Around five years ago, I finally decided to start a zero-waste lifestyle—or, as I prefer to call it, a low-impact lifestyle. After researching about bulk stores, zero waste tools and waste management, I finally walked my talk. It feels so hard to believe that I’ve been doing this for 5 years—it literally feels like no time has passed at all.Obviously, a lot has happened since then—on a personal level, on a national scale or even on a global scale.
These days people are more and more aware of the dangers of plastic, and a lot of them have sworn them out of their lives—if not permanently, at least as much as they can. Zero waste has ceased to become a niche lifestyle anymore. In fact, I think the term ‘zero waste’ is no longer commonly used, since the general public have switched to reusables more often now. It’s so nice to see how aware the world has become of this issue—even though it is actually only the tip of the iceberg.
Having hit this 5-year milestone, I’d like to recap how far I have progressed on my efforts to make better choices for the earth—as well as the lessons I’ve learnt along the way. Who knows? Maybe this could be the post to help you start as well—if you haven’t.
Around five years ago, I finally decided to start a zero-waste lifestyle—or, as I prefer to call it, a low-impact lifestyle. After researching about bulk stores, zero waste tools and waste management, I finally walked my talk. It feels so hard to believe that I’ve been doing this for 5 years—it literally feels like no time has passed at all.Obviously, a lot has happened since then—on a personal level, on a national scale or even on a global scale.
These days people are more and more aware of the dangers of plastic, and a lot of them have sworn them out of their lives—if not permanently, at least as much as they can. Zero waste has ceased to become a niche lifestyle anymore. In fact, I think the term ‘zero waste’ is no longer commonly used, since the general public have switched to reusables more often now. It’s so nice to see how aware the world has become of this issue—even though it is actually only the tip of the iceberg.
Having hit this 5-year milestone, I’d like to recap how far I have progressed on my efforts to make better choices for the earth—as well as the lessons I’ve learnt along the way. Who knows? Maybe this could be the post to help you start as well—if you haven’t.
How Zero Waste Changed My Life
1. I never go anywhere without reusable kits
One of the biggest changes that happened after I started going zero waste is the switch to reusable straws and cutlery. Now, whenever I eat out or order food online, telling the restaurant, “No straws/cutlery!” is normal for me. Aside from cutting down on plastic, this has saved me in a pinch multiple times as well.
2. Menstrual cup revolutionised my period
I cannot stress this enough: menstrual cup is a game changer! All my life I had to keep changing my pads every few hours, discarding them and use a different one—it was such a hassle! Menstrual cups are so simple and practical. Sometimes I add menstrual panties for precaution measures.
3. I pay attention to packagings’ reusability
From obvious things like food and drinks, to self-care products for the bathroom—I choose to refill if I can.
1. I never go anywhere without reusable kits
One of the biggest changes that happened after I started going zero waste is the switch to reusable straws and cutlery. Now, whenever I eat out or order food online, telling the restaurant, “No straws/cutlery!” is normal for me. Aside from cutting down on plastic, this has saved me in a pinch multiple times as well.
2. Menstrual cup revolutionised my period
I cannot stress this enough: menstrual cup is a game changer! All my life I had to keep changing my pads every few hours, discarding them and use a different one—it was such a hassle! Menstrual cups are so simple and practical. Sometimes I add menstrual panties for precaution measures.
3. I pay attention to packagings’ reusability
From obvious things like food and drinks, to self-care products for the bathroom—I choose to refill if I can.
4. The waste in our house is now sorted
It started with my sister and myself initiating a waste sorting process at our house. We would often take them to the nearby waste bank. That influenced our whole family and—even though we no longer frequent the same waste bank—we (still) sort out our garbage to this day.
5. Bulk stores become my regular haunts
While bulk stores cannot be the all-in-one solution to a lot of my daily needs, their packaging-free approach is the best option to shop. They are perfect for loose items, such as grains, nuts and flour. Check out my favourite bulk stores here!
6. Produce bags become essentials
Another game changer: produce bags. Who knew that you could’ve opted for reusable canvas bags to buy your fruits/vegetable/eggs/rice of choice and cut down on so much plastic?!
4. The waste in our house is now sorted
It started with my sister and myself initiating a waste sorting process at our house. We would often take them to the nearby waste bank. That influenced our whole family and—even though we no longer frequent the same waste bank—we (still) sort out our garbage to this day.
5. Bulk stores become my regular haunts
While bulk stores cannot be the all-in-one solution to a lot of my daily needs, their packaging-free approach is the best option to shop. They are perfect for loose items, such as grains, nuts and flour. Check out my favourite bulk stores here!
