I really learned a lot from working to eat Zero Waste this week!
It was challenging, but as the days went on, it got easier. Being prepared with my coffee mug was the most important thing for me, because there isn’t anywhere on my campus that you can get zero waste coffee, except for the Food Co-op. (I can’t tell you guys how much I love that place!)
First, I want to outline some of the main principles of the Zero Waste Movement:
- Do your best with what you have.
- If it’s unnecessary, don’t do it.
- Everyone has different goals and means.
- Even the smallest steps make a difference
One of the biggest misconceptions about going zero waste with anything is that you have to scrap everything you have all at once.
That’s so far from true! One of the first steps of going zero waste or minimalist is using what you have. If you up and rid yourself of what you own now, well, that would be just creating more waste.
So, you make the best use of what you have and maximize your resources. I happen to be at a great school that provides me many resources to make this possible, even if it’s challenging. Not everyone has access to things like this, and that’s why it’s important to acknowledge that any step matters, and also not to blame yourself if you don’t have the resources to decrease the waste in your life. This is relevant for many people.
So, I want to note, that my Zero Waste week was not completely zero waste. This is because I used food and resources that I had in my dorm, at times, instead of buying new food.
This helped me save money, and allowed me to make the most of the purchases I had already made, and keep food that was in disposable wrappers no matter what, from being wasted.
For example, I have had the pita chips in my room for quite a while. So, instead of buying more food at times, I ate them, and they lasted me actually quite a bit of time! Food waste is still waste, so I was able to cut back on my food waste by eating things available to me. And, the wrapper would be thrown out whether or not I ate the chips inside. So, what you do is eat the chips inside.
(To read more about how “Zero Waste” doesn’t have to equal perfect, check out this post by SustainableSabs.)
While it’s important to waste less, it’s also important not to a) beat yourself up for not being perfect or b) get caught up in expectations or standards that can’t/don’t apply to you.
This is what I mean by resources. I used what I had, got creative, and didn’t account for any new waste being created because of my food choices.
I made it all the way until Wednesday before I generated my first bit of waste. It was only a paper cup, but it still bothered me. After I bought it, I thought of other things/ ways I could have eaten, and this allowed me to go the rest of the week without doing it again. If nothing else, I learned from it. And then, I forgave myself and kept going.
Because as I mentioned before, even the smallest steps matter. No one should beat themselves up for throwing away 1 small paper cup, because in the bigger picture, I managed to remove 7 days of waste from our landfills.
From then on, I found other small (reusable) containers to put my cream cheese/maple syrup/etc in instead of using paper.
I also learned to put sugar in my mug before getting coffee to avoid packets, and to use a knife or spoon to mix it instead of the disposable stirrers.
This is true with any goal! It’s not about perfection, it’s about progress. One small slip up is better than never trying to fix something in the first place!
What I ate:
(all these foods are zero waste unless otherwise noted!)
Monday
- Yogurt + granola (homemade)
- Salad (Dining Hall)
- Pizza (Dining Hall)
- Pita chips (in my room)
- Coffee (Food Co-op)
Tuesday
- Coffee (Dining Hall)
- Yogurt + granola (homemade)
- Chickpea cutlet + roasted potatoes (Food Co-op)
- Lemon + chia seed vegan cookie (Food Co-op)
- Apple (Dining Hall)
- Pita chips (in my room)
- Nutella (in my room)
- Coffee (homemade)
Wednesday
- Bagel with cream cheese (the cream cheese was not zero waste unfortunately, I did have to use a paper container)
- Watermelon (Dining Hall)
- Yogurt + granola (Dining Hall)
- Coffee (Starbucks, they made it for me in my mug!)
- Pita chips (in my room)
- Nutella (in my room)
- Veggie straws (in my room)
Thursday (super busy, didn’t end up eating a lot)
- Bagel + cream cheese (Dining Hall)
- Food Co-op “cookie”
- Coffee (Dining Hall)
- Pita chips (in my room)
- Veggie Straws (in my room)
- Ice cream (some scoops from a friend)
Friday
- Bagel + cream cheese
- Coffee (Starbucks, they made it for me in my mug!)
- Watermelon (Dining Hall)
- Pizza (Dining Hall)
- Apple (Dining Hall)
- Crackers (Friend’s room)
- Mac and cheese (in my room)
Saturday (didn’t feel great, woke up late, didn’t eat a ton)
- Bagel + cream cheese (Dining Hall)
- Pizza (Dining Hall)
- Popcorn (at a friend’s)
Sunday
- Chocolate chip pancake (Dining Hall)
- Coffee (Dining Hall)
- Red pepper gouda soup (Dining Hall)
- Pizza (Dining Hall)
- Ice cream (Dining Hall)
It’s interesting to look back at what I ate this week! In a college setting, zero waste does not always mean really healthy. I didn’t eat poorly this week by my own standards and I definitely didn’t go hungry. However, pizza and other such things aren’t exactly what I picture when I picture zero waste eating.
And that’s okay!
Again, this is how I did with the resources I had and what I wanted to eat.
Minimalism and zero waste don’t have to mean deprivation, and they shouldn’t.
I also want to point out that I did use some napkins in the dining hall, and I didn’t like that. However, I also tried to remember that I was wasting less than normal.
As I started decreasing my waste I noticed even more how often, and how much, people waste unnecessarily. And I don’t even mean in the sense of going zero waste! Fore example, I sat with a friend for dinner and he got a paper cup, a plastic cover, and a plastic straw just to sit at the table. Why not use one of the reusable cups, instead of using the disposable products?
I also learned that the people who work at Starbucks will make most drinks in a reusable cup if you bring your own. We also have lots of coffee spots on campus where it comes out of a spout, and you just buy the cup at the counter. Someone could get that same coffee without wasting a cup, and get a discount (at my school).
It’s little changes like that that could make a huge difference if everyone reduced even once a day. At my school, with ~12,000 undergrad, everyone saving 1 cup a day would save use not only a lot of waste, but a lot of money as well.
That was fun! The week may be over, but my journey to zero waste definitely isn’t
x
Sounds like a great effort and I love how open you are about the ‘zero waste isn’t zero’ mindset! I wasn’t zero waste while in college, but I think it would be easier with a dining hall than IRL (at least in mine). Man, I miss people cooking for me XD
Thank you! I never want people to feel discouraged by the phrase “zero waste” because is so much one can do even without going zero waste! And yeah! It really is a luxury lol!
That’s so impressive that you did a zero waste week! I used to be a part of the Student Sustainability Council at my university. One of the big projects we were working on is getting rid of straws and replacing plastic dishware with reusable ones. Our long-term goal was to make the university zero waste.
Thank you so much! That’s so awesome! I wish every university would do that! Of course it takes students who care to start the process. Thank you for being one of them!