Striving towards Zero Waste turned from a passionate idea into a conviction. Each time I am looking forward to the farmers market where I can buy groceries. I got used to plan in advance which ingredients I will need to prepare our meals. Buying groceries has always been a real struggle for me and rather caused a bad mood than anticipation. It always meant stress and maybe it also simply overwhelmed me to select the “right” out of the thousands of overstimulating offers at the supermarket.
All ideas start from scratch.
Now, I shop even more conscious than before. With a bit of planning and preparation it’s not difficult at all. I always have some cloth bags with me in case I want to buy something spontaneously. I take jars and cans with me only when I know for sure what I need, e.g. on the farmers market. So far I never had any problems with my own containers and the lady behind the butter/egg/cheese stand always joyfully packs her goods into my beautiful silver stainless steel boxes (e.g. ECOlunchboxes). I’m very pleased when the sellers tell me how great it is, that I’m taking care of the environment. The feedback is always positive. Several times I noticed that other customers observed my behavior and I heard them quietly mumble “Oh that’s a good idea” or “Yes, I also want to avoid plastic bags”. Every little step is a start to create awareness. All ideas start from scratch. The more people act as role model the more likely a rethink will be triggered.
I no longer buy „to go“. Occasionally I just grab something from the bakery directly into my hand or a cloth. By regular shopping and cooking I can take leftovers to work for lunch. This way I save money and time. Of course, my zero waste everyday life is not perfect yet. Every now and then I have to cope with setbacks. At work I basically can forget being Zero Waste because unfortunately hardly any recycling is done. This seriously bothers me, but I can only partly do something against it. For example, it’s not possible for me to take all the garbage, that is caused by me during my working hours, home and dispose it properly there. That’s not far-fetched, but to a certain extent exaggerated, as I only have limited opportunities at home and will have to use these for my private garbage. That’s why it’s even more important to avoid creating waste in the beginning.
