Contributed by Brianda Hickey
Happy Thanksgiving Week!! Here is a lovely picture of a Pumpkin Spice later in my thermos to help you get into the fall spirit:
Living zero waste has become more natural, but I wouldn’t brush it off as “easy” nor would I say it is an accessible lifestyle for all. My morning routines have turned into a just-in-case checklist:
Bamboo utensils? Check.
Mason jar? Check.
Reusable bag? Check.
Coffee mug? Check.
Cloth napkin? Check.
While check lists are not too difficult to follow, for a person who is honestly dysfunctional in the mornings and should never speak to anyone before her first cup of coffee, things can fall through the checklist cracks.
Even when I think I remember everything I start craving hot chocolate or halal but realize I can’t get either because ZERO WASTE!!! The hot chocolate is a relatively easy fix, I have to go somewhere where I can sit down and ask for a real mug or a place willing to fill up my thermos. As mentioned before, I am constantly drinking coffee so I usually have a thermos with me. The halal is the hard part. Am I meant to carry around a plate with me everywhere? I don’t have a good solution to this problem unless you just so happen to have a food container with you (which did happen to me at one point.) Otherwise, look on the bright side: you save money! Yay!
This brings me to the second topic of this post: money. Living zero waste as a poor college student is annoying! The products that are good for you and good for the earth are always the most expensive ones. Is there some unsaid rule that organic food has to cost twice the amount of the plastic wrapped stuff? Does the increased price for some reason make it healthier and more desirable? Expensive food =sexy food?
This is an issue that has been brought up time and time again by advocates, but I never truly understood it until I went
Zero Waste. I don’t have the budget to drop $100 on each grocery run, which is why I usually shop at Trader Joe’s. For my month of zero waste I discovered the 4th Street Coop – a wonderful zero waste grocery store that offers discounts to students. I can buy my olive oil, tofu, sesame oil, and beans in bulk from bins. I recommend this grocery store to all, its honestly a safe haven in the plastic filled world and the people who work there are wonderful.
However, their produce section is driving me wild! I wouldn’t say it is as expensive as Wholefoods, but definitely not as cheap as Trader Joe’s. I don’t think I would be able to sustain eating organic, zero waste produce past this month.
Although living zero waste has come with its rough moments, I love the knowledge it has provided me. I now know a store to buy bulk items, I learned how to cook chickpeas (not in a can), I have gotten myself into a just-in-case checklist routine, and I have had very interesting conversations with others about sustainability.