Waste Not summary

The easiest way to understand the zero-waste lifestyle is to think of it as a circular system, as opposed to the linear system of “buy, use, discard, and rebuy” in which most people participate. The term “zero waste” was coined in the 1970s by Dr. Paul Palmer, a California chemist whose company found uses for Silicon Valley’s chemical waste. Palmer was guided by the belief that any waste was a design flaw and that all byproducts should have a known use. 

Like Palmer, Bea Johnson also believes that recycling is not a sufficient solution to the waste problem. On her blog Zero Waste Home, Johnson encourages her readers to look at their trash through the lens of the five Rs – refuse, reduce, reuse, rot, and recycle – and consider whether an object was necessary in the first place – that is, whether they could have refused it. Only if nothing further can be done with it does she encourage recycling. 

The kitchen is usually the center of family life, the place where people cook, gather, and drink their morning coffee as they prepare to face the day. Typically, the kitchen also gets replenished on a weekly basis – and, unfortunately, it’s where most waste originates. 

If you’ve taken a look at your plastic usage, you know exactly how much unneeded packaging you have in your kitchen. So this is a great moment to remind yourself that for thousands of years, humans got along pretty well without all that packaging – and you can, too. It just takes a little planning.

Now it’s time to take a look under your kitchen sink, where you probably have an arsenal of plastic bottles filled with hazardous chemicals, each one designed to target a specific type of filth around your home. Unfortunately, most of these chemicals contain hormone disruptors, neurotoxins, and carcinogens, which build up in homes and also get flushed down into the soil. But just as humans in the past didn’t need plastic bags, they didn’t need all these chemicals, either. Instead, they relied on a few simple items, like soap and vinegar, to keep their homes and possessions clean. 

Part of the zero-waste lifestyle is learning how to take care of your stuff, whether it’s hardwood floors, antique rugs, or even clothes. And in being mindful of how you look after your things, you actually begin to value them more. In turn, they last longer – and reduce the need for you to replace them. 

Believe it or not, one of the biggest sources of waste is clothing. With the rise of “fast fashion,” which encourages us to buy a new wardrobe every season, it’s no wonder clothes are clogging landfills. Australia, for example, imports 90 percent of its clothing and throws away 6000 kilos of it every ten minutes. Think about all that waste – not just of the physical objects, but also the resources involved in producing them. 

But don’t worry. A zero-waste lifestyle doesn’t require that you pare your wardrobe down to a monk’s habit; it just asks that you reorient how you buy and hold onto clothes. Instead of chasing down the newest trends, seek out timeless staples. And if your closet is stuffed with items you haven’t worn in months, ask yourself whether there’s anyone in your life who’d love to have them. 

Just as you have an overabundance of chemicals beneath your sink, you likely have one above your sink, too. All those face and hand washes, beauty masks and hair gels, and even toilet paper and sanitary pads use tons of wasteful packaging that you simply don’t need. 

Don’t worry, though – you don’t have to forgo makeup and face masks to be zero waste. But since you’re pursuing a zero-waste lifestyle, you don’t want your actions to contribute to the environmental impact caused by scented toilet paper and cosmetics you don’t need.