_Cela is a sophomore journalism major at MU. She is an opinion columnist who writes about Daily Life for The Maneater._
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The world produces at least 3.5 million tons of plastic and other solid waste waste per day, according to World Bank. In this age where individual packaging is king and disposable cleaning items are a necessity more than ever, the world needs movements for sustainability and environmental activism. One such movement is called “zero waste.”
Zero waste builds on the principles of preventing waste and reusing resources. It seeks to preserve value, minimize environmental impacts and conserve natural resources. People should go zero waste to become more conscious of the waste they produce and find ways they can change their behavior to be more sustainable. In order to lead a zero-waste life, people should: refuse to buy items with lots of packaging, reduce consumption of goods to only essentials, compost as much waste as possible and recycle.
Members of the zero-waste community are often millennial women who are “embracing a modern minimalist lifestyle,” according to National Geographic.
To go zero waste, environmental journalist Steven Leahy says many zero-waste practitioners purchase fresh food in bulk, make their own cleaning products and come up with innovative ways to supplement their needs to reduce waste. For instance, zero-waste blogger Kathryn Kellog hated making tortillas but didn’t want to buy packaged ones from the grocery store. Her solution was to buy directly from a local Mexican restaurant that was able to use the containers she supplied.
While the average American produces 1,500 pounds of trash a year, Kellog’s waste from the past two years fits inside a 16 ounce mason jar.
Given the quantity of disposable packaged products it uses on a daily basis, MU has produced more trash compared to past years. In 2017, 112 tons of containers were recycled on campus, which is less than half of the ordered containers for five campus dining locations, according toThe Columbia Missourian.
This means only a portion of the waste created at MU can be recycled, and a fraction of that is actually recycled. MU students could reduce their waste substantially by employing zero-waste tactics and being mindful about the waste they produce. However, to achieve monumental change would require MU as an institution to go zero waste and provide opportunities for students to compost and recycle.
Additionally, around only 10% of all waste gets recycled; the rest goes to landfills. While the U.S. has around 9,000 recycling facilities, many of them have suffered from a lack of funding directed instead toward COVID-19 efforts. Municipalities like Peoria, IL., Omaha, Neb., New Orleans and Lexington, Va. are considering cutting their curbside recycling programs.
Without recycling facilities, trash that could be recycled end up in landfills instead. Recycling ensures that materials are repurposed and reused. To practice zero waste is to recycle, reuse and reduce consumption of packaged goods as much as possible so that nothing goes to waste.
The mantra of “reduce, reuse, recycle” repeated in elementary school reminds students of how they can help the environment, but they must remember the first R, reduce. Even though thrifting is a great alternative to buying brand-new clothes, the best thing to do is reduce consumption of clothes altogether, as even buying thrifted clothes uses resources.
Thrifting and buying second-hand has recently become trendy, but it is a necessity for some. While choosing from the same 10 items of clothing for a capsule wardrobe may be a trendy way to take the stress out of choosing an outfit, many individuals work with 10 items of clothing not because they choose to, but because it is their only option.
However, in the age of the coronavirus, single-use is the name of the game. To ensure safety and cleanliness, companies use more packaging and disposable protective equipment, which generates more waste.
To combat COVID-19, 129 billion disposable face masks and 65 billion gloves are used every month globally. The decline of oil prices has also made plastic cheaper than ever. This makes it advantageous to use plastic packaging rather than alternative materials such as cellulose and seaweed.
Disposable masks have a lifespan of 450 years, and latex gloves take anywhere from several months to decades to decompose depending on the type of latex used. Not only does disposable personal protective equipment result in more waste, this waste will exist on Earth for generations to come.
UC Berkeley’s webpage “Staying Environmentally Sustainable – COVID-19 Pandemic Recovery” has several strategies for adjusting consumption while dealing with COVID-19. They suggesty to make or buy a reusable face mask, use reusable items when possible and, when purchasing single-use items, look for plastics #1, 2, & 7, glass, aluminum and tin to minimize waste going to the landfill.
According to a Scientific American article, although air quality improved when individuals stayed at home, COVID-19’s effect on the oceans is detrimental.
