Zero Waste Home

Waste elimination in the home is a new trend that is catching on among millennials. However, I am not talking about throwing away trash for the trash truck to haul away. Minimalism has been growing around the world and it encompasses living a life without excess. It hasn’t quite become a common lifestyle yet, but its slowly catching peoples attention. This lifestyle is predominantly about those who want to lessen the effects of waste on earth and their carbon footprint. The mantra of the experts is “Reduce, reuse, recycle”. This way of living is definitely not easy. I speak from experience because I myself am on this journey. It takes a lot of consciousness, courage, and commitment. I didn’t realize how much plastic I threw away until I had to choose things to buy that did not include something disposable. A great book to read if you are interested in trying this is the book called “Zero Waste Home” by Bea Johnson.

Composting

One of the many things this lifestyle talks about is composting food. This is a type of recycling that involves reusing food waste to recreate nutritious soil for plants. People would choose to have a vegetable garden, and they grow their own produce to reduce the consumption of items from supermarkets. This limits that chance of having to buy prepackaged items. By growing their own produce it also allows them to control the use of pesticides and spending less money each month. Some even go to the extremes of raising their own chicken in their backyards to have organic eggs. There are several methods of composting that are available.

Methods of Composting

• Traditional Composting: Dumping food scraps into a layered pile in your backyard and turning it every so often, keeping it moist by adding water, and waiting.
• Modern Technology Composting: A machine that does it overnight in your kitchen.