21 Reasons to Consider an (Almost) Zero Waste Lifestyle

Zero waste living…

Maybe it piqued your interest when you saw that beachy-looking mesh produce bag.

Or, maybe it showed up on your “For You” page on social media.

Or if you’re like me, you had a grand epiphany (not the good kind) about the gnarly amount of waste a single person can produce in just one day.

However you came across the term “zero waste”, you’re in the right place. In this article, you’ll learn 21 reasons why zero-waste living is important, and how to know if it’s the right lifestyle for you…

21 Reasons Why (Almost) Zero-Waste Living Is Important

There are probably a million and one reasons why a less wasteful lifestyle is important, but here are the top 21 in my book…

1. A Single Person Generates 4.9 Pounds of Trash Per Day

The average American generates 4.9 pounds of trash every single day (2).

That’s 34 pounds a week. 1,784 pounds a year. For just one person.

On a global scale, annual waste generation reached 2.01 billion tonnes in 2016 and is expected to spike 70% by 2050—to 3.40 billion tonnes (3).

3.4 billion tonnes is equivalent to 7,495,716,914,286 pounds—or nearly 7.5 trillion pounds of waste.

*Side Note: “Ton” and “Tonne” are two different measurements. Ton is the American measurement for 2,000 pounds. Whereas “Tonne” is a metric unit of mass that’s equivalent to 1,000 kilograms.

So where does all this trash go?

2. Landfills Can’t Handle ~8 Billion People

Wondering where the world’s waste ends up? Here’s the breakdown (3)…

37% of waste ends up in some form of a landfill.
8% of waste ends up in a sanitary landfill, meaning that it has a landfill gas collection system.
33% of waste is openly dumped, meaning that it’s done in a manner that doesn’t protect the environment.
19% is recovered through recycling and composting.
11% are incarcerated for final disposal.

In 2016 alone, an estimated 1.6 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) was generated from the above points. (This was mostly driven by open dumping and disposal in landfills without landfill gas capture systems (3).)

This accounts for 5% of global emissions—and it’s expected to increase by one billion tonnes by 2050 if no improvements are made.

Why is this an issue, you ask?

Because CO2 traps radiation at the ground level, resulting in air pollution (or ground-level ozone). This prevents the earth from cooling down at night, while increasing ocean temperatures (4).

And as for humans, short-term and long-term exposures to air pollutants have been linked to an increase in premature deaths from respiratory and cardiovascular diseases (5).

3. Consumers Hold the Power

Businesses aren’t going to make changes unless you and I hold them accountable. As consumers, our power lies within every dollar we spend.

Rather than putting your hard-earned money toward fruits and vegetables wrapped in plastic, head to your local farmer’s market with your reusable produce bag, or go to Sprouts.

Instead of succumbing to every fast fashion trend, head to a thrift store and pick up something even more unique and trendy.

When rebuying your regular ole toothpaste tube, try some toothpaste tablets that are 100% zero-waste instead.

4. Plastic Lasts a LONG Time

Did you know that plastic takes 450 years to decompose?

Think of that every time you purchase a tube of toothpaste, shampoo bottle, pre-packaged fruit, vegetable trays, water bottle, Starbucks iced latte, Red Solo Cups, ketchup, and the 50,000 other plastic items.

(Spoiler Alert: 91% of plastic doesn’t even make it to the recycling bin. Instead, it goes straight to the landfill where it’ll sit there for the next 400+ years (6).)

5. Litter Is Taking Over

If you went outside today, odds are you saw at least ONE piece of trash on the ground. I go on the same walk every morning and find three or more pieces every single day.

This can all be linked back to the fact that single-use papers, plastics, and packages are much too relied upon in our modern-day society.

6. Our Oceans Are Becoming Dumps

In 2010, a staggering 275 million tonnes of plastic waste was generated, and 8 million tonnes of that (3%) ended up in the ocean (7).

There’s even a place in the ocean called the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP). A giant floating landfill of plastics that’s three times the size of Spain.

7. Coral Reefs Are Dying

So you know the 8 million tonnes of plastic that ends up in the ocean?

Well, that plastic often gets crushed into tiny pieces—creating microplastics.

Now here’s the issue with microplastics: Coral is a filter-feeding animal. So when they filter microplastics, it leads to a blockage in their digestive tract (8).