The save the turtles movement, which focused on stopping the use of plastic straws, shook the world and caused several cities, such as Seattle, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Santa Monica, Calif., to ban plastic straws and single-use plastics. In addition, Starbucks stopped using plastic straws and replaced them with a plastic lid for drinks, and McDonalds banned the use of plastic straws in its UK restaurants. These straws were instead replaced with biodegradable alternatives.
Conservationists have already seen what they have dubbed “COVID-19 waste” in the oceans and on beaches. The French non-profit Opération Mer Propre found dozens of gloves, masks and bottles of hand sanitizer when picking up litter along the Côte d’Azur. This problem is not isolated to France either, as hundreds of disposable masks were found on the uninhabited Soko Island beaches in Hong Kong by the investigative environmental group OceansAsia.
Given the economic struggles prompted by COVID-19, many companies and restaurants alike turned to using plastic products to save money: Nosediving oil prices made plastic even cheaper. It was only logical for companies to turn to packaging grocery items in cheap single-use plastic rather than more expensive but sustainable and environmentally-friendly options. Restaurants are also guilty of turning to single-use plastic to suit their growing takeout needs in the absence of in-person dining.
If companies are able to change that quickly in response to the pandemic, why can’t they make the effort to be more sustainable and reduce waste on all fronts? All of the pressure is put on the consumer to change, when in fact it is producers who have the power and must make the change to make their products more sustainable and be transparent about their processes.
The Carbon Disclosure Project database says 100 companies in the world are responsible for 71% of the world’s carbon emission. In addition, the world’s 3,000 largest companies cause $2.2 trillion worth of environmental damage each year, according to The Guardian. Corporations consume mass amounts of resources and generate mass amounts of waste every year. However, they are not held accountable for these damages and do not have to pay reparations, allowing them to continue to pollute and damage the Earth.
As a consumer, it is understandable to feel helpless in the face of big corporations, but individual action matters. If there is one thing corporations will always listen to, it’s their wallets. Consumers have the power to change their own behavior to help the earth and also call for corporations to stop polluting and become more sustainable. Choosing whether or not to support a company depending on their environmental practices motivates companies to be more sustainable in order to keep their customers.
However, it is also important to recognize the privilege associated with choosing to go zero-waste and participate in sustainable practices. There are many individuals who cannot afford to buy bulk produce or may live in a food desert. Items like reusable bags, utensils and containers are an investment, and it is a luxury to be able to choose to change lifestyles.
The MU Sustainability website has a guide to recycling for numerous materials and features a cardboard and paper recycling bin map. The biggest mistake people make when recycling is not rinsing or removing all of the food contents from their container. Even a small amount of food left in a container will disqualify it from being recycled.
Overall, buy less in general. If it is essential to buy something, try to buy local and support small businesses. Also, look at the packaging to see if it is recyclable, and use reusable bags to eliminate the need for plastic bags.
Small things can make a big difference: use a reusable bag and utensils, only take one napkin at restaurants and make the conscious effort to recycle. If possible, make homemade disinfecting wipes with a cleaning solution and rags. Instead of buying several small containers of hand sanitizer, consider filling up the same small container from a larger container. This eliminates the need for small, single-use plastic bottles.
While a zero-waste lifestyle may not be for everyone, its practices benefit the individual and the Earth. It is imperative that individuals make conscious decisions regarding their consumption of goods and be mindful of the waste they produce and its impact on the earth.
To truly be sustainable and eco-conscious, keep environmental justice in mind and continue to engage and interact with educational resources to form long-standing habits. While it is trendy to have reusable items and claim to be sustainable, this movement cannot lose momentum. Sustainability is and will always be important to better conditions for the Earth and its people.
_In pursuit of racial and social equality, The Maneater encourages its readers to donate to For the Gworls. For the Gworls is a fund that raises money to help Black trans folks pay for rent and gender-affirming surgery nationwide. Donate at: https://www.artsbusinesscollaborative.org/asp-products/for-the-gworls-rent-and-gender-affirming-surgery-fund/_
_Edited by Sofi Zeman | szeman@themaneater.com_