Post by pv
#weeklywins #sustainability #managingwaste
My sustainability resolution for 2022 is to continue on my path that I hope will eventually take me to a zero waste lifestyle.
It’s been more than a year since my wife and I started on the journey of closely observing our habits that generate waste, discover new born value from it and learn ways to carefully dispose off what we couldn’t handle.
We knew what we were getting into, and that we needed to be serious, consistent and courageous about facing what we find in our waste and correct the habits that lead to them.
It was going to be hard, and we needed to take small steps, baby ones.
So we made it simple, we first broke it down into wet and dry waste. All waste mostly generated from the activity of our cooking and kitchen we classified as wet, and waste that is not wet and generated from our purchase of materials, packaged foods, travel etc. we classified as dry.
How did we start reducing and handling the waste we generated?
Wet Waste:
1. We first started PLANNING our meals, ensuring we cooked only what was required and tried master the art. This helped us buy the right quantity of vegetables and also cook the right amounts for consumptions.
2. We AVOIDED food wastage, since we cooked often rather than ordering in we respected the time and effort we spent on cooking, respected the beautiful ingredients and the fact that so much effort has been put into making that produce and we ensured that we finished eating what we made.
3. We started COMPOSTING in our own balcony, we collected peels, stalks, food scraps, withered leaves, coffee ground etc. we generated valuable compost we call black gold that we fed back to our little garden in our Verandah, community parks and anything extra we gave to our friends and family to encourage them to start their composting journey.
Dry Waste:
1. REDUCED our need for materialistic purchases, especially products wrapped in plastic. We did this by always discussing every purchase, it gets tiring at first but you become a pro at it. Next we each carry our own travel kit everywhere. The travel kit consists of a bag to house any ad hoc purchases, a cutlery kit, a beautiful coffee mug, and a box to pack fast food if we have a sudden craving for.
2. REUSE or UPCYCLE plastic containers to make pots for plants, use them as containers for food takeouts, make some artistic stuff at home, or use it to feed stray animals, then buy old used books rather than a brand new one and hand them down to friends in a book exchange.
3. RECYCLE by collecting dry and electronic waste by paying a monthly visit to our recycling heroes (known as kabadiwala in India) and give them our collected waste. By this we also are supporting a booming market of talented people generating more value from our waste.
4. CLEANUP during travel. My wife and I have promised to allocate 10% of our holiday time to cleanup activities, it keeps us close to the realities of how plastics can reach every corner of the world and also encourage a tiny movement by the locals who watch us.
Now with more than a year of experience, we’ve realised it’s been very satisfying at times and overwhelming during others. But we promised we wouldn’t back down, and that we would stick to the true spirit of sustainability by first and foremost trying to make this habit of living a waste free lifestyle a sustainable one for us and our environment.
Well sustainability is much bigger than just the waste you generate at home, it doesn’t end there. But when you begin at home what it does is that it starts this cycle of reflection every time you take an action. We are living in a complex environment, and we need to accept that there is no easy answer to it. Least we can do is try, speak to each other and learn.
For a better future. 🤘🏾
In Pics (L to R):
1. My composting pic showing the three bins (fresh compost on top, ‘halfway there’ compost on the right, wet waste on the left)
2. Yin and Yang made using fresh compost
3. A black soldier fly, that basically evolved from a maggot. They are true eco-warriors, do read up about how helpful they are
4. My composting kit with my plant babies in the background
5. Our travel kit
6. An eco friendly picnic on the city outskirts with home brought cutlery and home made food
7. My wife talking to a beach local about the waste on the beach
8. A market of used books
9. A vegan restaurant we order from who deliver food in steel boxes
10. A pic of me NOT showing off the plastic that’s found it’s way to the beach
@abillion10 @nichu #abillion #findyourimpact #2022resolution #zerowaste
