Tandoori Soch!!: Zero Waste Lifestyle

Hello friends, here I am with a thought from my tandoori brain!

Today I am going to talk about something which I came across lately. I have been using black garbage bags in my house for dry and wet waste. These garbage bags have stopped coming in market as the government has actually banned them. With no garbage bags in the house, I was posed with a question as to how to dispose of all my garbage? For another few days I used old plastic bags which I had kept but I know I will eventually run out of them.

I looked up for how to manage my waste but eventually came across a new style of living - Zero waste lifestyle! Yes, you heard it right. Zero waste lifestyle is a lifestyle where an individual tries to zer o their waste/garbage by following many eco-friendly practices. This lifestyle is practiced by a lot of individuals worldwide. Personally, I knew about zero waste lifestyle a bit but didn’t know that it required a different level of discipline, practice and more than anything else - determination.

Why Zero waste Lifestyle?

Now some of you would be wondering why should we even care about zero waste lifestyle, forgot about following it. Here is a simple answer - Imagine you had to dispose of all the waste from your day to day life in your own house. Assuming even if you have a very large house, I guess eventually your complete house will be filled with garbage! Your kitchen, your bedroom, your dining area - nothing will be spared. In fact, before you know it, your house will become inhabitable just by the smell of the waste. If somehow you are able to bear the foul smell, space in your house will eventually become an issue as it will get filled by just waste! This planet is our house too and all sorts of garbage are creating a lot of problems for the environment. By following a zero waste lifestyle, you try to reduce your daily waste, thereby making your house habitable for a longer duration.

According to this report, in India, more than 70% of collected urban waste is dumped straight into the landfills.

How to practice zero waste lifestyle?

Let me spell it out at the beginning itself - going 100% in this lifestyle from day 1 could be difficult and impractical. Try to inculcate one habit at a time. The 5 R’s of waste management are - Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Repurpose, Recycle.