I share a bathroom with four other girls. Because we are in a dorm, we are stocked with paper towels next to our sink. Our trashcan is always overflowing with them even though it gets taken out daily. It was looking at that stack of paper towels that is always too full and always needs to get pushed down that made me think that I really needed to change. There are so many things in my daily life that I do to create waste. I dry my hands with paper towels. I open up prepackaged meals and snacks. I write notes onto papers that I throw away seconds later. All of this I do without thinking. I decided to give it a real effort to go zero waste for one week. I got my boyfriend to do it with me as well to make it a bit of a challenge between us. This really helped me be accountable throughout the week.
Going into the week I knew that there would be some pieces of trash that I probably wouldn't avoid. For example, I know that I still had tags on some items I need in the week, I still do use paper for my notes in class, and if I dine anywhere but my campus dining hall I will be faced with the trash from the location.
My real goal from this challenge wasn't to make zero waste because that isn't realistic to expect. The issue with this a true zero waste challenge is that I could avoid certain items and push it off for a week. For example, I may have decided not to throw away certain items until the next week or wait to open them, which doesn't negate the trash. Thinking I would be truly zero waste would force me to feel the discomfort and see the difficulty of being zero waste. However, it would not create a sustainable solution. For this challenge my true goal is to see what types of trash I am most naturally making, where I can cut back, and seeing how difficult it is to avoid trash in a culture that promotes it.
Day One
My first day started out very poorly. I had just gotten a new hairbrush the day before and of course it came in a large plastic package. Afterwards, I had to run off to class and grabbed a Jolly Rancher on my way out and quickly regretted the choice because my second piece of trash was already made and it wasn't even 9am yet. Feeling a bit defeated at first, I took a deep breath and realized this would be part of the process if I did want to make a change.
Later in the day, the trash just continued to pick up. It was bid day at my school and because I am part of a sorority that meant getting decked out in our theme. I had previously bought a headband and beads. I had to remove the packaging from the items and add that to the pile as well. It made me really realize how much unnecessary packaging can be on products that really would only need a sticker. I also needed to repaint my nails which meant that I had to take off my nail polish. I really did consider what else I could use but ultimately decided I needed the two cotton balls.
At night I encountered another issue, going out. I knew that going to the bar I would be faced with plastic cups so I decided to drink some wine beforehand. Even this posed a problem because I opened up a new bottle of wine leaving some more remnants. At the bar I kept to two drinks but even then it added two cups and two straws to my list.
Finally day one was over and I already had a good pile of trash. Honestly, I am thankful that I decided not to use a mason jar to collect everything because already I would be over my limit! This really opened my eyes though because I truly did try and be zero waste and this was my pile in just one day. In a typical day this would have probably been much much larger considering all of the paper waste I create.
Day Two
Today I really tried to make a conscious effort of what I was doing. The hardest part was paper towels in the bathroom. In my dorm's bathroom as well as the ones across campus we have paper towels and not air driers. This means that I have always used the paper towels to dry off my hands. Getting myself to use the cloth towel in my dorm's bathroom really took some focus because it has become so natural for me to grab a paper towel once I am done washing my hands.
I also really have to think about where I eat on campus. The only places that I am able to eat with zero waste is the cafeteria and Unos, even there I need to make sure not to use napkins. Typically within a week I will often visit Einsteins for breakfast or Moes for dinner. However, both of these locations have packaging and I don't think that they would make the food in my own containers. However, avoiding these locations ended up being a strange benefit to my zero waste challenge. Because I was conscious not to make this food packaging waste I had to select healthier options. I couldn't run off to Moe's between classes or make myself a package of ramen. This forced me to eat more salads and less processed food.
At the end of the day I was left with three pieces of trash- three sticky notes. I was so upset at myself for these three because I could have easily used my Evernote to create the lists that I needed. Evernote is a great tool that allows you to make lists, capture ideas, and keep all of your thoughts in one place. However, I have always been so naturally inclined to write down my notes on sticky notes or scrap paper.
Day Three
So I slipped up right in the morning in the cafe. I was with my boyfriend so he was the first to call out that I had made two pieces of trash. The first I had not even realized I had done. When I got to the table in our cafe, the table was wet. It was natural instinct for me to grab a napkin to wipe it down, so natural that I do not even remember doing it. The second mistake was getting a smoothie that our cafe makes in little plastic cups. I know that if I had asked the woman to pour it into a normal cup that she would have, but I completely forgot until I was back at the table. Because I had tripped up twice in the morning, it really motivated me to do better throughout the day. Even when I went to wash my hands I would look at the paper towels and remind myself to not use them. This was the first day that I was really able to focus on breaking the habits so ingrained in my daily life.
Day Four
Today I woke up so sick. I had sniffles in previous days but today I had full fledge cold symptoms. I had to use a tissue as well as take some medicine. I did not take a photo of this for obvious reasons haha. However, the medicine I took was in individual packaging. This was something that I really couldn't avoid for the day. Although, in the future I would like to look into more natural medicines anyway because I do believe that natural medicines can be better than capsules and pills.
I was doing well throughout the day. However, I found a sticky note in my purse from another week. Although I didn't make this trash throughout the week I thought it was fair to include it in the week. Overall, I was proud of myself this day and how I was being able to make active changes that were adding up.
Day Five
Today I finally did it! I finally went a whole day without making a piece of trash. I was so proud of myself. I do think that if I would try this challenge again I would be able to make the whole week without making trash or at the least be able to squeeze it into a little mason jar. Again, the point of this wasn't to make zero waste but to make changes in my life which I did. I am so glad that at the very minimum I have become more conscious and in control of my waste habits. It allowed me to really live life more aware and notice more things about myself so that I can make positive changes.
Reflections
This is just a weeklong challenge but change is a lifelong process. In life we create so much more trash. Each time that we purchase an item it comes with packaging 90% of the time that will ultimately end up in the trash. Even long term items like pens will eventually find themselves in a landfill one day. Despite the trash that I had this week, there are certain times when I will find myself having so much more. For example, last week I ran out of my toothpaste, conditioner, three pens, a roll of packing tape, and my scotch tape all in just one week. Sometimes things like this happen. I am actively trying to make changes to even reduce trash such as this. However, it is my daily consumption that I am more focused on getting a control on. In the future I do plan on using my Evernote more and buying more products with reduced packaging.
This challenge has really opened my eyes to the amount of trash that we create on a daily basis and how hard some of it can be to avoid. I hope to continue to make a conscious effort to reduce my creation of trash on a daily basis while maintaining a sustainable life, because even small changes add up to a large difference.
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