3. Session: The zero waste movement

 

  1. Welcome page.

Welcome to your third session of the Sustainability module!

 

It will take you 1 hour and a half to complete it, so be sure to be comfortable in your current space, to have a nice cup of tea with you (and maybe a snack if you need it!).

 

For this session you will need:

  • A device with Internet access and sound output

  • A notebook and a pen

 

Index of contents

  • What is the zero waste movement?

  • The 5 Rs

  • Some misconceptions about zero waste

  • Some notions to have in mind

  • Self-reflection

 

After this session you will be able to:

  • Understand what zero waste means 

  • Identify the 5 Rs in your daily life

  • Share what you have learnt with other people

 

Ready? Let’s go!

 

  1. Introduction to the session

 

In this session you will enter the world of zero waste, understanding that it is a means to live differently and not an end in itself. We will go into the 5 Rs to live better and in a simpler way on a daily basis, without judgments or claiming an unattainable perfection.

 

By delving deeper into the 5Rs of the movement you will be able to identify where you are, observe the waste generated in your home and learn more about the impact of your home. Go ahead!

  1. What do you already know about the zero waste movement?

 

Have you ever heard of the zero waste movement? What words come to mind?

 

You have 5 minutes to write everything you know about this concept. The facts do not have to be complex and it is ok if you are not 100% sure of their accuracy. No one is going to judge this list, so feel free to write down as many ideas as you can.

 

  1. Learning content

 

Zero waste is a philosophy and design principle that aims to minimize waste generation by maximizing recycling, reusing, and composting, and reducing consumption. It promotes a circular economy where products are designed for a lifecycle of reuse and minimal waste. Zero waste practices include sustainable product design, waste reduction initiatives, and community education. The goal is to eliminate waste sent to landfills and incinerators, reducing environmental impact and conserving resources.

 

The zero waste movement essentially boils down to an inverted pyramid of five steps. The first and the one we should practice most often is 'reject' and the last and the one you should reach the least waste is 'rot'. It would look like this:

 

 

The term 'low waste', which specifies the option of generating as little waste as possible, when achieving “zero” is impossible, has also become popular on social media.

 

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The 5 R's

 

  • Refuse is saying 'no' to everything you don't need. In practice we could define it as not going home at the end of the day with more stuff than you left with. We are referring to all those items that accumulate unintentionally, such as samples, unnecessary tickets, advertising flyers, merchandising items, business cards, etc. It takes practice to get past the embarrassment barrier and say 'no, thank you' when you are offered something.

  • Reduce is about looking at everything you have and being honest with yourself to recognize what you need and don't need. Observing your consumption habits helps you to recognize your true needs and, therefore, to slow down your rate of acquisitions. When you start to reduce, you begin to experience the freedom of living with less stuff. 

  • Reuse is about eliminating all the throwaway products from your everyday life and finding alternatives for the ones you need. It also means considering other options before getting something new: buying second-hand, renting goods instead of buying them, borrowing -and lending-, repairing instead of throwing away, and looking for repairable and durable products.

  • Recycling is necessary, but ideally the number of products that reach this stage should be reduced as much as possible. What we do at home is separate waste, but the actual recycling of these materials depends on many factors over which we have little control, such as the mixing of materials in a single container.

  • Rot is nature's way of recycling, allowing organic waste to decompose, returning nutrients to the soil. It turns out that organic waste also pollutes, because in landfills the organic matter does not have the oxygen it needs to decompose and emits large amounts of methane, one of the main greenhouse gases.

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✍️ Now that you know the five R's…

  • Which one would you most like to start taking steps for?

  • What do you think you might find the easiest? 

Take a moment to think of concrete examples of changes you could start making in your day-to-day life.

