Zero Waste Plan: A Beginner’s Guide To Zero Waste

This step is well covered on the interwebs and covers Bea’s “Reuse” and “Refuse” principles!

There are so many very easy switches you can make that will immediately reduce trash you create as well as your pile of recycling. Switching involves small habit changes and most likely a handful of purchases.

Here’s our top 50 most impactful zero waste tips to try and a short list of some product ideas to help you on your zero waste way.

Remember, if you can avoid buying these new, do it! If you already own a version of these things, use them; if you’re crafty, make them and where sensible to do so, look for second hand options!

If you’re starting from scratch, consider investing in a zero waste kit.

Shopping:

Reusable Shopping bags: Replaces plastic bags from super markets/shops. You probably have heaps of these from all sorts of sources (we have a collection we’ve bought from supermarkets, nice canvas ones we bought along the way, freebies from events, etc.).

If you must buy, check out string cotton bags on Etsy.

Produce Bags: Replaces those small plastic bags in super markets/shops used to buy fresh produce with reusable ones!

We’ve found these most helpful at farmer’s markets for things like spinach and kale where it’s more difficult to throw loose items in your shopping bag.

Food & Drink Eating / Storage:

Food Containers: Ideally plastic free food storage containers which replace takeaway containers and plastic storage bags. Also useful for food shopping if you buy and freeze meat or deli items (like olives).

In the past, we’ve sometimes failed when eating on the go but now have now got this locked down because we carry around either a plastic container or a Tiffin when we know we’re going to need to buy lunch on the go.

We own a tiffin but often end up grabbing one of our old plastic containers so if you already have a ton of these, you don’t need to invest further. 

Water Bottle: Always opt for eco friendly water bottles over single use plastic. This is the absolute easiest swap there is. If you can drink water from the tap (or filtered tap water), you never need to buy plastic bottles again.

You just don’t. Not to say you won’t because we all get caught out sometimes!

Again, you are likely to already have one of these but if you don’t, here are a bunch of plastic free water bottles we love.

Coffee Cup / Mug: Replaces takeaway coffee cups. If you’re a coffee drinker, this is a must!

You can go for one of two (or both) options here – either a Keep Cup style reusable cup that looks like a takeaway coffee cup or a cup sized flask that keeps your coffee hot longer.

We have both because they’re good for different purposes but we end up using our flasks 90% of the time. One massive perk we’ve discovered with the flasks is cost saving… in Australia, coffee is expensive and we save a lot by making it at home and keeping it warm in our flask for longer! 

Quick math: Really good ground coffee costs us $15-20 for the week for both of us (bulk buy). If we were to purchase a coffee a day each, over 7 days it would cost us $63 per week – that’s more than $2,000 savings a year!!

Coffee itself: Replaces coffee pods and/or single coffee bags. John Sylvan, the guy who invented coffee pods is now famous for regretting this invention given the environmental impact.

He also says “They’re kind of expensive to use … plus it’s not like drip coffee is tough to make.” 

Indeed!

Coffee is decidedly not difficult to make, at a much lower cost and most importantly without the environmental impact. The switch is super simple, delicious and will most definitely turn you into a coffee snob because the world of aromas and proper, good coffee will be opened up to you.

We now own both a simple coffee press for days when time is short and an Italian stovetop espresso maker for when we want to really enjoy it (sounds expensive but not a touch on an actual coffee machine).

The process is ultra-simple especially using a simple press: you buy ground coffee (or beans and grind it yourself if you’re super hardcore), pop the ground coffee in the press, add hot water, leave it for a few minutes, push the strainer down, pour and enjoy!

Here’s our favorite French press and stovetop Espresso maker – both have lasted us years. a couple of press / stovetop espresso options:

Cutlery kit (including straw): Replaces takeaway cutlery. Luckily they make these super compact, we hardly notice them in our bag but they really come in handy – you won’t believe how often you’ll use your eco friendly cutlery.

This little kit is likely something you’ll need to buy unless you happen to have something lying around or would prefer to take your ordinary cutlery with you (which we’ve done before).

We use a kit without a straw because we find we just don’t really need a straw at all but it seems most people do like to have a straw on them.

Etsy seems to be exploding with great reusable utensil + straw sets.

Food Wraps: Replaces glad wrap and plastic ziplock bags. These food wraps have become iconic zero waste must haves, super useful for keeping produce fresh. If you don’t use single use plastic for this purpose today, good for you!

If you, like most of us, feel the need to cover that salad with some glad wrap, then food wraps are the sustainable alternative you need. Like these beeswax wraps (you do get vegan alternatives) and here is our guide on how to care for your beeswax wraps.

Napkins: Replaces serviettes and wet wipes. Embrace your inner dad and carry a hanky / napkin to wipe those grubby hands when out and about.

We forget this one so often because the napkins we bought are chunky and cumbersome, suggest you use old hankies or other lightweight cotton ones that you can fold into your cutlery kit.

Personal Care, Cooking, & Cleaning

Face Wipes: Replaces cotton balls, face wipes and cottons pads for makeup removal. There are some excellent reusable, washable options out there including little makeup removal pads, linen wipes or just ordinary face cloths.

I prefer a plain old face cloth which can do the job for up to a week (using different corners or patches) before needing a wash.

Likely you have one of these in the cupboard already. If I had to buy for this purpose, I’d go for dark colored options as my cream colored face cloths are looking less and less creamy.

Bamboo Toothbrushes: Replaces plastic, unrecyclable toothbrushes. We’ve really enjoyed using bamboo toothbrushes instead of plastic alternatives, they feel much more wholesome.

They are better because you can compost the handle, though truly compostable bristles (and zero waste toothbrushes) are hard to find so be sure to remove the bristles before composting.

Cleaning Cloths / Surface wipes: Replaces paper towels. Similar to face wipes, reusable and washable towels make life so much easier.

We usually have one for the kitchen counter, one for the floor, one for the sink and a few backups under the sink for emergencies.

Again you could just use old rags for this (those old T-shirts you don’t wear? Or one of the hundreds of drying cloths you don’t use) but there are also many options out there.

Pot Scraper: Replaces foil. You just don’t need foil, it’s the ultimate convenience but it’s just not necessary, especially if you opt for quality eco friendly cookware and sustainable dinnerware.

We haven’t tried pot scrapers yet as we find a good old pot soak does the job well enough but people rave about pot scrapers to get off bits of burnt food from oven trays and the like.

The nice wooden ones seem to only be available from Etsy but likely they’ll start popping up everywhere.