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Zero waste resolutions for the zero waste outreach team

It’s a new year and a new semester, which means it’s a perfect time to reflect on past habits and work to be better not only for ourselves, but for our planet. I asked our Zero Waste Outreach team what they're doing to work towards living a zero waste lifestyle. It's important to recognize that implementing a zero waste lifestyle is a learning process, and I hope that these goals serve as inspiration to form new habits.

Ryan Zabors

Year: Freshman
Major: Environmental Studies
Goal: Support sustainable clothing over fast fashion

Fashion can be tricky for college students. Shopping on a budget while staying on trend amidst constant change can seem almost impossible. Fast fashion sometimes seems like the perfect solution, but the environmental costs are detrimental. The fashion industry is one of the biggest polluters in the world, second to the oil industry. Globally, we now consume about 80 billion new pieces of clothing every year. Thrifting, investing in higher quality clothes and finding new ways to love and keep clothes we already have can combat the negative impacts of fast fashion.

Looking for more inspiration to reject the fast fashion industry?

Kat Avedovech

Year: Sophomore
Major: Psychology 
Goal: Reusable alternatives

Single-use plastic products are purchased and discarded so frequently that it's easy to adopt an “out-of-sight, out-of-mind” mentality. However, these plastic products do not disappear once they're disposed of. Instead, most plastic - especially water bottles, grocery bags and ziploc bags - contributes to the 14 million tons of plastic waste that ends up in our oceans.  Although recycling lowers waste output, eliminating plastic use altogether is an effective way to reduce pollution. Bringing reusable bags to the store and using steel water bottles are eco-friendly alternatives that are easy to adopt in our everyday lives.

Resources to inspire you to help reduce plastic consumption:

Bryce Poirot

Year: Junior
Major: Neuroscience and Psychology
Goal: Always make sure my recycling is sorted correctly

Recycling is tricky. Similar to learning a new language, there are many exceptions to set rules and it is complicated to remember everything. Eco-cycle, a non-profit organization focusing on recycling, is an excellent resource for Boulder recycling questions. Every community has slightly different recycling standards so it’s important to look up your community's rules. However, there are some rules that apply everywhere, like always recycling glass and aluminum, and never recycling wrappers and plastic film as this can lead to contamination.

Here are some resources to bookmark when you have questions/clarifications:

Kayla Vasarhelyi

Year: Junior
Major: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Goal: Be more diligent at composting

Composting is nature’s own “zero waste” system! Composting keeps waste out of landfills, strengthens soil health, reduces greenhouse gas emissions and so much more. Generally, acceptable compost includes food scraps, #7 PLA plastic, paper, etc. We are lucky to have industrial composting systems in Boulder, so composting might look different than the classic worm-filled backyard bin (although this is always still an option!). Looking for a place to start? Try putting a compost bin in your kitchen to collect scraps (sign up for an Eco-Visit to get a free one!).

Read more about composting:

Tasha Smith

Year: Junior
Major: Business with Strategy and Entrepreneurship
Goal: Minimize food waste

Nearly 40% of food produced in America is lost or wasted; 40%!!! Reducing food waste will not only reduce methane emissions from landfills but can also provide enough food to feed the 12 million households in America that are considered food insecure. Planning meals ahead, properly storing food and creating an at-home compost bin are just some of the ways to reduce food waste on a personal level.

Resources and ideas for minimizing food waste:

Karlie Conzachi

Year: Junior
Major: Environmental Studies, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Goal: Fix my own clothes

Did you know that the average American generates 82 pounds of textile waste every year? That’s 25 billion pounds of textile waste every year! It's estimated that 85% of this goes to our landfills and only 15% gets donated or recycled. We live in a society that is constantly pressuring us to keep up with the latest trends and encourages us to buy more clothes. Fixing clothes we already have, rather than throwing them away, is a great first step to reduce clothing waste. As Patagonia said, "If it’s broke, fix it!"

More resources to avoid fast fashion and keep our clothes usable for many years:

Kate Huun

Year: Senior
Major: Environmental Studies and Sociology
Goal: Meatless Mondays

Meatless Monday is a global movement that encourages people to reduce meat in their diet for the health of the planet and personal health. Here’s a crazy stat: if the world reduced meat consumption by 15%, it would have the same impact on greenhouse gas emissions as taking 240 million cars off the road each year. Try some new plant-based recipes - it's the biggest impact you can personally make to slow the climate crisis.

More resources (and great recipes!):

Lauren Mullen

Year: Junior
Major: Environmental Engineering
Goal: Listen to more zero-waste/sustainability podcasts

With Spotify and Apple Music services, we have access to more podcasts than you can imagine. Listening to podcasts about the climate crisis and sustainable living can be educating, eye-opening and inspirational. Things are constantly changing in regard to our climate; listening to new stats is a perfect way to stay inspired, while gathering more talking points to present to others. My goal is to stay educated, and I plan to update everyone on great episodes along the way!

Podcast and documentary recommendations: