12 tips for a zero-waste year

Taking action for the planet and your health is not rocket science. It’s just a matter of changing small habits and acquiring a few new gestures, andstep by step you can integrate a more responsible routine into your daily life. Small means, big effects!

12 tips for a zero-waste year Food jars

But be careful, there’s no question of wanting to change everything at once and risking ecological burn-out!

Start by choosing the action that speaks most to you, the one that seems most affordable and easy to implement. Start there, and you’ll see that little by little, the actions will follow on from each other.

Don’t try to be perfect, either. The idea is that everyone should be able to do their part, depending on what they want to do, how much time they have, and how their family is set up! It’s not always easy to establish new habits within the family.

Be indulgent with others, and also with yourself.

Let’s get started! Discover our 12 zero-waste tips for taking care of our planet !

1. Anticipate your shopping

Always carry a few bulk bags for impromptu purchases, and for “big shopping trips”, equip yourself with reusable tote bags and fruit and vegetable nets.

Whether at the market or the supermarket, your fruit and vegetables are safe when transported in bulk and, above all, out of a plastic bag!

2. Buy in bulk, local and seasonal as much as possible.

Go to the market, find a market gardener near you or opt for home delivery of vegetable baskets.

Push open the door of a bulk store and fill your containers (pouches and jars) with flour, sugar, pasta, legumes, cereals, spices, dried fruit, sometimes fresh fruit, but also oils, vinegars, beer, soaps, shampoos, washing powder, make-up! You’ll find it all in a bulk store , and the quality is top-notch.

The list of these stores is long, and you’re bound to find a bulk grocery store in your area on the association’s interactive map. Zero Waste Switzerland.

3. Reuse your containers!

No, there’s no need to buy 50 new jars when you start buying in bulk.

Reuse your glass jars and bottles, your metal or ceramic tins to store your cereals, seeds, preserves or homemade drinks, or to store food leftovers in the fridge; don’t throw away your plastic bottles, sprays or cans that used to hold your cleaning products, fill them up at the bulk grocery store with eco-friendly bulk products, or even better, put your homemade products in them!

Ah, and egg cartons! Even if they’re compostable, they can get filled up again and again and again. There’s no saving on materials 🙂

4. Drink tap water

It’s as simple as that, isn’t it? We’re lucky enough to live in a country where tap water is of excellent quality, so why pay 15x the price and lug around packs of bottles when it’s so easy to pour yourself a glass of fresh water from the kitchen?

This will save you a mountain of PET waste. PET recycling is not (yet) 100% recyclable, and since the existing material cannot be reused in its entirety, there will inevitably be a proportion (around 30%) of new PET used to make new bottles.

And since we know that some of our plastic waste is transported to Asia to be processed under conditions that are dubious, to say the least, let’s avoid endorsing this opaque and irresponsible system (report by Temps Présent, October 8, 2020).

In short, tap water is life! And if you need to add a little taste, choose good artisanal syrups, make your own tea or herbal tea, flavour with fruit or aromatic herbs.

Or make your own health drink, fruit kefir, a fermented, slightly fizzy beverage reminiscent of lemonade. Among other things, it will restore and strengthen your intestinal flora (the intestine is our second brain!) thanks to probiotics, good bacteria, and boost your immune system. Need kefir seeds? Don’t hesitate to contact us, we regularly have some to donate. We wrote a whole blog post on fruit kefir, where you’ll find all the information you need for successful fermentations!

5. Get used to no longer throwing away food scraps

700 is the number of kilos of household waste produced per person in Switzerland every year, 190 kg of which is food thrown away when it could still be eaten (Le Temps of 29.04.2019).

Leftover rice? A tired salad? Overripe fruit? An old piece of dry bread?

Stop throwing away leftovers and get creative! Rice can be sautéed with vegetables or slipped into a soup, yesterday’s salad can be mixed with fresh cheese for toast, fruit can be made into a smoothie, compote or jam, bread can be made into croutons for soup or put back into the oven… and the list goes on!

The possibilities are endless, and all you have to do is open your cupboards or fridge to adapt a leftover meal into a new dish or snack. The Canadian blogger from Chic Frigo Sans Fric is the star of “touski” (translate “everything that’s left over”!), so get inspired by her recipes!

And if you really can’t, compost!

