Brief: Zero waste movement is not all about diet or ditching plastic - it is about consumption.

I have subscribed to zero waste movement 4 years ago, when I realised that weekly waste output in our bins is overflowing, unsustainable and puts a heavy weight on our budget and ecosystem. We overconsumed and change of our shopping habits was badly needed.

In 2015 France's parliament has voted unanimously to ban food waste in big supermarkets, by outlawing the destruction of unsold food products. In the last five years food waste scandals emerged in different parts of the developed world. A month ago it was announced in UK that supermarkets will face governmental fines if they will continue food waste on current levels. But pledge to halve food waste by 2030 is not enough. Sadly, those scandals did not rock the public enough to radically change approach to massive waste levels we produce.

Consumption. Something our global society does in unprecedented levels.

Our overconsumption is sucking the life out of our planet by polluting the environment and exhausting its natural resources.

Zero waste followers believe that the key to salvaging the situation is in minimising the output of food & goods by promoting the culture of conscious shopping, investing in long-lasting goods and upcycling them for repetitive use. Minimal waste shops are gaining momentum and groceries start to get use to idea of customers coming over with their own containers to fill. Transparency in product sourcing and manufacturing practices disclosure are became important features that even the biggest corporations fear. Bad PR can damage business or kill it (if it is of the smaller scale). Only few months ago after heavy backlash and calls for boycott Burberry finally stopped practice of burning unsold merchandise in order to maintain prices on their brans. Pressure from customers is much easier these days thanks to social media and unlimited access to information. So change happens, but not on the level it is the most badly needed: our bins.

Bought to last.

The biggest irony of the current situation is that argument against it is that it is a fad among people who can afford to purchase more expensive products. I can confirm it to be a bullshit. My budget is better now when I am conscious about shopping and waste than ever before. Yes, sustainable and eco friendly products are more expensive, but in majority of cases you are buying something of better quality, less damaging to environment and in the case of goods - designed to last (long).

Only a generation ago, my parents and grandparents were purchasing clothes, home furniture and other goods with primary intent to use them for years or decades. Clothes, toys, furniture, books etc. were passed down from sibling to sibling sometimes from one generation to another. If something broke there were repair shops with specialists to fix it and in the case of clothing, needle & thread would do. Currently, we live in the age of promoted seasonal trends, changing several times a year and because of this creating increasing output so that it can keep up with artificially created demand. At the same time quality of products is 'bolting away' in cheap and expensive brands altogether. Even quality in Ikea deteriorated and stuff we are buying now is not as durable as the items bought 15 years ago. As for food, we have learnt to buy only the least ripe fruit & veg. The argument for it was that this way it can be in fridge fresh for days. However, the truth is food often rots before getting ripe and ends up in bin.

Why zero waste is not widespread?

Simple answer would be because it is not a good business. But it is oversimplification of complex socio-economical issues. Zero waste is not about buying - it is about reduction and change in purchases. I recently wrote about it in commentary. For years now, we have been mentally conditioned into our current shopping habits. Shops are now designed to require less and less thinking over what to shop and if we really need it. Marketing's sole purpose is to mesmerise us to buy more, without pausing to think by implicitly manipulating our opinions. We got used to that everything is available, replaceable and in large quantities. It is not luxury anymore - it is normal, and it is deep in out mentality. We see celebrities almost never wearing the same clothes twice, let alone the second hand clothes. Unlike veganism, zero waste is not fashionable and you will not see celebrities parading with their minimal waste habits or instagramming how they managed to downsize their bin content.

Continuous promotion of 'must-haves' is spinning the wheel and there is social expectation to have everything new. Stigma of second-handed stuff is perceived almost like poverty - something to be ashamed of. Giving it up will be hard. Modesty, frugality, consideration and minimalism are not something our global society is known for - change will be much more difficult than just banning plastic. But this is the only way to salvage environment. We need to act fast. We need to act now.

Zero waste where to start

What I really like about zero waste movement is that unlike many environmental movements nobody asks you to follow it in strict, orthodox way. You don't need to ditch everything on start, but you can make changes as you go. There are plenty of support groups with really extraordinary ideas for DIYs, shopping advices and practices. All you need is strong will and patience.

My 9 ideas where to start:

1. My first step was to ditch paper kitchen towels. I use cotton fabric cloths that can be washed over and over again and bamboo kitchen towels that can also be reused for at least a year. Cost of roll of bamboo towels: 14€ for 20 sheets per roll, wash even in 30C with bio washing powder and they come up nice and clean. One roll lasted at home with 4 adults for 13 months. For the record, a bag of paper kitchen towels is around 2-3€ and lasts a week or two (depending how often you cook and clean).

2. Food shopping - I have cotton and twine bags for fruit and veg shopping and containers for meat, fish and soft fruit. I plan what I will eat for a week ahead and make a shopping list of the essentials, helps prevent the shopping of unnecessary food that will then rot in fridge.

3. Find more ways to preserve food for longer. Good old recipes from times when fridge was not available.

4. Check the origin: support transparency and sustainable practices (although sustainability is pretty broad term often used in wrong way by brands).

5. Ask yourself during shopping: Do I really need this? Tracking your spendings in shops is also a good idea - a little bit of personal accounting could give you an idea if you are bleeding too much money on waste.

6. Look through your bin. Seriously! Investigate what usually lands in your bin (particularly in compost bin) and see if if can be cut down somehow.

7. Upcycle - join freecycle groups that help recycle unnecessary stuff. Only because you do not need it does not mean someone else cannot use it.

8. Support initiatives like Food Cloud - organisations that are diverting food wasted by supermarkets and services to those in need.

9. Reusable water bottle/coffee cup - this really makes a difference.

Final note:

Industries that make progress: beauty & personal hygiene, grocery retail, gardening,

Industries that persistently resist change: fashion and electronics. Output is not designed to last - on the contrary, they are to be replaced within 6 moths to 2 years.

IMS

All views on my own