#lovearth

Understanding who the real target is here. Let’s talk about my plastic problem!

My journey to becoming zero waste was not an easy one, but I guess easier than some have experienced. Living alone when starting this journey was a great benefit, other than loneliness. Anyway, I started my journey by not diving in the web or searching libraries for countless and countless pieces of information. The first thing I had to consider was “what do I do with my current waste?”. I spent a good hour with the devil and angel telling me “yes girl you will figure this out” and the other “girl you have no time for that, let’s go play”. The angel did win, I guess I do love a challenge. I had to tell myself that this journey will get easier once I am in it! However, before taking a dive I had to set myself targets, you know realistic ones? Plastic was my main target. Yes, it all started with me realizing that plastic was my main enemy, it is everywhere! Plastic pollution has a long list of long term effects; it can kill plant life, cause death to wildlife, humans, create illness and so on. The material was made for durability which is why it is difficult to recycle, the material is not biodegradable. 

The second word that made it to my list was ‘re-use’. I could not find any do-it-yourself videos or guides on the internet that appealed to me, I decided to come up with a few of my own recipes. My first project began when I realised that I did not have space or an organised section for my crafts. I managed to use up to 40% on my plastic waste to make a crafts station, which made my journey easier! Now as for the rest of the 60%, no this is not when I decided to do research. I had a conversation with my mentor at university 2 years ago about going zero waste. When starting the conversation I had no clue that she had been doing this journey already! Have you guys ever heard of Ecobricks? Well if not the business is a fantastic idea! An Ecobrick is a reusable building block created by packing clean and dry used plastic into a plastic bottle to a set density. What I had to do was sign up, receive my pack with a range of information and then send my  Ecobrick to the local collection centre. These bricks are used to make furniture, gardens and parks. 

Thanks to this company I managed to get rid of my 60% leftover plastic and filled 3 bottles full of plastic. So if you are on the road to a zero-waste lifestyle make sure you get rid of your current waste. Especially with a pandemic spreading quickly more and more of us are cooped indoors. Spend some of those days thinking about crafty ideas you could do with your ‘trash’, trash can also be materials too! ‘One man's trash is another man's treasure’, I love that quote especially for this topic. There has not been a world emergency like this since the black plague, which lasted approximately 500 days! Covid-19 has isolated people of the modern world, I want to wish you all the best during this stressful pandemic.

Next Blog post : Sunday 5th April - Zero waste shopping