10 zero waste habits I phased out // these are ridiculous, tbh

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[kisikisikisi]

I'm not zero waste or anything myself, just a regular european who tries to keep consumption down and recycles everything. The thing that has always rubbed me the wrong way about these movements is how fake and superficial a lot of it is. Buy bamboo cutlery instead of just using your regular metal cutlery. Use natural products that look fancy and cost a lot of money but actually require more resources than lab-made (and go bad way faster). Buy soap nuts, buy washable cotton rounds, buy new glass lunch boxes to replace your old dingy plastic ones. We won't be able to consume our way out of overconsumption. This was an interesting video, thanks :)

[emilyboller]

I definitely had the realization a couple years ago that it was more sustainable to use the things I already had than to replace everything with more eco friendly options. I don't mind replacing things with better options when what I have wears out, but it makes no sense to me to throw everything in the trash and replace it with eco friendly options when using what I already have is keeping it out of the landfill.

[SydHalley]

“Sustainability is not an aesthetic. It’s a practice.” Exactly! Well said! 👍👍

[morningbread]

I love your last point! I just had a baby and was doing so much research on the most earth friendly strollers. Then a friend offered us their stroller and it reminded me that reusing something that has already been made is far greener than buying something new

[mariatomlinson]

Imo a "half-assed" zero-waste lifestyle is miles better than a "perfect" zero-waste where you'll give up after a few months. These issues aren't going to be overcome by demanding perfection, it's by incorporating small changes on a wider scale.

[samrobinson]

I hate that people jump to saying you’re making excuses for doing zero waste half assed. The fact that you put the effort in should be enough. What people can do will never be fully accessible to every person. And it’s ok to also prioritize your quality of life. I’m disabled and chronically ill so I am far from zero waste but I try. I don’t think I should feel guilty for not doing the zero waste things I did before I needed medical supplies and equipment.

[firewordsparkler]

Thank you for bringing up how a lot of disabled people rely on plastic straws! It's so important for accessibility and so many zero-waste people were completely ignoring disabled people and trying to ban plastic straws where they are necessary.

[wolfprud]

I think its great to be able to say you tried things then moved on bc a lot of people seem afraid to be publicly wrong, even tho we all get things "wrong" while learning.

[Thrivinginthespotlight]

I think a lot of the reusable versions of regular goods were made so that people that have more of like a upper-class lifestyle could be a part of the zero-waste lifestyle without feeling like there were toting around things that would make them look poor. Like plastic Tupperware or Tupperware from home and utensils from home and things like that

[MrTentaclesHasAllTheTalent]

I like that message about it being more sustainable to use something you already own. I used to feel bad about always using my tupperware containers as a lunchbox and considered buying one made of a more sustainable material. But then I figured, “why should I buy a new one when I have one that I already own and is still perfectly fine?”

[samanthaphillips]

Bamboo toothbrushes. I wanted them to work, but I ended up with sores in my mouth, so had to ditch them.
I appreciate your honesty in how your lifestyle has evolved and messages like this help show that we don’t have to be perfect and living zero waste is accessible to everyone, and there are a lot of different ways people can live more sustainably. It doesn’t look the same for everyone.

[SIC]

I bought silicone "zip" bags. They were so annoying to use, so I gave them away.
I have a big pile of brand Tupperware boxes and bowls from both my sets of deceased grandparents. Between 25 and 50 years old (the boxes, not the grandparents). They are super durable and still very good. Although I sometimes want to replace my plastic with glass, these boxes a very high up the scale of my sustainable behaviour. Simply because they are so old.

[SaligramS]

I haven't seen any Indian family ( including mine) use soapnuts exclusively. They are sometimes used to wash delicate and expensive fabrics like silk. As detergents started to become widely available, most people just got used to them, atleast from what I've seen throughout my life. Soapnuts are still easily available but there isn't that big a demand for them.

[OurseGrizzli]

You just made me want to try again… When I was single, I was vegan and tending towards a zero waste lifestyle… I ended up marrying someone who is all about convenience over sustainability. My partner has certainly reduced their waste under my influence, but there are many waste reduction practices that I have given up on, especially after having children. This video encourages me, because it’s not about fitting the perfect image of the person who seem to have it 100% right with the little Masson jar of almost no trash for a year… It’s about doing your best to reduce. I want to try again to embrace some zero waste practices, but not hit myself over the head because I am not doing it perfectly.

[jaco]

I tried using the 'zero waste' tablet cleaning products that you can just 'put into water and it'll be just the same as your regular cleaning products'. Yeah, no. After a few months, my bathroom was disgusting and I only really noticed because of how clean it suddenly was after using a regular cleaning product. One of my friends, who lives in a different country and uses completely different zero-waste products, had the exact same experience.

Personally, I feel like zero-waste is actually capitalising on the fact that we've all forgotten that some products were invented as they are because we wanted to improve the quality of life, not because we're spoiled (which we definitely are but in this case in all the best ways). I'm sure there are ways to make cleaning products more sustainable but a lot of the substitutes we have right now just aren't it yet and we need to be able to acknowledge and talk about it so thank you for making this video!

[c]

This is the only zero waste video I’ve actually been able to sit through the full length. It’s refreshing and necessary to see the critical thinking and acknowledgment of the real world that we live in and peoples different situations within that world. Keep it up 👍

[Scinasari]

I actually want *more* honesty about the ways that "zero waste" is not comfortable or doable even for people whose whole lives revolve around it. The world benefits so much more from many people doing it imperfectly than a few people doing it perfectly - something that I know you know - and that means forgiving yourself for being human and needing life to not be a massive struggle 24/7.

I totally understand what you mean about the mental load, fixations that prevent you from getting started. I have ADHD and autism and life used to be a nonstop cycle of not being able to get started because of something like texture or the way it took too many steps and then crying about it and beating myself up for not being able to do it. But that didn't help anything! What helps is *removing the problem*. If you hate the texture of a toothpaste and don't brush your teeth because of it, then the toothpaste is not actually benefitting you (or the environment - dental procedures create way more waste than a single tube of toothpaste would). If you're not doing your laundry because of soap berries, they're not working for you. *You* aren't the problem; you're one part of an equation, and what works for someone else doesn't necessarily fit into that equation for you.

I'm pretty passionate about environmentalism. But it bugs me when people don't acknowledge the realities of how difficult it can be, or guilt trip people for mentioning real problems that they have with certain aspects. We want to make a movement for the good of the future, and meeting people where they're at is soooo much better than berating people who live, eat, and breathe sustainability for not doing one tiny thing better.

[ldegraaf]

I have ADHD and autism so I completely understand the issues with the laundry soap.

I try to live as sustainable as I can and I'm willing to do things that might take a little bit longer or cost more, but when one of my systems completely breaks down it is time to find a new solution.

We don't have to be perfect, we just have to do the best we can. Our best may look different than someone else's best, but we are all different people. The more authentic we all can be the more sustainable this lifestyle will be.

[chellydispo]

Love the honesty! “Sustainability is not an aesthetic, it’s a practice” I couldn’t agree more!

[kagennotsuki]

I tried the beeswax wraps for a bit, but found it was a waste of time and resources for me to use them and keep them clean. I gave up after about a year and now I just make sure that whatever containers I keep have matching/well-fitted lids. So much less stress and hassle for me.