it easier for the people living there
to participate. But it's actually pretty rare that we visit a place that has a composting program;
and we've also heard some pretty scary stats about the tiny percentage of recyclables that actually get recycled in a lot of places.
It's up to us, people living in the community, to keep pressure on local
representatives to make sure they
prioritize an efficient and effective waste management program where we live.
If there isn't already a composting program in your area
you could find out if one's being considered
or find out how you could get the community involved in getting one up and running.
Municipal composting programs are a great way to reduce waste in the entire area
because they divert tons and tons of organic waste from the landfill so that it can actually be used instead of wasted.
Another thing you could keep an eye on when you're walking down the streets where you live is to see
if there are actually garbages
around so that people can dispose of their waste properly; and even better than just having garbage cans would be to have compartmentalized
units where you can actually
separate your garbage from your recycling and maybe even your compost eventually.
Chances are you're not the only one in your area who's concerned about the garbage crisis.
So you could also keep an eye out on social media to see if there's any plastic-free or zero waste groups
you could join.
You could also talk to the local Business Improvement Association to find out if there's any way they could communicate with local
businesses and try to get them to make more environmentally-friendly choices.
Just yesterday, I was on Facebook and I saw this Greenpeace petition to reduce unnecessary
plastic packaging in Canadian supermarkets.
And it was perfect timing because I was really mad at myself for buying those organic apples in the plastic bag
and so I signed the petition; and that's just one example of keeping your eyes open for opportunities to have your voice heard.
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Tip number three: Pick up trash.
A lot of us have probably been inspired to make lifestyle changes and to reduce the amount of garbage
we're throwing away
after seeing photos and documentaries of animals that have been injured or killed by plastic and other litter.
Those are not easy images to get out of your head and those things are not only happening in far away places like the Great Pacific
Garbage Patch.
There are birds and fish and other wildlife in our
backyards, in our parks, and in our streams that could be directly affected by plastic and other kinds of litter.
One way to help local wildlife would be to organize garbage pickups.
You can either do it on your own, with friends and family,
Or you could get some of your teammates and co-workers together to pick up garbage.
We've also just heard about plogging which started in Sweden; and basically it's a combination of jogging and picking up trash
and you could easily incorporate that into your daily routine if you're just walking or out for a run by making sure that you have a glove and a bag to pick up trash in.
Picking up trash and plogging are just a couple of small examples of how you can incorporate changes into your everyday life.
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Tip number four: Reduce your own waste.
I know we said at the beginning that this video was going to be about alternatives to going completely zero waste.
But there are still some small things you could do in your daily life,
that can really reduce the amount of waste that you produce.
Making a few changes in your life to reduce your waste
consistently, over several months or years, can actually have a bigger impact than if you try to go all out and go zero waste for
just a month and then you stop because it was too hard.
The great thing about making these small changes
is that every single time you make a decision
to use a reusable container for example, instead of a disposable,
that's one piece of garbage that you didn't send to a landfill,
so every single effort counts.
The biggest thing that Mat and I do and it's actually become routine
so it's pretty easy, is that we try to carry four things with us whenever we leave home.
We try to always bring our reusable water bottle, coffee mug,
food container, and a cloth bag; and just by carrying these four things with us as often as we can
we've been able to avoid a lot of situations where we would have used a disposable option instead.
We also made a video last year with
12 tips for cheap and easy things that you can do to reduce your waste in your everyday life.
We'll put a link to that video in the description down below. A lot of the tips that we share are about food-related
packaging but the garbage crisis is about more than that!
It's about consumption in general. Other things you can do would be to buy less things in general,
buy higher quality items so you don't have to replace them as often,
or buy things that can be repaired, and try to make do with what you already have, instead of buying the newest gadget or accessory.
Buying things used is another great way to reduce your impact.
We also just heard about an app called Bunz that's gaining popularity in a lot of big cities;
and basically, it allows people to exchange items without exchanging money.
So there's lots of really new and interesting ways that you can come up with to try to consume less stuff.
We hope you found these tips helpful. We definitely think the zero waste movement is important and it's having a huge impact.
And we're not necessarily saying that you shouldn't try zero waste.
So if you are interested you can go ahead.
But if you've tried it and you're feeling discouraged or if you're too scared to get started,
there are other things that you can do to have an impact.
And we definitely think just make an effort to reduce your waste when and where you can.
But the businesses who create and sell these wasteful products and packaging
are the ones who are ultimately responsible.
And they're the ones who can stop waste at the source.
So please, take the time to sign petitions, write emails
if you see something that could be improved,
and reduce your own personal waste when and where you can. We'd love to hear from you in the comments.
So if you know about any petitions or campaigns or really interesting initiatives,
we'd love for you to share them down below. And if you like this video, please subscribe.
We post a new alternative living video every single week. See you next time.