Simply put, low-waste living is a lifestyle that focuses on sending as little to the landfill as possible. It sounds unrealistic, scary, or even laughable, but I will show you what low waste means and why it’s important. Find easy and attainable ways to adopt low-waste living into your life.
What Low waste means
Low-waste living is a lifestyle and a movement. It’s more than just living waste-free or with a mason jar that holds years’ worth of waste, as seen on social media. This movement will redefine how our world functions and thrives.
I’m sure you’re reading this thinking no one can be completely zero waste. Well, you’re right. This is why I focus on low-waste living vs zero-waste living. Low-waste living is a realistic lifestyle and movement that betters our lives, our ecosystem, and the lives of those around us (people and animals both).
Low waste is a lifestyle that uses our personal lives and consumption habits to rebel or protest what’s happening today in overconsumption and waste. We love things in excess, like clothes, food, luxuries, etc… but unfortunately, this leads to awful results. From polluted oceans and dying animals to climate change and never being satisfied. Our mentality as a society has shifted from if it’s broken, fix it, to if it’s broken, buy a new one.
Living a low-waste lifestyle also forces companies to shift with our changing habits. The more people who join this movement, the greater the response will be from companies to match our new and earth-friendly lifestyle. These changes could be reusing whatever we’ve got as long as we can and fixing it when we know how. It could also be choosing to use non-disposable items and purchase things secondhand.
what low waste looks like
Low-waste is taking small steps toward a greater purpose and goal. It’s replacing single-use items with reusable items. It’s not buying those black leggings because you already have three pairs in your closet. It’s being a conscience consumer.
Low-waste starts with using a reusable grocery bag instead of collecting an eternal stash of plastic bags that won’t biodegrade. Even if it takes 152 times to remember to bring them in the store before you reach the check-out line. It’s using a metal or silicone straw instead of one-use plastic straws. Or, a bamboo toothbrush instead of our plastic ones. It’s being conscious of what materials our everyday household items are made from.
Social media paints a picture of glass jars, reusable bags, and crazy or uncomfortable-looking fabrics. It gives an image of an all-or-nothing lifestyle. However, I’ve found that it’s a lifestyle that represents a movement, a better world, and an enjoyable journey. It’s striving towards an unattainable goal for the well-being of our society and world. All it takes is small steps at your pace while being a conscious consumer.
It seems like an overwhelming and daunting way of life, but the commitment to this lifestyle results in an amazing change. We, as consumers, have an enormous amount of power. Just the little bit of momentum living a low-waste lifestyle has picked up recently has resulted in zero (or low) waste shops and ‘bulk’ sections in grocery stores and farmers’ markets. This is all because of demand, the demand that we set.
Living a sustainable and zero-waste lifestyle doesn’t have to be as scary or difficult as it sounds. It just takes finding a pace that works with your schedule and budget. Every change matters, even the smallest change makes a huge difference. Take it one step, one change, one item at a time. With patience and commitment, we can make an enormous impact with just a few small changes.