Coral reefs make up only 1% of the earth’s surface (but house 25% of its biodiversity), so it’s crucial that we take care of what we have.

8. Greenhouse Gasses Are on the Rise

First, what are greenhouse gasses?

Greenhouse gases include gases like carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and water vapor (which all occur naturally) and fluorinated gases (which are synthetic) (9).

The issue with these gasses is that they trap heat, resulting in a warming effect—otherwise known as global warming. This causes a few things: More frequent and/or intense weather events (like heat waves, hurricanes, droughts, and floods). Rising sea levels due to melting glaciers. And worsening precipitation—making wet regions wetter and dry regions drier.

Since the industrial revolution, when many of these gasses began entering the atmosphere, the earth’s temperature has risen by 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit.

9. Natural Resources Are Finite

Freshwater. Natural gas. Copper. Coal. Diamonds. Gold.

Each of these is a natural resource that can’t be replaced (10, 11).

That said, it’s becoming increasingly important to use renewable resources like wind power, solar power, and hydrogen fuel cells.

10. It Saves You Money

Adopting an almost zero-waste lifestyle is good for your wallet, too.

That’s because you’re not buying any more single-use items (think: plastic water bottles, zip lock baggies, laundry detergent). Rather, you’re reaching for higher-quality items that can be reused time and time again. Things like reusable water bottles, glass containers to keep veggies fresh and store leftovers, and silicone zip lock bags.

11. 1.3 Billion Tons of Food Is Wasted Every Year

Each year, approximately one-third of the food produced in the world goes to waste (12). That equates to a whopping 1.3 billion tons wasted (which is enough food to feed two billion people).

Why is this an issue?

For one, that’s food that could go straight to under-nourished people around the world. And two, landfills were made for storage, not composting. That said, food doesn’t have the oxygen it needs to break down in landfills. This results in the production of a greenhouse gas called methane, which contributes to climate change and an increase in temperatures across the globe (13).

12. Thriftiness & Efficiency Used to be Prized American Values

One hundred years ago, people would think you were crazy for throwing food away or getting rid of slightly used clothes or shoes. Today, we’re a throwaway society (14).

What if, from now on, you asked this question before buying something: How long will this be around?

Take that shampoo bottle sitting in your shower, for instance. If not properly recycled, that bottle will be around for the next 400+ years!

So, what if instead of buying single-use items that are packaged in plastic, you go to a refill shop to fill up on goods like shampoo and conditioner, dish soap and body soap, laundry detergent, softener, all-purpose cleaner, window cleaner, and more?

That small shift in your purchasing habits will go a long way—both for your pocketbook and the world.

13. Amazon Ships 1.6 Million Boxes Every Day

On a typical day, Amazon ships a grand total of 1.6 million boxes, according to Landing Cube (15).

That’s 18.5 orders every second.

4,000 orders every minute.

And 66,000 orders every hour.

Is it possible for you to live by the 80/20 rule when it comes to Amazon? Meaning, can you buy 80% of your goods locally, and the rest off of Amazon?

For instance, before I even had a zero-waste mindset, I was buying my deodorant, doggy bags, books, journals, shampoo, essential oils, and toothpaste all off of Amazon. It felt like I was getting a box at my door every other day.

After a while, I began to see how much cardboard and plastic bubble wrap I was throwing away.

So, I made a pact with myself to do better—to shop locally 80% of the time, and online the rest of the time.

14. It Increases Local Jobs

By adopting an (almost) zero-waste lifestyle, you’re simultaneously adding jobs to your community, creating what’s called a “circular economy” (16).

Reducing, reusing, and recycling trash creates 10X more jobs than merely disposing of it (17).

15. Our Soil Is Wrecked

With the mass production of food—and nearly one-third of it going directly to landfills—our soil is downright depleted.

This results in vegetables that are stripped of important vitamins and minerals. Since 1950, nutrients like protein, calcium, phosphorus, iron, riboflavin, and vitamin C have decreased in many vegetables (18).

16. It Reduces Your Chemical Exposure

There’s this thing in plastic called BPA, or Bisphenol-A.

And it’s known to wreak havoc on your endocrine system, creating neurological issues, hormone dysfunction, and some cancers (19).

By swapping plastic bottles, jars, and containers for glass, you’re effectively cutting down on your exposure to BPA.

17. It Saves Energy

Instead of companies having to process raw materials from scratch, they can use recycled materials and use 30 to 90% less energy (20).

