Our ancestors valued materials and household items before “zero waste” came into fashion. It is part of our history and a way of life we must adopt again. As we sped towards our path of “progress” we left behind ideas such as using what you have, repairing broken and worn items, buying quality, passing off hand-me-downs, recycling glass and other materials, using up food leftovers, and feeding scraps to the animals. One of the first recycling efforts in history was the rag man – who would go around collecting old scraps of fabric and rags to be used again.
Today, we are swimming in our trash, landfills are full, and the recycling system is flawed and misleading. We constantly buy new products as our purchases don’t hold up like they used to. Plastic has taken over as the material of choice, from our clothing to our home goods and food packaging, and has has brought many health concerns and pollution. While some applications are useful and needed; many single-use items and cheap household wares are not the best use for this material.
How can we change from wasteful consumers to mindful citizens who make smart choices for their families and the planet?
Small steps are where we must start. Many people simply don’t care or express they don’t have the time or money it would take to make better choices. When you first start learning about the current state of waste in our world it can be overwhelming. A good place to start is your own backyard. We can think of our contributions as they affect the present day and the generations to come.
Small changes like using a reusable water bottle instead of bottled water is an easy first step. Other ideas include buying less, using the food you have before it spoils, composting scraps or feeding a backyard flock of chickens, learning to sew to mend clothes, buying from secondhand stores, and donating items rather than trashing them.
Remember the milkman who would come and deliver glass jugs of milk? We have local farms that offer these old-fashioned glass jugs of milk – it even tastes better! Then you rinse and return just like grandma used to do.
Becoming sustainable utilizes your creativity and can be fun – albeit challenging and frustrating at times too. That’s why we can work together to solve these problems and all do our small part towards big change. A great place to get involved is locally with organizations like SustainFloyd which work to educate people on waste and environmental issues to help our town and neighbors thrive. Using our ReSource directory, you can search for items you’d like to recycle. We continue to share ideas on small changes you can make towards being eco-friendly.
It’s not new or trendy to be sustainable – it’s always been a part of us! It’s time to tap back into that wisdom and choose to create a beautiful future – together!