6. Produce bags become essentials
Another game changer: produce bags. Who knew that you could’ve opted for reusable canvas bags to buy your fruits/vegetable/eggs/rice of choice and cut down on so much plastic?!
7. I think twice before I dispose
When I received packages, I never used to put much thought into the disposing of the packagings. Now I can no longer be so carefree—in fact, I keep a lot of the bubble wraps that I got in the mail for future uses.
8. Secondhand becomes my first choice
Be it clothes, books or storage units, I always try to buy used. Hand-me-downs are also always welcome.
9. Upcycling becomes my signature move
If an item is still in good condition—and it’s not obviously disposable like toilet paper—I will not be satisfied until they have served extended purposes.
10. I take note of my consumption behaviour
Subconsciously, I become more attentive to how and why I consume everything that I purchase. It forces me to reflect on my unhealthy patterns.
7. I think twice before I dispose
When I received packages, I never used to put much thought into the disposing of the packagings. Now I can no longer be so carefree—in fact, I keep a lot of the bubble wraps that I got in the mail for future uses.
8. Secondhand becomes my first choice
Be it clothes, books or storage units, I always try to buy used. Hand-me-downs are also always welcome.
9. Upcycling becomes my signature move
If an item is still in good condition—and it’s not obviously disposable like toilet paper—I will not be satisfied until they have served extended purposes.
10. I take note of my consumption behaviour
Subconsciously, I become more attentive to how and why I consume everything that I purchase. It forces me to reflect on my unhealthy patterns.
What I Learnt from Going Zero Waste
1. Zero Waste is about progress, not perfection
A lot of people have said this and I think they’re right: the phrase “zero waste” is wildly intimidating. It indicates a certain level of perfection that we need to achieve to even claim it as our lifestyle. However, the truth is it’s impossible to live completely waste-free in the modern world. Unless perhaps if you’re self-sufficient—growing your own food, making your own clothes and appliances, and basically living off the land (perhaps not even then). Personally, I prefer to use the term “low impact” as it indicates a commitment to continually progress, you know, to keep our impact at an all-time low. There’s nothing absolute about it—”low” can vary depending on the person—so it’s not as intimidating.
The goal for this kind of lifestyle and making greener choices is to affect change—and change happens more effectively when a thousand people start imperfectly than only ten people going zero waste to a tee. We’re all only humans here. Even if we have the best of intentions, we are bound to make mistakes and not have total control of everything that happens to us. If we happen to forget our go-to cups or misplace our reusable straws for the hundredth time, we shouldn’t punish ourselves too hard on it. We need to learn how to forgive ourselves of our misgivings and shortcomings—lest we should stop even from trying. Really, all we can do is our best and that is enough.
1. Zero Waste is about progress, not perfection
A lot of people have said this and I think they’re right: the phrase “zero waste” is wildly intimidating. It indicates a certain level of perfection that we need to achieve to even claim it as our lifestyle. However, the truth is it’s impossible to live completely waste-free in the modern world. Unless perhaps if you’re self-sufficient—growing your own food, making your own clothes and appliances, and basically living off the land (perhaps not even then). Personally, I prefer to use the term “low impact” as it indicates a commitment to continually progress, you know, to keep our impact at an all-time low. There’s nothing absolute about it—”low” can vary depending on the person—so it’s not as intimidating.
The goal for this kind of lifestyle and making greener choices is to affect change—and change happens more effectively when a thousand people start imperfectly than only ten people going zero waste to a tee. We’re all only humans here. Even if we have the best of intentions, we are bound to make mistakes and not have total control of everything that happens to us. If we happen to forget our go-to cups or misplace our reusable straws for the hundredth time, we shouldn’t punish ourselves too hard on it. We need to learn how to forgive ourselves of our misgivings and shortcomings—lest we should stop even from trying. Really, all we can do is our best and that is enough.
2. Individual actions are good, but institutional changes are better
Zero waste shouldn’t be about putting the accountability solely on the shoulders of the consumers—the ones who are most responsible for the climate crisis today are big corporations and the government. As I’ve said earlier: ultimately, we can only strive to go zero waste so far before running into a wall—the metaphorical “wall” being the options that are supplied to us by big corporations and those in power.
It’s great that we’ve done our fair share of reducing emission and waste for this earth, but let’s take it a step further! Let us demand better from corporations and put pressure on the government to affect change. Ask them to put humans and the environment before profit. Shove all the facts and numbers on the changing climate in their face and confront them about their lack of action plan to ensure the welfare and safety of all mankind. It is only when we create systemic change can we truly evolve.
