Zero waste has become a very new and a favourite lifestyle trend. There is no doubt that this fact is very heart-warming for us who already live this way. I am always happy when I find someone who started to be more responsible for our environment. But don´t you feel annoyed sometimes?

Here are 8 things which annoy me on the zero waste trend.

IT IS HARD TO FIND GOODS WITH NO PLASTIC PACKAGING

A lot of fruit and veggie in supermarkets is packed in plastic. Why? Are we people so lazy to grab four pieces of corn instead of a plastic package of the same number ready to go? A lot of times I am not able to find what I need without plastic packaging. So I always decide to do not buy it and cook something else.

WHOLE FOOD STORES ARE EXPENSIVE

It is relatively expensive to buy food in whole bulk stores. Almost everything is organic what is excellent on the one hand but on the other one that’s also a reason for a more significant price. Despite that, I try to purchase as many items from my shopping list there as my valet can handle. In case I do not have a choice and I have to buy something in a plastic bag I try to reuse this bag as often as it is possible. Paper bags end up in compost or as decorative pots for my herbs.

A ZERO WASTE TREND

Zero waste is a new trend of life. So there started to be plenty of „zero waste“, „reusable“, „recyclable“ or even “biodegradable” goods on the market. And sometimes I feel lost. I am not environmentalist, a chemist, a scientist, etc. to be able to recognise what is right in a zero-waste idea.

Marketing is a powerful weapon. So try to think before you buy. Do you need that new fancy keep cup or could you use your favourite mug you already have in a kitchen? Do you need that steel or bamboo straw or are you able to use your month for drinking?

Of course, it is great that these products exist and you can choose to purchase more sustainable way, but it does not mean that now you will throw everything you own to a bin and will go and buy everything new just because it is trendy and zero waste. Do you want to throw everything you were using before to replace it with brand new zero waste stuff? Maybe you can use what you already have until it finishes its life journey and then buy a zero-waste option, huh? Or perhaps you could create something useful from old stuff.

To recommend – REDUCE and REUSE is always better than recycle. And in the end, you will have less work with recycling and composting 😉

CONFUSING INFO

Is that bamboo straw sustainable when it traveled to a store from a different part of a world? What did they use to create this cute wheat degradable bottle? Is this compostable food container easy compostable also in my compost or just in a special one? I don’t know! And I could continue forever. What I wanted to say is that sometimes I feel overwhelmed by confusing and questionable information. Do you think the same?

COMPLICATED RECYCLING PROCESS

Here we are, and I am lost again and again and again, huh. This time I can’t sleep because of recycling. I am living in Sydney at this moment where every area and every council has got different rules for recycling. Not just I am used to recycling in a bit different way from Slovakia, but I noticed only a few days ago, that in Australia, every single suburb has got different rules for recycling. So you have to study a little before you start recycling. It took me a while to understand why dustman left my piece of soft plastic on the top of a bin. I felt like a fool a bit, but I got used to new rules quite quickly. So yes, I fully understand that not everybody wants to spend time and energy on that.

TAKEAWAY CUPS

This issue is my “favourite” one. When I was working in a café I was asking myself the same question every single day – Why do people use takeaway cups for their tea or coffee also when they are sitting in the café??? I was curious how many takeaway cups we throw out, so I checked it – it was approximately 1 500 cups per two weeks in a quite small café. Unbelievable!

What more, lot of people think – I was one of them – that take away cups are recyclable. No, they are not!

PLASTIC BAGS. EVERYWHERE

Why people use plastic bags for every single piece of fruit and veggie or whatever they are about to buy? And why to use two or more plastic bags for one purchase instead a one big strong reusable bag? I believe, this point does not need more to write…

I STILL FEEL LIKE A WEIRDO

A lot of people give me a supportive smile or a few words when they see me shopping with an army of food containers, paper and reusable bags. But there are still a lot of people who don’t care or don’t understand and think that I am crazy. Mostly I don’t take it personally. However, sometimes I feel exhausted and disappointed from their disinterest to change.

For example when I am far from home and do not have lot of options for shopping food I feel sad. Once I have been accompanied my partner on his business trip. We went to do big shopping for a whole week. We were tired after a half day of travelling, hungry and we wanted to buy a fish for a dinner. Lady behind the meat corner was totaly unfriendly and refused to pack fish into our container. My first reaction was like thank you, I do not want it. But my partner stop me, cause we already had a plan for a whole week what to eat… And to avoid multiple trips to supermarket.

It is understandable, and it happens that sometimes you just do not have other choice. Despite that, I really felt sad about this situation and it took me a while to let it be. At least I used that plastic bag to pack our kitchen scraps.

CONCLUSION

I believe with all my heart that one day it will be natural and healthy to live sustainably and it will be cheaper to buy zero waste.

Have you already started your zero waste journey and also feel annoyed sometimes? Or are you thinking to start but you do hesitate because of something? Feel free to leave me a comment or a message to share your experiences. I cannot wait to read them. ☺