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Some misconceptions about zero waste:

  • It's expensive. This is very common because if we only look at the price of certain 'eco' products it may seem to be true. However, this path helps us convert our consumption habits from impulsive to thoughtful; it gets us used to living with less and therefore desiring fewer objects; it makes us stop continually buying disposable products by replacing them with a reusable alternative; it helps us assess what ultra-cheap prices hide and what changes we can afford with our personal circumstances.

  • It is only possible by living on a permaculture farm. Every context offers options to reduce our waste, live more consciously and connected to the planet that sustains us. It “only” takes listening to our inner motivation to encourage us to find the system that works for us. 

  • It is less hygienic. There are still many people who are disgusted by a cloth diaper, a menstrual cup or a tissue to blow their nose, but perhaps we should ask ourselves more about the fact that we have plastics manufactured 50 years ago littering our planet.

  • It is only for the privileged who have access to buy in bulk. It is not essential to have a zero waste store close to home, but rather to look for options in the stores in your neighborhood. Greengrocers and small grocery stores often have a small section of bulk vegetables. Shopping in bulk is only part of it, but zero waste is also about not wasting food, using public transport, repairing clothes or eating more pulses than meat. 

  • That's too many deprivations. It's true that daring to change the pace involves a certain learning curve in some habits, but if we look at the bigger picture, there are actually gains: we gain in health because we no longer eat certain things; we stop taking for granted that it's normal to have a plethora of varieties of each product at our disposal; we save money because we buy fewer things; we appreciate our possessions in a different way... If we don't change anything, we are depriving ourselves of a livable future.

  • It means living without plastic. Trying to close the circle through the 5Rs is more than “demonizing” a single material. The invitation is to reduce waste in general and avoid disposables, even if they are made of paper, cardboard or recycled plastic.

 

✍️Did you have any of these beliefs? Is there any other misconception about the zero waste movement that you have in mind? 

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Some notions to have in mind:

Capture Rate: The percentage of materials designated for recycling that is actually set out for separate collection.

Conscious consumerism: The intentional purchase of responsibly produced products and services.

Diversion Rate: From a general waste-management perspective, “diversion” is any combination of reuse, recycling, and composting activities that reduces the volume of waste disposed. “Diversion rate” is the percentage of all material set out for collection that is recycled.

Downcycling: A form of recycling where a product is made into a lower quality product. Plastics can be recycled only a few times in their life and the quality decreases every time.

Recycling: The process of diverting discarded material from disposal, generally through source-separated set-out and collection, intermediate processing at a materials-recovery facility (MRF), and end-use manufacturing that alters the form of the secondary material to make a new product. 

Waste Management: The management of collecting waste; collection, handling, processing, storage, and transport to its final destination.

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  1. Final reflection

We suggest you observe the garbage generated in your household for a week. Keep a pad and pen next to the garbage can and write down everything that is thrown away. After a week, look at the list and ask yourself: How much is it? What is the most abundant? What surprised you? What could you reduce more easily? 

 

  1. Self-evaluation, assessment and feedback

 

TEST. Questions:

 

  1. Zero waste is a philosophy that encourages the redesign of resource life cycles so that all products are ________.

    1. Glass recycling

    2. Freeganism

    3. Reuse

    4. Recycle

 

  1. Which of these is NOT one of the 5 R's of the zero waste movement?

    1. Reuse

    2. Rethink

    3. Recycle

    4. Reduce

    5. Refuse

 

  1. What is the key component to Zero Waste?

    1. Biofuel

    2. Reuse

    3. Recycling

    4. Industrial ecology

 

  1. Improper waste management causes

    1. Air pollution

    2. Health problems

    3. Extreme weather conditions

    4. All of the above

 

  1. True zero waste is never 100% achieved

    1. True

    2. False




TEST. Solutions: 1C, 2B, 3B, 4D, 5A.



  1. Additional information and resources: 

100 tips from Bea Johnson (Zero Waste home):  https://zerowastehome.com/tips/

 

  1. To close:  

Excerpt from No Impact Man: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/10381/no-impact-man-by-colin-beavan/9781551993133/excerpt