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Similarly to Vanna and Amber, I think another possible ‘R” could be something that represents ‘external’ aspects of waste that may seem out of our control. Like maybe Resist, Respond or React? Bea covers this a little in one of the last chapters, “Getting Involved”, but it seemed to me that it is mostly focused on people making personal decisions – which of course is super important!
But it seems to me that its also important to take action on things that are (or at least seem) beyond our personal decisions. I’m sure there are a million examples of this, like the factory farms that Vanna mentioned, but here are a few others that come to mind:
– Timber Industry: I was recently reading that tax breaks and incentives to grow and harvest more trees makes the cost of new paper less than the cost or recycled paper. Wouldn’t it be better if these tax breaks were provided to recyclers, so that the cost of recycled paper was lower than new paper?
– Car Industry over public transportation: My mom told me an interesting story of how the rubber industry conspired to shut down the streetcars that once transported people in St Paul, MN. I have also heard that AAA lobbies for federal funding for roads at expense of public transportation infrastructure. Its a lot easier to ditch the car if you have viable public transportation/bike options.
Of course, if I knew how to force the government to look out for public rather that corporate interest, I would be a lot less frustrated than I currently am :). The problems seem so overwhelming and out of my control. But attempting to address some of these societal issues through voting, researching companies we support, and advocating for change in our communities seems like good places to start.Not sure it completely qualifies as a Zero Waste book, but I’ve heard good things about Radical Homemakers: Reclaiming Domesticity from a Consumer Culture by Shannon Hayes. I think it is about capitalist culture attempts to discredit work in the home – gardening, cooking from scratch, etc in an effort to encourage consumerism – but how this is bad for the environment and our wellbeing.
I think one of my least successful swaps has been making hummus, which is surprising because it seems pretty simple. Mine always turns out chunky and not very appealing. Sadly, it winds up at the back of the fridge and gets forgotten about and then, after a few months, moldy.
A successful swap has been making our own pinto beans/refried beans, which is super easy, especially by using the instant pot. I also have started making my daughter’s playdough, its really easy and way cheaper. I can get almost everything for it from the bulk aisle.
Somewhere in the middle between successful and unsuccessful has been shopping at thrift stores. Its easy to get all of my own, and 99% of my daughter’s clothes at thrift stores, and we also get most of our random household needs at thrift stores – for instance, I recently picked up a pepper grinder so I can just refill from bulk peppercorns, and some butter knifes (for some reason most of ours disappeared). The downside is that I am so entranced by the low prices that I often leave with things I don’t need. During the aforementioned pepper grinder trip, I brought home a couple of childrens books, although we already have a ton, and frequently go to the library, and a puzzle that was clearly to easy for my daughter (But it was only 50 cents! And maybe we’ll have another kid that can use it!). A couple times, I’ve bought shoes at the thrift store for my daughter in a size too big, thinking I would be glad in the future, but when I put them away, I see that I’ve already gotten her something similar. I like Bea’s idea of keeping a tight inventory on what you have already. I should probably go through everything and keep a google doc that I can check on my phone when making a purchase.
This was an interesting question – it was fun to think of what’s going well, and a got a chuckle remembering the time last summer when I tried to serve a guest carrot sticks with moldy hummus.
