BATTLING WASTE

Experts weigh in on how you can do your part to help eliminate waste at home

“Zero waste” — it’s a buzz term that’s been circulating for some time now, and while true environmentalists have been making their own personal strides in this area, every day homeowners still struggle with what this means. How do we cut down on our carbon footprint at home?

“The best place to start is to look at something you really enjoy,” said Ericka Pelletier, a specialist in eco-responsible transitions. “If you like cooking, try to cook more and freeze more. Cooking is a very good way to avoid all the packaging and it’s also very healthy.”

Try to avoid food waste, too, by composting, she said. If you love working on your car, find an eco-friendly way of cleaning it, and if your passion is beauty, try making your own makeup.

“The best way to spark interest is to start with something you like. Once you have one new habit, you’ll be proud of yourself and you’ll want to keep going. You’ll know you can do it.

“Make a change one change at a time.”

Mélissa de la Fontaine, of Incita, agreed. She and her colleagues offer training and workshops to municipalities to help them cut down on their waste, and she said it’s all about tapping into your own personality.

“Start with what motivates you and keep that habit, and then you can integrate it into your everyday life. Then make another one,” she said.

Pelletier is constantly looking at new ways to cut down on the waste in her own home. This mom avoids most toiletries, especially those that are one-time use items, such as Q-tips.

“Find a solution to replace those one-offs, and it will last forever,” she said.

Many people are turning to bamboo toothbrushes to cut down on excess plastic, for example, and there are other items available to help eliminate waste: refillable toothpaste tubes, old-fashioned razors with single blades, fabric handkerchiefs instead of paper tissues, bar shampoos, and homemade concoctions that work just as well as their packaged in-store counterparts. (Pelletier uses a mixture of baking soda and water for conditioner and then rinses with apple-cider vinegar).

A zero-waste grocery store can be a good start, too, de la Fontaine said. Pelletier likes to shop in bulk sections with glass jars (“I really like when I come back and can see everything I have,” she said), and she keeps her fruits and veggies loose rather than using thin plastic produce bags.

“Everyone at the grocery stores are very open to the idea of me bringing my own containers — as long as they’re clean and there’s no barcode on it, they let me use them.”

If you like do-it-yourself projects, make other things such as cosmetics or household cleaners.

“You can make your own cleaning products mostly out of water and vinegar,” Pelletier explained. She uses baking soda to help remove certain stains, and she cleans with rags only — never paper towels. You can even make your own laundry detergent from ash. (Put 1/3 ash with 2/3 water in a jar, shake it a little, and leave it on a windowsill for four days, shaking it a little bit every day. Then wait three to 10 days. Filter it, keep the liquid, and that is what can be used as laundry detergent). Pelletier is also a big fan of dryer balls to reduce static (rather than fabric softener).

Another huge part of eliminating garbage output is buying less.

De la Fontaine follows the five Rs: refuse, reduce, reuse, repair, and recycle or rot.

“Refuse everything you don’t need, such as things like straws,” she said, citing the first step. “Reduce what you use — these are things you still need but can reduce the quantity you buy . ... For example, clothing. Reuse what you already have before buying something new, or buy used before you buy new. Repair everything you have to give it a longer life — that way, you get more value out of it. And it is really important to recycle and compost, but it is the last thing for a reason. You want to refuse things before you get to this point.”

Buying less is best, de la Fontaine said, and it is something everyone can do. But doing things for the sake of the environment — like composting —are important, too.

“Wet garbage or compost can be more than half of a household’s trash,” she pointed out.

Transforming your entire household to be waste-free is a huge endeavour that is much too large to tackle all at once. So, begin with one small change. Make it a part of your lifestyle.

Then make one more change. And then another. Before you know it, your family will be helping to heal the planet rather than damaging it.

Make a change one change at a time.