2. Individual actions are good, but institutional changes are better
Zero waste shouldn’t be about putting the accountability solely on the shoulders of the consumers—the ones who are most responsible for the climate crisis today are big corporations and the government. As I’ve said earlier: ultimately, we can only strive to go zero waste so far before running into a wall—the metaphorical “wall” being the options that are supplied to us by big corporations and those in power.
It’s great that we’ve done our fair share of reducing emission and waste for this earth, but let’s take it a step further! Let us demand better from corporations and put pressure on the government to affect change. Ask them to put humans and the environment before profit. Shove all the facts and numbers on the changing climate in their face and confront them about their lack of action plan to ensure the welfare and safety of all mankind. It is only when we create systemic change can we truly evolve.
3. Waste is not limited only to the solid and visible ones
In all the conversations surrounding a zero-waste lifestyle, the one prominent image seems to be the mason jar filled with one-year-worth of waste. But, in truth, that is only a very small portion of all the waste that we should consider in making choices that will impact the environment around us. In zero-waste living, funnily enough, we only consider solid materials as “waste” when, in fact, we produce a plethora of other kinds of waste everyday. There’s the carbon emission from the vehicle that we use to get from one place to the next. There’s the water that we constantly flush down our toilet—along with our urine, feces and godknowswhat else. There’s the millions of microplastic fibres that get washed off into the ocean when we do our laundry. But none of this ever gets included in the mason jar—we never consider these kinds of waste in our “zero-waste” lifestyle.
I believe we should consider these kinds of waste in our everyday lives as well. Counting the solid waste that you make at home is probably pretty simple—especially if you live alone and your household waste is entirely up to you—so let us extend our mindfulness to other ways we may also produce waste and see if we can minimise the impact. We can start simple: choose our mode of transport wisely (perhaps even walk, if possible?), be mindful of the water that we waste (maybe even create a circular system to ensure the water gets reused?), and wash less laundry if possible (to minimise the microplastic fibres we inevitably wash off into the ocean). Let’s take our zero waste efforts further!
3. Waste is not limited only to the solid and visible ones
In all the conversations surrounding a zero-waste lifestyle, the one prominent image seems to be the mason jar filled with one-year-worth of waste. But, in truth, that is only a very small portion of all the waste that we should consider in making choices that will impact the environment around us. In zero-waste living, funnily enough, we only consider solid materials as “waste” when, in fact, we produce a plethora of other kinds of waste everyday. There’s the carbon emission from the vehicle that we use to get from one place to the next. There’s the water that we constantly flush down our toilet—along with our urine, feces and godknowswhat else. There’s the millions of microplastic fibres that get washed off into the ocean when we do our laundry. But none of this ever gets included in the mason jar—we never consider these kinds of waste in our “zero-waste” lifestyle.
I believe we should consider these kinds of waste in our everyday lives as well. Counting the solid waste that you make at home is probably pretty simple—especially if you live alone and your household waste is entirely up to you—so let us extend our mindfulness to other ways we may also produce waste and see if we can minimise the impact. We can start simple: choose our mode of transport wisely (perhaps even walk, if possible?), be mindful of the water that we waste (maybe even create a circular system to ensure the water gets reused?), and wash less laundry if possible (to minimise the microplastic fibres we inevitably wash off into the ocean). Let’s take our zero waste efforts further!
4. One futile act is better than 100 excuses
Over the years, one of the things that people keep telling me when they find out about my zero-waste lifestyle is how pointless this all is.
“One straw won’t change a thing. Why bother if you still have to use plastic anyway?”
This is how most people see making a greener choice—it’s futile, what’s the point? Big oil is still going to burn fossil fuels and pollute the earth anyway. The government will not enforce regulations that preserve our nature anyway.
But, you know what, even one futile act makes an impact on the earth. One less plastic you dispose of is still one less plastic that ends up in the ocean. It may not seem like a big deal, but what we do matters. Plus, as we see today, one action can influence others and ceases to be futile—it instead becomes revolutionary
4. One futile act is better than 100 excuses
Over the years, one of the things that people keep telling me when they find out about my zero-waste lifestyle is how pointless this all is.
“One straw won’t change a thing. Why bother if you still have to use plastic anyway?”
This is how most people see making a greener choice—it’s futile, what’s the point? Big oil is still going to burn fossil fuels and pollute the earth anyway. The government will not enforce regulations that preserve our nature anyway.
