ZERO WASTE

   The "Zero waste" movement has become a popular trend in the past few years. It is a philosophy that encourages people to redesign their way of managing resources according to the Five R’s, in the following order:

• Refuse what you do not need.
• Reduce what you need.
• Reuse by using reusables.
• Recycle what you cannot refuse, reduce, or reuse.
• Rot (compost) the rest.

  

"Pokochaj swój dom" by Bea Johnson

   Bea Johnson, who is a practitioner of a zero waste lifestyle, transformed her family's health, finances, and relationships for the better by reducing their waste to a half liter per year. Her book "Pokochaj swój dom" (Eng. Zero Waste Home) shows how the five key principles can be applied to every area of our house from a kitchen to a kids' room. It delivers easy tips for all of us: from buying in bulk and clever meal planning to simply refusing unwanted freebies and using our plants as air fresheners. Bea Johnson shows, by inspiring example, what green living looks like and offers a practical, step-by-step guide to diminishing our environmental footprint and improving our lives.
   The idea of zero waste sounds like a perfect plan for managing items that we use everyday. It can help to gain control over the things that we keep in our houses but also to improve our health, save money and time. It is no surprise then that I wanted to apply some of Bea's advise to my life. The first thing that I  tried was the recipe for liquid soap. I had many small bars of soap which were free samples. I grated 120 grams of them and poured into 1,2 liters of warm water. I left the mixture in a bowl for the whole night and in the morning I found that it turned into white jelly. I added some additional water, mixed it and poured it into a soap dispenser. Unfortunately the soap is sticky and unpleasant to use... and I produced at least a three-month supply... :(

Three jars of home-made liquid soap

   The unsuccessful experiment with liquid soap did not discouraged me from further implementation of zero waste rules. When I noticed aphids on a plant I bought two weeks earlier I already knew that I will try some ecological methods to get rid of them. I found a recipe for an onion and garlic extract on a website of organic gardening. I took one onion and two cloves of garlic and cut them into pieces. Then I threw them into a pot and poured in one glass of water. I boiled the onion and garlic for half an hour while the wonderful smell spread all over my flat :) When the mixture cooled down, I poured the liquid into the spray bottle and sprayed the plant twice with a 2-day break. Unfortunately it didn't work and even made things worse as more aphids appeared on my plant :( Then I tried another domestic method and prepared a mixture of 50 ml vinegar, 100 ml water and a few drops of dish soap. I sprayed my plant with the new cure and it worked partially. The population of aphids has been reduced but the mixture hurt the plant as its leaves turned brown :( I can still try some other natural methods like tobacco or nettle extracts but I'm afraid that the results will not be any better. I decided to leave my plant alone for a few days and when its condition improves I will go to a garden store and buy a professional pest remedy.

The aphids

The plant after the treatment

   I'm a little bit disappointed with the implementation of zero waste to my life. The domestic methods were not efficient and in fact I wasted more - time, money and energy on trying solutions that did not work. It does not mean that zero waste cannot succeed but we need to invest a lot of effort (time and money) to get the first benefits.