a low waste lifestyle + swaps

eco-entry 02: a recap of how the low waste lifestyle has treated me this year

I finally committed to Plastic Free July (PFJ) this year, and am really happy I went through with this. I remember signing up for the PFJ newsletter a few years ago and became discouraged very quickly because it just seemed too unfeasible, living at home with very judgmental, non-eco conscious parents. Now that I’m living in my own apartment with Mr. Beans who is usually supportive of my sudden obsessions and phases, it was go time.

This post will be broken down into 1) successes, 2) fails, 3) lessons learned, and for my paid subscribers, 4) reviews of every swap I’ve tried.

Let’s talk about everything that went swimmingly:

• I haven’t felt any embarassment bringing my own tupperware or drink bottles to a store for the restaurant to refill. Maybe growing out of being embarassed about every small little thing is a part of growing up, but I am very proud of myself for keeping my head up and asking if my tupperware can be used, in confidence.

• It’s extremely rewarding to see the amount of trash in my trash bin not accumulate as quickly as before. Prior to this lifestyle change, I’d have to take the trash out almost every week. Now, I’m able to stretch it to almost 2-3 weeks.

• A big part of the what’s mentioned above is setting aside my compost. When the trash bin smells, I feel more inclined to take it out, since it can get unbearable and who knows what kind of mold is growing in there. However, plastic bags are expensive (I purchase the SimpleHuman brand that fits my trash can) and wasteful. To address this problem, I’ve been collecting my compost in a small plastic bag and storing it in my freezer. My apartment collects compost so once I have my plastic bag filled up, I’ll leave it outside my door for pick-up. It allows me to stretch out the days of taking out the big trash bag.

• I’ve saved a lot of money on food delivery, such as Uber Eats and Doordash. Not that I usually get delivery, but I do here and there, but it’s no longer a recurring spend in my budget. According to YNAB, the last time I ordered Doordash was in August, and this was with friends!

• I’ve learned to be creative with getting my favorite things plastic free. For example, once I run out of my current stash of ice cream, I plan on taking my container to an ice cream shop (most likely Wanderlust) and ask them to fill it up with my ice cream of choice. However, I haven’t tried this yet so while it might sound good in theory, I’ll provide an update with whether this works or not.

• I’m supporting my local refill shops! I’ve seen a few local refill shops go in and out of business, and I want to do my best to support when I’m able to. Plus, this allows me to try a variety of products without having to commit to the full sized option that the brand sells on their website.

I would like to preface this section by highlighting the fact that everyone will experience some notable fails throughout their sustainable journey. A few years ago when I came across the zero waste movement, I immediately felt discouraged after hitting one roadblock, then another, then another. I allowed the domino effect to take place; the truth is, lifestyle change is ubiquitously defined by pockets of successes and failures that bind together in a network of lessons learned. If you too have faced obstacles in the face of the sustainability movement, stamp that failure in your web of growth, and keep growing!

• I never think to bring utensils when I go out to eat, and this has caused me to have to resort to using one-time use chopsticks twice (or three times?) this month.

• I sometimes don’t bring enough tupperware, so I have to use the restaurant’s disposable boxes for my leftovers. I hate when this happens, because I could’ve prepared better. I also don’t own a good tupperware container for soup, so every time I order soup-based dishes, I have to make sure that I consume everything in my bowl. It’s only a downside if I also order appetizers, as I’ll be full too quickly before finishing my soup.

• Some swaps can be more expensive than their more wasteful counterparts. For example, I purchased some Biom Sanitizing Wipes since I recently emptied my usual Honest Sanitizing Alcohol Wipes. The Honest wipes cost $15 for 150 sheets, while Biom costs $24.30 for the same number of sheets.

• Carrying around glass containers can get heavy, quickly. Unfortunately, my glass containers are the ones that are the most secure, but the downside is that my shoulder will end up hurting pretty quickly after carrying it around with me. It’s a game of “what would I rather risk” whenever I go out. The one glass container I make sure to bring is my jug that I use for kombucha or sugarcane juice refills.

• Traveling in a more earth conscious way is much more difficult than I expected. I haven’t travelled in a while, and on top of that, having intense germaphobia doesn’t help. Single use is the “cleanest” (that’s the way my brain sees it) way to go about things, but at least when I’m in my own apartment, I have separate spaces for the kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, and office space. In a hotel, everything is mushed together, and thinking about wahsing my dirty plates in the bathroom sink makes me feel ill to my stomach.

• I can’t find any plastic-free kettle chips near me. This could be considered a “pro” because every time I eat chips with high sodium content, are deep fried, and potato based, my angular chelitis flares up. I’ve learned to transition to mixed roasted nuts and salted plantain chips.

• I’ve had to re-shift my sleeping schedule to wake up early enough on Saturday mornings for the farmers market. It’s painful, but I feel so much more productive and eager to cook something when I get back.

• Swaps can be expensive, but because I don’t buy as much packaged, procesesed food as I used to (Trader Joes frozen meals were my guilty pleasure, and stacking them in my cart can really add up!), I’ve found my grocery bill decreasing despite my maintenance (incl. cleaning supplies, beauty refills) bill increasing.

I’ve been able to implement the following habits ever since taking this lifestyle more seriously:

• I like to bring a glove and plastic bag whenever I plan to go on a walk at the park or beach to pick up trash.

• I don’t go out of my way to grab coffee or tea if I don’t have my reusable cup with me (most of the times, I forget, so this ends up saving me money).

• Finding a more sustainable option is most of the times possible. It might not be perfect, but any change in consideration of the climate and earth is still considered good change (e.g., buying one plastic bag of chips per month vs. buying a bag every week).

• Microplastics are virtually everywhere. Even though it’s impossible to completely eliminate exposure to them, I owe it to my health to try my best and cut out as much as I can (e.g., using food grade silicone bowls over plastic tupperware). This paper found that for every single ton of plastic food containers produced, approximately 75.3, 291.3 and 22.9 grams of microplastics were released either for human consumption or into the environment respectively.

Fadare et al., 2020. Synthetic textiles constitute the largest share at 35%. Screw you, fast fashion.

• Confidence is key when you find yourself in an uncomfortable situation regarding your sustainability-focused needs. For example, if the restaurant isn’t able to use your tupperware for food, you need to make the quick decision of “no, I’m good” and find another restaurant… or not. Regardless of the decision, going into these situations and expecting that anything can happen is important, so that you don’t feel the need to conform to societal norms of engaging in actions that don’t align with your mental health and climate values.

This past month, I found myself needing to replace a few things, refill others, and fill in a gap for me to engage in more sustainable daily habits. These are items I’ve purchased after completely using up the non-sustainable version of what I used to own.

Remember, please only purchase what you really think you need. More importantly, use up what you already have until purchasing an item of its category. If you are tempted to buy any of the below, put it on a wishlist and wait for a bit before buying.