We spent a year collecting our waste, to see how much rubbish we produced by following the Rules of the Rs: Refuse, Reduce, Refill, Repair, Reuse, Recycle and Rot. We produced 6 kg of waste for the both us.
Why did I do this challenge?
Ander: Two reasons, the first one was for work. I am a recycling manager for a London council, and we are proposing to residents to collect their waste every other week, whilst keeping recycling and food waste (organics) weekly. People don't like change, I don't always like change either. How can I ask others to change ‘their ways’, if I don't do it myself? We were already good at composting and recycling, but I needed to see how far we could go without our waste being collected. For reference, our household is two adults, two dogs, one cat, one medium size fish tank. The challenge was to keep our waste (non-recyclables) to the size of one 120 litre bin for one year; the #1bin1year challenge.
The second reason was more personal. Behaviour change is complex, it can be achieved through different nudge techniques or by making a public pledge, such as announcing it online to your family/friends. I felt that pledging my commitment online, keeping a diary and posting on social media would force us to make changes. Adam has been vegetarian for almost 25 years and we signed up to Veganuary in 2018, and even though we aren’t currently 100% plant based, we made a lot of long term changes to our diet as a result. I knew going zero waste for a year would have some longer lasting impact on our lifestyle as well.
What lifestyle changes did we make?
📦 Cutting down on Amazon deliveries
🥼 Donating clothes & textiles to local charity
💪 Making my own deodorant
🧽 Switching from plastic sponge to a home compostable luffa
💦 Making our own vinegar/lemon cleaning multispray
🍲 Cooking package free pulses & vegetables
🛒 Stopped online food deliveries
🛍 Using produce cotton bags to buy loose veg/fruit
🌿 Shopping in zero waste shops (bulk bins/pay by weight)
📦 Subscribing to organic box food deliveries
🥘 Bringing our containers to take food leftover home
🥬 Growing our lettuce/tomatoes/beans
🥤 Bringing our own cups to festivals
✋🏼 Refusing gifts & sending them back
🍛 Taking containers back to get them refilled at our local Indian takeaway
🥗 Bringing our own containers for lunch
🚰 Refilling household cleaning bottles
🍕 Making our pizzas
🧼 Switching from shower gel to soap
🍷 Refilling wine bottles
🐛 Composting clean cardboard & toilet rolls
🍜 Making fresh pasta from scratch
☕️ Repairing our coffee machine, pressure cooker and hoover
🥜 Making our own humus, dips and similar snacks
🌿 Buying 5 litre olive oil steel container instead of 1 litre plastic bottle
🥠 Making our tofu from unpackaged soy beans
📩 Unsubscribing from old mailing lists
🥛 Making oat milk
🧵 Mending clothes
👞 Repairing boots/shoes
🧴 Swapped some cosmetics
📩 Wrote back to companies that use unrecyclable and/or excessive packaging
What were the positives about this challenge?
Adam: That it is over! I am kidding... I love cooking and I enjoyed all the food elements of it. I got really good at making, chapatis, tortillas and flatbreads and can make them without having to measure things out or giving it any real thought now. We stopped buying plastic wrapped bread and buying more quality bread from the local bakery and zero waste shops. I also enjoyed going to the supermarket less and buying more from local shops. I also noticed how we talk a lot more to the local shop owners/workers, and it had made us feel more connected to the area we live in. It has pushed me to look at more cooking books, and experimented making Kimchi successfully.
Ander: Like Adam said, it made me feel closer to the area we live in. We still buy on Amazon, but we reduced our consumption by 90%. I always had a sense of guilt buying from them, and not from our local shops. I feel pleased our money is being spent locally. As planned the challenge forced us to change our ways, and many of the habits are now embedded in our daily routine. It also made me look at the bigger picture of zero waste, and read more non-fictions books throughout the year that I ever had done.
What were the negatives?
Ander: Mainly two, the first one that I can be a real pain, or like the Dutch say, an antfucker; 'someone who is obsessed with little details; a perfectionist.” I may have gone a bit obsessive trying to avoid waste and recycling. The second one, is the criticism you get for being a do-gooder. You get criticised left right and centre. There is a misconception that zero wasters are oblivious to the rest of the environmental impact (carbon and water), and that is simply not true. The first ‘R’ of zero waste, is ‘Refuse’, or consuming less.
That according to the Dutch, I am an antf*cker...
Adam: Ander stressed himself out with some #zerowastefails, like receiving a parcel with unexpected bubble wrap, or perhaps when I ‘forgot’ and bought some spices in unrecyclable bags. I will be honest, I won’t be missing feeling guilty about really minor things like these. He has also been reading non-fiction books all year, and whilst I often identify as a cheerful nihilist, I felt at times that he was becoming a real climate nihilist (or climate despair); “What is the point of doing this, when the world is burning, and the governments are owned by corporate capitalists cults.’ Cheery stuff!
Is going zero waste expensive?
Ander: This depends on how much of an antf*cker you want to be about going zero waste. If you buy expensive reusables, yes, if you only go (if accessible) to organic zero waste shops, maybe. At the end of the day, the changes are up to you and what you have available around you. I thought we couldn't avoid certain food items without unrecyclable packaging, but the more I forced myself to look around for alternatives, the more I realised these were closer to home than I had expected.
The answer is not more expensive. We saved money as we bought less things, but we used these savings, and spent it on organic food. We don’t buy all organic food. It is a bit like buying less and better quality goods like clothes or things. However, if you are looking to save money based on how much a refill of washing up liquid is compared to the cheaper white brands then no, this can cost more. It depends on your household priorities, but you can definitely reduce your waste without spending more.
What is your advice for someone thinking to go zero waste?
You don't need to go zero, you can go ‘low waste’ or ‘lower waste than now’. You will need to look at your own habits, what waste you produce and plan how this can be reduced or prevented. Top tips;
Check what is in your bin, if you know what you throw away, you know what you can avoid next.
After a week, make a note of the top 10 (or 5 or 3, up to you) things that you can avoid/reuse the following week.
Take it easy, small changes per week, will mean a lot of changes over a year. If you try to do all the changes at once, you will feel overwhelmed and stressed, and possibly give up completely.
Every household is different, don't compare yourself to anyone. Leave the comparisons to the changes you have made. You will feel especially proud if you can monitor your waste/recycling levels from time to time, as you can see how much less stuff you are throwing away, and perhaps how much less you have consumed in the first place.
Once you are in it, you may want to replace your bin for a smaller bin, or even a jar (a large jar even). Making waste visible makes you more conscious of what you throw away.
You will need to make some compromises with the people you live in, your partners, your kids, your pets.
Take it easy, small changes per week, will mean a lot of changes over a year.
Why should I go zero waste?
You don't have to, but if you did these can be the positives:
You save money: You may buy less, or you will swap single use items, you can make your cleaning products, or you can buy in bulk.
You slow down a bit. Shopping in zero waste shops, makes me slow down a bit, you can rush things there, you are not bombarded by supermarket offers.
You eat more healthy. Buying less processed food it is better for you, and you develop a taste for pulses, which are not only healthier, but have a much less impact in natural resources such as water, energy and pesticide use.
You will be supporting the circular economy. The businesses we support and the choices we all make cast a vote for the future we want.
Supports your local community, not the pockets of shareholders from corporate entities. For every £1 spent with a small or medium-sized business 63p stayed in the local economy, compared to 40p with a larger business (Ref: The Guardian)
You will notice your own positives after a while, everyone is different.