Zero waste resolutions for the zero waste outreach team
It鈥檚 a new year and a new semester, which means it鈥檚 a perfect time to reflect on past habits and work to be better not only for ourselves, but for our planet.听I asked our Zero Waste Outreach team what they're doing to work towards living a zero waste lifestyle. It's听important to recognize that implementing a zero waste lifestyle is a learning process, and I hope that these goals serve as inspiration to form听new habits.
Year: Freshman
Major: Environmental Studies
Goal: Support sustainable clothing over fast fashion
Fashion can be tricky for college students. Shopping on a budget听while staying on trend amidst听constant change听can seem almost impossible. Fast fashion sometimes seems听like the perfect solution, but the environmental costs are detrimental. The fashion industry is one of the biggest polluters in the world, second to the oil industry. Globally, we now . , investing in听听and finding new ways to love and keep clothes we already have can combat the negative impacts of fast fashion.
Looking for more inspiration听to听reject the fast fashion industry?
Year: Sophomore
惭补箩辞谤:听笔蝉测肠丑辞濒辞驳测听
Goal: Reusable alternatives
Single-use plastic products are purchased and discarded so frequently that it's听easy to adopt an 鈥渙ut-of-sight, out-of-mind鈥 mentality. However, these plastic products do not disappear once they're disposed of.听Instead, most plastic - especially water bottles, grocery bags and ziploc bags -听contributes听to the听. 听. Bringing reusable bags to the store and using steel water bottles are eco-friendly alternatives that are easy to adopt听in听our everyday lives.
Resources to inspire you to help reduce plastic consumption:
Bryce Poirot
Year: Junior
Major:听Neuroscience and Psychology
Goal: Always make sure my recycling is sorted correctly
Recycling is tricky. Similar to learning a new language, there are many exceptions to set rules and it is complicated to remember everything.听, a non-profit organization focusing on recycling, is an excellent resource for Boulder recycling questions. Every community has slightly different recycling standards听so it鈥檚 important to look up your community's听rules. However, there are some听rules that apply everywhere, like听, and听.
Here are some resources to bookmark when you have questions/clarifications:
Year: Junior
Major:听Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Goal: Be more diligent at composting
Composting is nature鈥檚 own 鈥渮ero waste鈥 system!听. Generally, acceptable compost includes food scraps, #7 PLA plastic, paper, etc. We are lucky to have听,听so composting might look听different than the classic worm-filled backyard bin (although this is always still an option!). Looking for a place to start? Try putting a compost bin in your kitchen to collect scraps (sign up for an听Eco-兔子先生传媒文化作品听to get a free one!).
Read more about composting:
- Composting 101
- Acceptable compostable materials
- What is Industrial Composting?
- Setting up backyard composting
Year: Junior
Major: Business with Strategy and Entrepreneurship
Goal: Minimize food waste
; 40%!!! Reducing food waste will not only reduce methane emissions from landfills but can also听听in America that are considered听. Planning meals ahead, properly storing food听and creating an at-home compost bin are just some of the ways to听reduce听food waste on a personal level.
Resources and ideas for minimizing food waste:
Year: Junior
Major: Environmental Studies, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Goal: Fix my own clothes
Did you know that the average听American generates 82 pounds of textile waste every year? That鈥檚 25 billion pounds of textile waste听every year! It's estimated that 85% of this goes to our landfills and only 15% gets donated or recycled. We live in a society that is constantly pressuring us to keep up with the latest trends and听encourages听us to buy more clothes. Fixing clothes we already have, rather than throwing them away, is a great first step to reduce clothing waste. As Patagonia said, ""
More resources to avoid fast fashion and keep our clothes usable for many years:
Year: Senior
Major:听Environmental Studies and Sociology
Goal: Meatless Mondays
听is a global movement that encourages people to reduce meat in their diet for the health of the planet and personal health. Here鈥檚 a crazy stat:听if the world reduced meat consumption by 15%, it would have the same impact on greenhouse gas emissions as taking 240 million cars off the road each year. Try some new plant-based recipes - it's the听听to听slow the climate crisis.
More resources (and great recipes!):
Year: Junior
Major:听Environmental Engineering
Goal: Listen to more zero-waste/sustainability podcasts
With Spotify and Apple Music services, we have access to more podcasts than you can听imagine. Listening to podcasts about the climate crisis and sustainable living can be educating, eye-opening听and inspirational. Things are constantly changing in regard听to our climate; listening to new stats听is a perfect way to stay inspired, while gathering听more talking points to present to others. My goal is to stay educated, and I plan to听update everyone听on great episodes along the way!
Podcast and documentary recommendations: