An incremental approach to zero waste

It can be very discouraging to attempt an all-or-nothing approach to zero waste. However, even making a few small steps in that direction can have an impact. A lot of people making small steps potentially makes a greater impact than a few people going completely zero-waste. A lot of resources I've found advocate an all-or-nothing approach. I was brainstorming this afternoon about how a newbie could start making steps toward zero waste, hopefully in ways that aren't so intimidating. Building a Better World takes this approach, but I'm attempting to put it in a more condensed list format along with some of my ideas. I broke the ideas out into categories. The steps are listed from easiest to implement to hardest. Goal was to reduce waste exiting the home or resources being consumed by the home as much as possible.

Human Excrement
-If it's yellow, let it mellow (game changer for me to see this suggestion one time in a blog post; it saves over half of your flushing water without being an inconvenience at all. So many more people could implement this even if the other steps are too intimidating)
-Collect urine in a separate bucket for use in the garden or pee directly in the garden/compost pile
-Compost humanure or use a dry outhouse

Food
-Start a food digester or bokashi bucket. Find a convenient composting process with the goal of no organic matter in the trash.
-Buy food only in reuseable/compostable/recyclable containers
-produce food at home (0 food miles and no transport packaging) (Can be incremental; not an all or nothing)

Transport
-Tune up vehicles for fuel efficiency (because some of us still need a car and this is the least intrusive step)
-Choose efficient routes (minimize taking "special trips" for things)
-Carpool and ride share
-Work from home full/part time
-Take public transport
-Take a walk or ride a bike
All of these can be incremental. I work away from home part-time and consolidate my schedule to make fewer car trips into the office (unfortunately there isn't a convenient carpool or public transport). If I need to go downtown, I ride the train. I have a couple of friends within walking distance if I want to visit.

Clothing
-Repair what you have
-Buy second hand
-Buy natural fabrics (will compost when they wear out; esp important for foundationware like undies and better for you too)
-Buy from organic/sustainable companies

Furnishings
-Repair what you have and clean with non-toxic cleaners (a good cleaning can make something look like new)
-Buy second hand
-When something new is needed, invest in sustainable pieces that can be repaired and up-kept for a long time

Water
-Check for and repair leaks and use water wisely
-Cooking water and washing water goes in the garden (water that is already in a bucket and can go into the garden instead of down the drain)
-Invest in rain barrels and cisterns
-Install simple grey water systems (bucket under the sink)
-Install whole house grey water reclamation system

Misc. Household Goods
-Donate or sell useable items that you don't need anymore (I see too much of this rotting on the curb for bulk waste to clean up when it probably could have been used for something)
-Repair what you have before buying
-Borrow from a friend if you only need the item briefly
-Buy second hand
-Buy from a sustainable company

Electricity
-Turn off appliances when not in use
-Use the smallest appliance to accomplish your goal (toaster oven vs. regular oven) (also goes with Paul's point about heating the person rather than heating the whole room)
-Can this be accomplished without an electric appliance? (solar oven vs. electric oven)
-Store and use your own energy (solar battery cell)

A little background: I'm in Texas so heating is rarely an issue. Most of the time wrapping up in blankets or using a heating pad is plenty. On the other hand, it is in the 90s or higher for a good chunk of the year. Using a smaller appliance to heat our food and napping through the hottest part of the day to conserve energy is very helpful for bringing down our AC electricity use. Our appliances are all electric (not gas) so I don't have insight on that. I'm a baby permie compared to some of you who have been fighting this good fight for a while, so I know there is much to learn. I'm eager to see what other incremental suggestions this community could come up with.

I think it is good for us Northern folk to consider how we heat our homes. I recently got to stay in a tipi heated by a rocket mass heater and I was really impressed! I will be moving towards converting my home from gas heating to RMH with electric heating in small spaces (micro heat). I have access to branches, standing dead trees, and will be developing coppicing crops.

Here is a great video about why RMH are so efficient:



Another aspect of this is insulation. I really need to address the poor insulation under my home (I essentially live in a trailer) and I'm looking for ways to insulate that have a low impact and very little toxic gick. I'm trying to figure out if up-cycling insulation is an option.