But, you know what, even one futile act makes an impact on the earth. One less plastic you dispose of is still one less plastic that ends up in the ocean. It may not seem like a big deal, but what we do matters. Plus, as we see today, one action can influence others and ceases to be futile—it instead becomes revolutionary
5. Swearing off plastic is only the beginning
As I’ve mentioned before, plastic is not the root cause of climate change—it’s one of the causes, but it’s not the only one. Cutting single-use plastic out of our lives is not the be-all-end-all solution to preserving the planet, it’s just one of the easiest ways to do it—also, it’s pretty dire not to. Landfills all over the world are overflowing and the spaces provided no longer suffice. Single-use plastics are making their way into the ocean, polluting the water and being consumed by sea creatures—which often killed them. It has gotten so bad, that we now find microplastic fibres basically everywhere—in the fish that we eat, the water that we drink, even the internal organs of babies that aren’t born yet. If this keeps up, we are projected to have more plastics than fish in the ocean by 2050. That’s what makes our plastic consumption so scary.
That being said, plastic is only the beginning. There’s still the issue of the rising earth temperature from greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions—due largely to the burning of fossil fuels across the globe, including Indonesia. Recently, this issue has been more prevalent in Jakarta—what with the noticeably rising heat and visible pollution that can no longer be ignored. There’s also the issue of land use change that has caused hundreds of acres of land practically unfit for planting anymore. Cropland soils all over the world have lost 20–60% of their organic carbon content prior to cultivation, and soils under conventional agriculture continue to be a source of GHGs.¹
Swearing off single-use plastic is a good way to start, but don’t stop there. Let’s be mindful of the GHG emission that we produce. Consider the vehicles that we use when we go out—or choose to walk manageable distances. Think of the impact before purchasing anything and choose secondhand whenever we can. Be informed on where the products we buy come from—including the electricity that we consume—and think of whether or not we want to support their processes. Start planting our own food and help keep the carbon in our soil. We don’t have to do it all at once, but just know that the journey to preserving humanity is always ongoing.
How You Can Start Zero Waste Too
I hope this post has made a zero-waste lifestyle a lot less intimidating to you—and perhaps have the desire to start yourself too. If you are interested, I have compiled a number of posts that I’ve written over the years to help guide you start on this journey. Feel free to consult the Zero Waste Guide here and peruse it at your own leisure. While a lot of the information provided are strictly applicable for Indonesians, there are a lot of other information provided that might be helpful for those of you who live abroad. If there’s any information you seek that I haven’t provided, please feel free to leave a comment down below.
Thank you for reading along thus far, let us affect change together!
5. Swearing off plastic is only the beginning
As I’ve mentioned before, plastic is not the root cause of climate change—it’s one of the causes, but it’s not the only one. Cutting single-use plastic out of our lives is not the be-all-end-all solution to preserving the planet, it’s just one of the easiest ways to do it—also, it’s pretty dire not to. Landfills all over the world are overflowing and the spaces provided no longer suffice. Single-use plastics are making their way into the ocean, polluting the water and being consumed by sea creatures—which often killed them. It has gotten so bad, that we now find microplastic fibres basically everywhere—in the fish that we eat, the water that we drink, even the internal organs of babies that aren’t born yet. If this keeps up, we are projected to have more plastics than fish in the ocean by 2050. That’s what makes our plastic consumption so scary.
That being said, plastic is only the beginning. There’s still the issue of the rising earth temperature from greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions—due largely to the burning of fossil fuels across the globe, including Indonesia. Recently, this issue has been more prevalent in Jakarta—what with the noticeably rising heat and visible pollution that can no longer be ignored. There’s also the issue of land use change that has caused hundreds of acres of land practically unfit for planting anymore. Cropland soils all over the world have lost 20–60% of their organic carbon content prior to cultivation, and soils under conventional agriculture continue to be a source of GHGs.¹
Swearing off single-use plastic is a good way to start, but don’t stop there. Let’s be mindful of the GHG emission that we produce. Consider the vehicles that we use when we go out—or choose to walk manageable distances. Think of the impact before purchasing anything and choose secondhand whenever we can. Be informed on where the products we buy come from—including the electricity that we consume—and think of whether or not we want to support their processes. Start planting our own food and help keep the carbon in our soil. We don’t have to do it all at once, but just know that the journey to preserving humanity is always ongoing.
How You Can Start Zero Waste Too
I hope this post has made a zero-waste lifestyle a lot less intimidating to you—and perhaps have the desire to start yourself too. If you are interested, I have compiled a number of posts that I’ve written over the years to help guide you start on this journey. Feel free to consult the Zero Waste Guide here and peruse it at your own leisure. While a lot of the information provided are strictly applicable for Indonesians, there are a lot of other information provided that might be helpful for those of you who live abroad. If there’s any information you seek that I haven’t provided, please feel free to leave a comment down below.
Thank you for reading along thus far, let us affect change together!