Imagine a life without any garbage. Imagine, never having to take out the trash, never having to separate your recycling, and never having to worry about that horrible odor it’ll get after a while. Anyone can live a life like this, and people all across the world actually are. One girl, 23-year-old Lauren Singer, has taken it upon herself to spread the word about this type of lifestyle to everyone she can. It is called the zero-waste lifestyle.
Signer is immaculate at following this zero-waste lifestyle, probably because she is an environmental studies major at NYU. She said that she felt like such a “hypocrite” for promoting lifestyles such as these, but never actually following them herself. However, all that changed two years ago, when she finally stepped up to the plate, and she has never looked back since. Over this time period, she has accumulated only a tiny Mason jar full of garbage. Can you believe it? The woman has only a small jar full of garbage for two years of living! It’s incredible!
What is the secret to her success you ask? No plastic. Lauren has completely rid plastic from nearly all of her everyday home items. She makes her own lotion, toothpastes, and even soaps from all natural and organic items she has in her own house. She even puts all of these things into reusable glass jars (mason jars). Anything that will eventually go in a landfill when she’s done with it, gone. Whatever she doesn't fit into that little Mason jar of trash, she reuses in her everyday life.
Simply by getting rid of the plastic in her life, such as plastic water bottles, plastic wrappings, plastic bags, and plastic surgery, she has been able to reduce the amount of garbage she produces drastically. You can follow up on what she does daily on her blog- “Trash is for Toddlers”- and see what other ways she refines her lifestyle. American’s only make up five percent of the world’s population, yet account for around 30 percent of the worlds garbage. Imagine if all of us could be like Lauren Signer, and start this zero-waste lifestyle. Only having a Mason jar full of garbage for two whole years of living; we could take that thirty percent and turn it into something to be proud of.
Now, I’m not saying we should go to the extreme lengths of Signer’s devotion and completely take certain things out of our lives, but we can all do something to help. If we just recycle and reuse as much as we can, we can reduce the amount of garbage we make down astonishingly. Simply by changing our lifestyles a little bit, we can all change the world.
By Jeyda B.
Signer is immaculate at following this zero-waste lifestyle, probably because she is an environmental studies major at NYU. She said that she felt like such a “hypocrite” for promoting lifestyles such as these, but never actually following them herself. However, all that changed two years ago, when she finally stepped up to the plate, and she has never looked back since. Over this time period, she has accumulated only a tiny Mason jar full of garbage. Can you believe it? The woman has only a small jar full of garbage for two years of living! It’s incredible!
What is the secret to her success you ask? No plastic. Lauren has completely rid plastic from nearly all of her everyday home items. She makes her own lotion, toothpastes, and even soaps from all natural and organic items she has in her own house. She even puts all of these things into reusable glass jars (mason jars). Anything that will eventually go in a landfill when she’s done with it, gone. Whatever she doesn't fit into that little Mason jar of trash, she reuses in her everyday life.
Simply by getting rid of the plastic in her life, such as plastic water bottles, plastic wrappings, plastic bags, and plastic surgery, she has been able to reduce the amount of garbage she produces drastically. You can follow up on what she does daily on her blog- “Trash is for Toddlers”- and see what other ways she refines her lifestyle. American’s only make up five percent of the world’s population, yet account for around 30 percent of the worlds garbage. Imagine if all of us could be like Lauren Signer, and start this zero-waste lifestyle. Only having a Mason jar full of garbage for two whole years of living; we could take that thirty percent and turn it into something to be proud of.
Now, I’m not saying we should go to the extreme lengths of Signer’s devotion and completely take certain things out of our lives, but we can all do something to help. If we just recycle and reuse as much as we can, we can reduce the amount of garbage we make down astonishingly. Simply by changing our lifestyles a little bit, we can all change the world.
By Jeyda B.