What is the Zero Waste movement?

It's more than just Mason jars.

If you're not an environmentalist, you might not know what I'm talking about. So let me get you up to speed.

The girl who made the Zero Waste movement big is a young entrepreneur named Lauren Singer. She attended NYU and got a degree in environmental science in 2013, after starting her zero waste journey the year prior. She got famous for being able to fit all her trash for a year in a 16 ounce Mason jar, and since then has done a TED talk and opened her own package free store called The Simply Co. She also runs a blog called Trash is for Tossers and has a Youtube channel where she talks about her zero waste journey, DIY zero waste options, and inspiration for others to challenge themselves and go zero waste.

She was inspired by Bea Johnson, a French woman credited with being the creator of the Zero Waste movement. She wrote a book about the movement titled Zero Waste and has a website called zerowastehome.com.

Ok. That was a lot of information.

Now we can get to the main point of this post.

The information and context are very important, but can also make the movement seem very intimidating when you read about the feats the founder and others accomplished. The common belief is that if you can't fit all your trash in a tiny jar, you might as well not even try. But I disagree.

The point of the zero waste movement is, yes, to try to produce zero waste. However, in the society and world we live in right now, that is virtually (if not completely) impossible. The best we can do is try. For many people who participate in the movement, the goal has changed from producing no waste to producing as little was as possible.

Think about it- even if you go to a store with a bulk section, like Whole Foods, for example, there is still some waste that is unavoidable. You can bring your own reusable produce bags, bring your own cloth bags for bulk nuts, pasta, and more, and even bring your own jars for peanut butter and soap. They do so much to make zero waste as accessible to the general public as possible, but there are still stickers on their fruit. It's not a big thing, but it's still trash that you can't avoid producing. Their asparagus is wrapped with a rubber band, and much of their produce still contains packaging- though it's worth noting that the packaging is very very minimal.

There is no reason for people to be discouraged if they can't fit all their trash in a single tiny jar. The point, in my opinion, is that you try. As a teen, it is difficult for me to keep up with environmentalism and living low waste, especially living with 3 other people and 2 dogs. I can't get a school lunch without it being on a styrofoam plate, and I can't see a school play without getting a paper ticket. I'm nowhere near the place of waste usage that I would like to be, but I still try.

I have stopped eating fish to avoid contributing to the massive amount of waste the fishing industry produces, and I often carry around my own bamboo cutlery and refuse straws and water bottles to avoid single-use plastics. I'm not perfect (is anyone, really?) but I'm working on it.

The most important thing is that you make an effort to reduce your waste. The rest comes after that.

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