What It’s Like to Live with Zero Waste

How hard can it be to sustain a zero waste lifestyle? Host Simone Sullivan visited Stevie Van Horn, a woman who manages to keep down years of her landfill waste inside a mason jar. Broadly followed along as she made her own toothpaste and talked to her friends about the difficulty of being zero waste in an environment of disposable coffee cups and one-use packaging.

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[mohammedtanvir]

We do not want few people doing zero waste perfectly, we want millions of people doing zero waste imperfectly.

[wastedwords]

I love how dedicated she is, but I don't think people should be carrying around this much guilt when corporations should be taking more responsibility.

[Caft.]

You will have to sacrifice a lot of packaged food. But we will have to do this for mother Earth

[adamkhairul]

When she said mushrooms was the reason I thought that she was high when making a lifestyle choice

[yomomsfgt]

YOU LAUGH NOW BUT YOULL ALL BE LINING UP TO GET LESSONS FROM THIS LADY WHEN WE RUN OUT OF OIL IN 50 YEARS

[polaroidsofpolarbears]

I honestly wanted to joke on her until she mentioned mushrooms as her inspiration. Now I respect her and the choices she's making, except the coconut oil and baking soda toothpaste, but that's only from my family line of bad teeth. I have to use sensodyne, otherwise I'm losing my tooth 1 by 1 on a consistent basis. But I definitely respect her for her lifestyle.

[DiabolikalFollikles]

So much natural light throughout her home. That ivy is going to vine around the entire space. Thx for the upload. Very informative. 🦋🧘🏾‍♂️🦋

[rontropics]

Sadly there just isn't bulk stores around me. There's certain products I just can't find not in a plastic container. Hopefully enough demand from customers can shift that.

[ellierami]

just for any one who gets into this lifestyle, know that you dont have to do all these transitions right away. it increases gradually. for example, you could start drying ur clothes outside, walk/bike to close destinations if you can, etc.

[soupthefrog]

Even if you can’t go 100% zero-waste, every little bit matters! Even just re-using things can help. You can re-use food containers (ex. Butter and sour cream containers) as Tupperware, wash plastic straws and use them, using grocery bags as trash bags, cutting old shirts to make rags for washing tables and dishes, and so much more. And just using the absolute most of what you have, scraping out every last drop, helps too. It’s the little things that matter, too.

[alexisco.]

Little tip: you can't use baking soda everyday, only once a week because it damages the enamel.

You welcome!

[danifaja]

*LOVE THIS!* If you’re not ready to go 100% plastic free, there are *small changes you can make that make a HUGE difference.* The main things that have great plastic alternatives are:

*-Reusable water bottles and coffee cups*
*-Bamboo toothbrushes*
*-REUSABLE STRAWS* (at the very least decline plastic straws)
*-Reusable shopping bags*
*-Reusable cotton/bamboo/fabric makeup remover pads*
*-Plastic Free dental floss (I personally like it better than its plastic counterparts)*
*-Plastic Free toothpicks*

If anyone is still wondering why going plastic free is so important, it’s because every piece of plastic that has ever been created is still in existence. Plastic is not biodegradable but it is photodegradable. This means that when it ends up in the water, all the elements break it down into nano form, thus releasing tons of toxins. These toxins are then eaten/absorbed by marine life that eventually end up on your dinner plate. So not only are we dealing with huge pieces of plastic but also tons of microplastic. It’s also causing havoc for our marine life (sea turtles and straws, marine life thinking plastic bags are jelly fish, etc). This doesn’t do the problem justice but at least it gives you a tiny taste of why eliminating as much plastic as reasonably possible from your life is so important. Or at the very least, raise awareness amongst your family and friends.

*If anyone is interested, Amazon, Etsy, and Package Free Shop all carry plastic free items!*

For anyone boycotting Amazon, the last two are great places to start. Or you can search on Amazon and then go to the products actual website to purchase. If using Amazon, be aware that they ship all of their stuff in plastic. So if you’re ordering, try to compile them into one shipping package.

You can also go meat-free a few days out of the week. (Excessive packaging) Factory farming is also a HUGE contributor to global warming.

Either way, the most important thing is to educate yourself. Tons of great resources out there. Even if you think you can’t make a difference, you can! It’s called collective change.

*If you’re still interested in more information, there are tons of great resources out there.*

-5 Gyres
-The Ocean Cleanup
-The Ocean Conservancy
-Instagram
-Google (or Ecosia- they plant a tree whenever you use their search engine) the GREAT PACIFIC GARBAGE PATCH!

Edit: typo

[jamesgribben]

We all need to change, even a wee bit is a start.

[ImOldandSoAreMyBooks]

I love the commitment. If you’re going to do something that extreme, have a plan and a purpose behind it. She does.

[bendingbananas]

i honestly wish i lived near those stores with refills. I feel like LA is a true paradise when it comes to living this lifestyle. At least according to most vids about environmental friendly stuff

[stephaineortega]

Seeing her fridge makes me so happy. I'm still struggling to find a local store/farmer who sells bottled/refillable milk. The good thing though is I have less plastic in my fridge than evaaa

[Hannah-qymm]

Gosh! Stevie is not only drop dead gorgeous, but personable & incredibly sociable!! What a lovely lady!💗

[mistressdianarahim]

Is Vice Asia just re-uploading videos from the main Vice account?

[kynikoi_]

"If you see that some aspect of your society is bad, and you want to improve it, there is only one way to do so: you have to improve people. And in order to improve people, you, begin with only ONE thing: you can become better yourself."
-Leo Tolstoy

"Whoever is careless with truth in small matters cannot be trusted in important affairs."
-Albert Einstein

"The unexamined life isn't worth living."
-Socrates

[atomicrae]

Stevie's appearance and some of her mannerisms remind me so much of Emmy Rossum (Fiona Gallagher)