Seeing that this thread was started 2 years ago today, I find that I stumbled upon it with the idea in my mind garden to ungarbage our life, serendipitous.  

Such great ideas.  Incremental improvements are the best way (in my personal experience) to create sustained lifestyle changes.  

Exciting!  

This is a subject we are very interested in. After years of separating all our recyclables and having a place to take them - we have lost almost all our easily reached recycle bins. It pains me to put this stuff in the garbage. We compost the few food scraps we have, as I do vermicomposting with all appropriate scraps. That outdoor compost heap is now receiving all our cardboard, but it will be a long time before it all degrades (since we don't add that much green to it). Most of my clothes are from thrift stores, and when we do buy anything new I try to be sure it's well made. I look forward to reading what others have to say about their progress toward zero waste.

I like this idea. It aligns with Paul's explanation of the Wheaton Scale. I also like the Pareto principle, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pareto_principle which states that for many outcomes, roughly 80% of consequences come from 20% of causes also called the 80/20 rule. As with so many things you can often get 80% of the desired benefits with 20% of the effort/cost. If you can get a lot of people to start down this path and continue to improve it is better than getting a handful to take the all or nothing approach. The more people who define themselves as being on this path, the better.
When I read How to Build a Better World in Your Own Backyard, I thought that there ought to be the absolute approach and a "light" version. For example, Not ready to go "pooless"? Try using half the shampoo, bath gel and other cleansers you currently use. Are you still getting good results? Cut the amount in half again and see. Keep going until you use the minimum amount that gives the desired effect.

Hi Rosie,

Welcome to Permies …a bit delayed, but a sincere welcome nevertheless.

I'm OCD on the zero waste spectrum <chuckle>

Two comments. I'd add to the Household Goods category, share occasionally used items with friends, neighbors or family (every household doesn't need it's own rototiller, truck, washing machine, lawnmower,or chickens).
And on the overall question, or statement, that many people taking small steps is better than a few trying to go to zero waste, I don't see this as a choice; seems to me the way it works is that people take a few small steps, perhaps after seeing friends or a neighbor taking them; then when they see that wasn't so hard, and they saved money, they take another step. The person going (close to) zero waste has probably been on this path a long time.

Thanks for those points! I agree with doing a little at a time is better than perfect. A few additional things I like to do: (1) use scrap towels for pee rags (not poo, too difficult to clean) that save toilet paper, (2) dilute liquid soaps, (3) build soil in the back and front yard using any organic matter I can find to compost, (4) go to estate sales and auctions for items I need, and (5) have a running list on my phone for things I need around the house to buy used.

A saying I've heard - progress is better than perfect.

I do think language is important.  Should we be discussing "zero waste" or "waste reduction" or "minimal / minimized waste" or something else?  I know if someone suggests to me I should strive for zero waste, I'm first going to ask for clarification on their definition, but depending on how it is couched, I may get defensive.  This is not intended to detract from the topic, but I suspect much of the waste stream correlates with urbanization and one is unlikely to be able to convince apartment dwellers to divert urine nor put in non-flushing toilets even if they are able to.

I do know that for us in the city, we have enormous carts for recycling and garbage that are picked up weekly.  We (almost) always have more in the recycling cart than the garbage cart and sometimes we don't bother putting the carts out.  Of course, I don't know how much that goes in the recycling cart is actually recycled.  If we used wood heat, the recycling cart could be fairly empty if the burnables didn't go in there.

Of course, this is also based on offloading our refuse to the municipality.  For many, I'm sure they don't give it much thought.

The Savory Institute Land to Market initiative can help people find products that are raised regeneratively.  While it doesn't reduce waste, when you do need to replace things, it can be helpful to know that there is a lighter footprint.

One of my biggest challenges is when I do purchase something, to be able to find something that is of higher quality that will last.  There is so much junk out there these days, much of it hermetically sealed in plastic.  

I like the idea of having a list of suggestions that one can pick and choose from...choice helps people to own which direction they choose.