10 Ways to Reduce Waste | Zero Waste for Beginners - video Dailymotion

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Have you heard of the zero waste lifestyle? Today's video is a beginner's guide to zero waste: 10 tips for reducing waste!  I'm so thankful to partner with Ecosia on this video. Ecosia is a a search engine that plants trees as you search!

Transcript

00:00 Hi everyone.

00:10 Welcome back to Lavendaire.

00:11 Today's video is on how to live with less waste.

00:15 It's a video for beginners who are looking to get into the zero waste lifestyle.

00:19 And it's just a video for anyone who wants to be more conscious

00:21 of their environmental footprint.

00:23 I am so, so thrilled to be partnering with Ecosia on this video.

00:27 Ecosia is a search engine that plants trees as you search the web,

00:32 and I think it's the coolest concept ever.

00:34 The way it works is just like any other search engine.

00:36 So you can use Ecosia to search something on the web,

00:39 and then search ads will come up with your results.

00:42 And with those search ads, they get income, and with their income,

00:46 they donate 80% to planting trees.

00:49 So I think on average, 45 searches will plant one tree.

00:54 And I've been using Ecosia for about three months now, and I have about 500 searches.

01:00 So if you calculate it, I think I've planted maybe 11 trees,

01:04 which is so awesome just knowing that you're doing something good

01:09 just by doing what you would normally do with the internet.

01:12 So this is something that everybody can apply.

01:15 Everyone can start using this now, and you'll truly make an impact.

01:19 So there are a lot of resources that I'll link down below,

01:22 videos of Ecosia doing their work, planting their trees.

01:25 And they're really big on transparency, which is what I love and why I support them,

01:30 so that you know exactly where their money's going to.

01:33 So I fully trust them and I love this thing so much.

01:37 So you can use Ecosia on your computer or on your phone.

01:40 They have a mobile app for iOS and Android.

01:43 And what's really cool is they've already planted 10 million trees this June,

01:49 and they have a goal to plant 1 billion trees by 2020, which I think is super inspiring.

01:54 So definitely check them out if you're interested in this sort of thing.

01:58 As you can tell, I'm super behind it.

02:00 Alright, so moving on to other ways you can be environmentally friendly.

02:04 Here are 10 ways to live with less waste.

02:07 First, it's important to know the five R's of waste management.

02:12 Refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle, and rot, in that order.

02:17 Today we'll start with refuse.

02:20 Refusing is the first rule to living a zero waste lifestyle.

02:23 Think before accepting any clutter into your home.

02:26 Turn down flyers and junk mail, freebies, party favors,

02:30 and any other junk that will most likely go into the trash.

02:36 Each year, Americans throw away 100 billion plastic grocery bags,

02:41 which take about a thousand years to break down.

02:44 Instead of accepting plastic bags and creating more demand for them,

02:47 use reusable cloth bags or even no bag when possible.

02:52 I used to think that it was mandatory to use these plastic bags for your fruits and vegetables,

02:57 but I recently discovered you can just use your own bag or even no bag,

03:00 which is even better because why bring home extra plastic?

03:06 You could also bring your own jars to grocery stores

03:08 to avoid bringing home any unnecessary plastic containers.

03:11 I love when grocery stores sell things in bulk

03:14 so that it's really easy to do some zero waste shopping.

03:17 You can either weigh your jars at the front beforehand

03:20 or bring an extra of the same jar so you can weigh it at checkout.

03:24 Next, instead of using a one-time disposable plastic straw,

03:28 you can either refuse the straw completely or use an acrylic or steel straw instead.

03:33 I personally like to drink my smoothies with a straw,

03:36 so I have this acrylic straw for that specific purpose.

03:42 Instead of using this plastic cling wrap in your kitchen to preserve your food and leftovers,

03:46 switch to using this sustainable and reusable food wrap.

03:50 These are all-natural, organic, and compostable.

03:53 I believe they're made out of beeswax,

03:55 and they actually do a really great job at keeping your food fresh,

03:58 even better than the plastic, in my opinion.

04:07 Instead of buying disposable plastic water bottles,

04:10 opt for a reusable water bottle that you can fill up again and again.

04:14 Glass and steel are probably best for your water bottle,

04:17 but I'm using this BPA-free plastic bottle because my boyfriend used to sell them

04:20 and we have a ton of them left over.

04:23 So if you have them already, reuse what you can.

04:27 Do your best to avoid using disposable utensils.

04:30 Instead, you can bring silverware from home

04:33 or use portable utensils made out of stainless steel or bamboo.

04:38 Over 4.7 billion plastic toothbrushes that will never biodegrade

04:42 are dumped in landfills and oceans each year.

04:44 So you can make a huge impact just by switching out your plastic toothbrush

04:49 for a sustainable bamboo toothbrush.

04:51 Think of all the plastic toothbrushes that you'll use in one lifetime,

04:55 and imagine avoiding that waste completely

04:57 just by switching to something that's biodegradable and compostable.

05:02 Disposable period products also create so much waste.

05:05 The average woman throws away up to 300 pounds of pads, tampons,

05:10 and applicators in her lifetime.

05:12 Instead, try using a menstrual cup.

05:15 Menstrual cups are made out of medical-grade silicone,

05:17 and one cup can last you up to ten years, which is pretty amazing.

05:23 Lastly, reduce the amount of paper you bring into your home

05:27 by switching to paperless whenever possible.

05:30 Do this with your mail, your bills, your notes, and your books.

05:33 I personally love reading ebooks on my iPad,

05:36 but I know some people love traditional books, so just do whatever works for you.

05:41 I hope you like these tips on how to live with less waste.

05:46 I just want to remind you though, just take it one step at a time.

05:50 Don't be so hard on yourself.

05:52 It's a journey.

05:53 All that matters is that you're becoming more aware,

05:55 more conscious of the environment, and you're doing your best, okay?

05:59 Everyone is at a different point in this journey.

06:01 I'm not perfect.

06:02 I'm totally not zero waste yet.

06:05 But I think the first step is awareness, and then after that,

06:08 you'll start to reduce your waste little by little.

06:11 So let's create a non-judgmental, welcoming space

06:15 where we can just open up the discussion around reducing our waste.

06:19 And let's not judge others who aren't aware of this lifestyle.

06:23 Let's just understand everyone's at a different point in our journeys.

06:26 The best thing you can do is just be a living example

06:30 of what you want to see in the world, and let your actions speak louder than your words.

06:34 It all begins with awareness, and let those awareness seep into your actions.

06:38 And then others will see what you're doing, and then they'll be inspired to follow along.

06:43 Alright, that's it.

06:44 Make sure you subscribe if you haven't already.

06:46 I love you so much.

06:48 And also check out Ecosia for a really easy way to start being more environmentally friendly,

06:52 just by searching the web.

06:54 Alright, love you all so, so much.

06:56 See you next time.

06:57 Bye!

06:58 [Music]

10 Ways to Reduce Waste | Zero Waste for Beginners

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