6. Refuse the superfluous

Unsubscribe from useless newsletters, refuse invasive flyers, display a stop-pub on your letterbox.

Accept only what pleases you and don’t let yourself be overwhelmed by useless solicitations that will end up in the garbage can within 20 seconds.

7. Sort out your clothes

Take all your clothes out of the closet, including those you’ve long neglected, those that are misshapen, damaged and just plain unimportant. Keep only what makes you look good, fits you well and what you feel comfortable in .

For the rest, upcycle what you can: transform old leggings into tawashisa shirt into a bulk bagan old t-shirt into a washable rag for window cleaning or dusting.

Donate to charities (Salvation Army, Emmaüs, Le Galetas, etc.) or put up for sale what you no longer wear, to limit waste and give your clothes a new lease of life.

We can of course apply the same sorting process to books, paper, kitchen utensils, decorative items, cosmetics and so on.

And if this step seems insurmountable to you alone, you can always call on the decluttering fairies, such as Clarity Home Detox or Madame Pepperpote.

8. Replace plastic sponges, cleaning paper & dish brushes with sustainable and/or biodegradable alternatives.

We sometimes forget that sponges and other standard cleaning cloths are made of synthetic material. See that frayed paw or that sponge that looks like it’s been through a war? Well, the particles that have crumbled with use have disappeared down your drain. The problem of micro-plastics in our lakes and rivers is a major one, and if we can reduce their dispersion at source, it’s a great boon for the environment, aquatic organisms and, ultimately, the contents of our plates.

Replace commercial sponges with brushes made from vegetable fibre brushes or loofah.

Replace disposable “household” paper or synthetic cloths with washable washable paper towelsor recycled rags cut from an old T-shirt, or our pretty Paper towel square which can be composted after months of use.

Finally, swap your dishbrush from the big Swedish giant for an attractive wooden brush with compostable, interchangeable head.

9. Opt for solid cosmetics

12 tips for a zero-waste year

The staggering number of plastic bottles thrown in the garbage can is matched only by the aberrant amount of water contained in a liquid or gel product! Not to mention the many undesirable synthetic and/or petroleum-derived substances, allergens and other endocrine disruptors that are harmful to our health and to aquatic environments.

A solid cleansing bar, cold-saponified or dermatological, is often used for both body and hair, and sometimes even for the face. There is such a thing as a solid conditioner that detangles hair, and it works!

The only prerequisite is to choose a good soap dish that lets your soaps dry thoroughly between showers, so that they last as long as possible.

10. Make your own basic cleaning products or cosmetics

We’re a bit like the do-it-yourself papesses, you’re beginning to know us 🙂

But not everyone has the desire or the time (even if it can be done very quickly) to start making their own products. So don’t feel guilty, a little goes a long way!

But if you’re motivated, there’s a whole world out there for you!

Equip yourself with the essentials (baking soda, soda crystals, vinegar, black soap, citric acid and/or clay, etc.) and you’ll be able to clean your whole house in a natural, non-polluting way, saving plastic and lots of money!

The same goes for cosmetics: deodorant, toothpaste, scrubs and face masks, which can all be made in just a couple of spoonfuls and (very often) with the contents of your kitchen cupboards.

11. Outdoors

Avoid disposable containers and packaging, use reusable ones!

At lunchtime in the office, during a family outing… There are so many opportunities to avoid single-use disposable containers.

Keep one or two lunch boxes at the office in a cloth bag to hold the lunchtime take-away, a set of cutlery and a small cloth napkin .

Going out for a few hours? Bring your water bottle (or thermos), a bulk bag or beeswrap to hold a sandwich or other small snack… you’ll be all set!

12. Borrow, rent, repair

The basis of thecircular economy.Borrow from others, rent on an exchange platform between private individuals or in a object libraryIn short, we think twice before buying on the spur of the moment or throwing away what we can still use.

12 months, 12 options for a more waste-efficient lifestyle – and a more frugal one at that!

As mentioned above, approach each area in your own way, according to your convictions, your time and your desire. The aim is not to be perfect (we’re not either, we assure you!), but to gradually become aware of the potential of these small, seemingly insignificant gestures , which influence the way we consume and live.

So, where do you start?

Enjoy your quest for minimum waste and take care of yourself!