We have started a new challenge for our little family – to reduce our household waste by making more mindful decisions.
About a year ago, I took some old chairs to our local refuse centre, half expecting them to be recycled because they were mostly wood, but instead I was told that they needed to go to landfill. I just couldn’t believe how busy the refuse centre was, or how many things went directly to landfill. It made put a little bit more thought into the waste we create, because really the waste we happily place in our rubbish bins, it never just disappears.
A few months later, Lily brought home a book on recycling and it explained that plastic takes hundreds of years to rot. I was au fait with the facts, I just hadn’t let it sink in. As humans, we aren’t very connected with this earth we live in. Our waste is taken away, anything we don’t want just gets thrown in the dustbin and forgotten about. But it doesn’t just magically vanish. In some cases its swept out to sea, creating huge floating islands of plastic, or we send it to huge landfill sites where its dangerous for animals and the environment; either way creating a huge problem for the future.
Zero Waste Challenge: 100 Small Acts Of Defiance
And that was the start of the thought process that led to #100smallactsofdefiance. And the thought that every single step to creating a more sustainable world is an important one. Whether you carry a reusable coffee cup to the coffee shop instead of using a throwaway one or buy unpackaged fruit from the supermarket. Every step counts.
A Throwaway Society
We live in such a throwaway society, nothing is built to last because it doesn’t need to anymore, it’s so cheap to replace. The most frightening thing is that we are creating a HUGE problem for tomorrow, and it’s easy to turn a blind eye, because actually as humans we are always looking for what we gain, in everything we do. If we recycle and reduce our footprint, there is no gain, no incentive. It’s much easier to throw that plastic bottle from your picnic into the dustbin, instead of taking the time and thought to carry it home and recycle.
We live in such a fast pace society and try to cram so much into our full lives, we look at each action we perform and try to ascertain what we achieve from it. Because that’s what our lives have come to, the need to achieve.
Our great-grandparents are probably looking down in despair, they classed needs as ‘food, water, warmth and a safe place to sleep’ not ‘a firestick, the latest mobile, a kitchen full of gadgets and an expensive car’. Our need for convenience often wins.
Zero Waste
I am not sure I am totally happy with the phrase zero waste. I love the idea, but its title implies the extremes of not producing any waste, and actually being completely zero-waste in today’s society is almost impossible. That being said, EVERY single thing we do to create a more sustainable environment to live in is a huge step forward for humanity, and spreading the word is even more important.
100 small acts of Defiance
This where 100small acts of defiance comes in, and I would love you to join in! Because even the small changes can make a big difference. But who are we defying?
Consumerism mainly, and challenging people & businesses to think of more sustainable approaches to their work/lives. There won’t be any big profits, but it will have the biggest impact on the planet.
How to make a difference?
The best place to start is the 7 R’s, in the following order,
Refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle, rehome, replant, rot
We have set ourselves a challenge to think and implement a different way of reducing our footprint each day, for 100 days. How we can translate them across in an achievable and practical way into our lives, and to see what difference we can make, are you with us for #100smallactsofdefiance?
What is your plan to make a difference this weekend?