Here’s how much energy is saved when using one ton of recycled materials (as opposed to virgin materials) (21, 22)…

Aluminum: Saves 14,000 kilowatt-hours (Kwh) of energy—which is enough to power one residential home for nearly a year and three months.
Newsprint: Saves 601 Kwh of energy—which is enough to power one residential home for nearly 20 days.
Office Paper: Saves 4,100 Kwh of energy—which is enough to power one residential home for nearly four and a half months.
Plastic: Saves 5,774 Kwh of energy—which is enough to power one residential home for nearly six and a half months.
Steel: Saves 642 Kwh of energy—which is enough to power one residential home for nearly 21 days.
Glass: Saves 42 Kwh of energy—which is enough to power one residential home for nearly a day and a half.

18. It’s a Spiritual Act of Service

Taking care of the earth is talked about in the Bible, too.

Here are a few of my favorite verses about stewardship…

The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. Genesis 2:15 NIV

I brought you to a garden land where you could eat lush fruit. But you barged in and polluted my land, trashed and defiled my dear land. Jeremiah 2:7 MSG

It is a land the Lord your God cares for; the eyes of the Lord your God are continually on it from the beginning of the year to its end. Deuteronomy 11:12 NIV

18. Your Trash Is Another Person’s Treasure

If you no longer have a need for something in your home—whether it’s a piece of clothing, furniture, or even sheets and towels, don’t trash it! Donate it to places like Goodwill, Salvation Army, and other second-hand stores in your area.

Why?

In 2018, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimated that 11.3 million tons of textiles went to landfills. Which means textiles alone accounted for 7.7% of solid waste landfilled (23).

19. It Improves Air Quality

Remember reason #17 about how an (almost) zero-waste lifestyle saves energy?

Well, it also saves our air.

That’s because whenever a product is manufactured, pollutants like carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide are released into the air. Each of these is considered a fossil fuel emission.

There are two simple ways to reduce the fossil fuels that come from production:

Reuse products for as long as you can.
Support companies that are 100% carbon neutral (AKA, they don’t leave behind a carbon footprint). Head over to Climate Neutral to see which brands are certified (a few of my favorites are Alter Eco, REI, and Crap Eyewear).

20. It Improves Your Quality of Life

This may be the most invigorating reason. When adopting a less wasteful lifestyle, you just feel better. That’s due to a few reasons: 1) You’re doing good for the world and those around you and 2) You’re choosing better products to invest in.

Clothing. Razors. Water bottles. Toothbrushes. Food containers. The list goes on…

21. A Throwaway Society Can’t Last Forever

There’s a tradition that our ancestors lived by: “Take only what you need and use everything you take.”

What if you were to adopt this type of mindset in your life? What would that do for not only your bank account, but the health of the world?

You’d find yourself being extra grateful for the things that you do, in fact, have.

You’d get our thriftiness back.

And you’d be alleviating and/or improving the above 20 reasons while you’re at it.

So, the next time that you want to buy that bottle of coke, or the latest fashion trend, ask yourself: Do I really need this? Or will it do more harm than good?

Side Note: A beautifully written book about this topic is Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer.

Is (Almost) Zero-Waste Living Right for You?

Let’s state the facts: We live in a time where fast food, fast fashion, and even faster online shopping are the norm.

That’s a fact that won’t be changing anytime soon, but there’s another important fact to know…

The small lifestyle changes that you make DO add up. And the magic happens as more and more people adopt these small changes, too. That’s how we change the world…small changes done by ~8 billion people.

Here’s what Mother Teresa has to say about it: “We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop.”

That, my friend, is exactly what kaizen is. Continuous, never-ending improvement for the better. And when we’re all kaizening, we’re making waves.

The Bottom Line

534 billion pounds of trash is thrown away every year—in America alone.

Yes, humans are the problem for the majority of the issues stated in this article, but we’re also the solution.

The beautiful thing about (almost) zero-waste living is that it heightens your quality of life a hundred times over. Once you transform one part of your life to be zero waste, you want to transform every other part of your life.

It’s also just a more logical way to live. Why buy a throwaway plastic water bottle when you can buy one and refill it thousands of times?

As I like to say, small, 2% improvements are the key to change (i.e. kaizen!). Each of our actions is a ripple. And when we’re taking these actions collectively, that’s when we create lasting change.

For People & Planet