#zero trash

[lifeandlectures]

Having to move half my stuff from one country to another is giving me more motivation to embrace minimalism than any blogpost has ever done

[lovelydrusilla]

one person can make a difference.

[off-gridessentials-blog]

How This Town Produces No Trash

For more Information please view it on our Video Blog, Here’s the post:

http://offgridessentials.net/off-grid-documentaries/how-this-town-produces-no-trash/

[fortnegrita]

My Zero Waste Life// First Vlog (VIDEO)

The Zero Waste Life takes practice, and I would like for us all to go down this trash-less road together. That is why I created "My Zero Waste Life." "My Zero Waste Life" is a vlog about my everyday life sans trash. There are so many methods to my trash-less madness that I often leave my viewers in the dark. The vlog will help to highlight my small victories of zero waste life. In this episode, I show you how to go zero waste at work. Designate food-ware for work by bringing a bowl, plate, cup, fork and knife to keep in your cabinet/drawers. This is perfect for warming up lunch, pouring a cup of coffee in the kitchen or grabbing a piece of your co-worker's birthday cake.

I also show my grocery store 'starter kit,' which includes my old-lady cart, canvas produce bags (approx. 6), Mason jars (approx. 6) and two reusable bags. You can get a demonstration of my time spent in the bulk aisle of the grocery store in my "How to Zero Waste Grocery Shop" post. You get a glimpse at the lazy man's compost, which is the most effortless way to get nutrient-dense soil in your backyard for FREE!!! After last year's leaves had fallen, I raked all of the leaves into two big piles. NO fancy equipment here! I dump my scraps into the compost piles maybe once or twice a week and turn it. In this video, I am also hanging out at one of my jobs, The Dunwoody Nature Center. I am an environmental educator, and I really enjoy getting kids comfortable with nature and science. Last but not least, the emissions modest, public carpool, MARTA!! Gotta love her... Music by Dionte BOOM Website //

[fortnegrita]

The Fort is Featured on Carib-Flava.com!

During Downtown Atlanta's Pop-Up series I was able to meet the charismatic Quianah Upton of Arbitrary Living. I stopped pass her antique shop on Friday, when I met another woman-on-fire Stephanie Hasham. She runs a blog Carib-flava.com and got me on camera for her 'Lime Break'  edition.

I share about my transition into Zero Waste life, bad spending habits and why my momma' always thought I was the weird kid. Click here for the full post!

make animated gifs like this at MakeAGif

[fortnegrita]

Zero Waste Hygiene/Beauty Series

So this Zero Waste life will never be an option for you unless I break it down. Right? Right! It really is a pleasure droppin' Zero Waste science for the people, and I've been anticipating delivering video how-tos since I first started my Zero Waste life. Earlier this year, I was trying to figure things out myself, but now I have a swing of things and want to share with you all the how-tos of the lifestyle

Over the next two months, I will be giving weekly how-tos on Zero Waste life, and we are starting in none other than the bathroom! I chose the bathroom over the kitchen because typically people wonder if I use toilet paper or disposable sanitary napkins. In due time, you will figure all of these things out! Feel free to make requests for things you would like to see me cover in the comment section or email me at fortnegrita [at] gmaildotcom. Check out the list of things I will be covering in the upcoming weeks below.

Zero Waste Feminine Products

Since the average women uses 10,000 disposables in her lifetime and the idea of disposable feminine products is a little over 100 years old, let's quit this habit before it gets out of control.

Zero Waste Body Care I was accidentally practicing ZW body care before really getting into the lifestyle, and I would like to add that everything I put on my body is edible. :-)

Zero Waste Make-Up Because every women likes a little mascara and eyeliner, I'm sharing how to get minimal #beatface, with minimal trash.

Zero Waste Dental Care Fight off the gingivitis, fluoride and trash all at once. Make your own toothpaste in less than 2 minutes. Zero Waste Hair Maintenance

Have you seen Fort Negrita's fro? With this big and fluffy fro, there is no way around the need for hair products. Here's my zero waste options.

[fortnegrita]

What Is Zero Waste?

Essentially zero waste life is exactly what it sounds like.

Zero- no quantity of number, naught, nothing, none. Waste- eliminated or discarded as no longer useful or required after the completion of a process, instance of using or expending something carelessly, extravagantly, or to no purpose.

The idea is that you produce no trash, which really means you consume no trash.

When at the store what drives your purchase decisions?

Is it brand loyalty, sale items, upcoming events, impulses, kid friendly, useful, essential?

For a zero waster the first question is will there be trash after I'm finished with this item? The next question is can I reuse the waste rather than send it to a landfill?

If you can't answer yes to the second question, it will contribute to your trail of trash, and therefore is not zero waste.

Here’s a list of the zero waste life rules. These are not sovereign, and each person has to fine tune this list to fit their needs, but for me it’s:

1.       If you don’t need it, don’t buy it.

2.       Always by secondhand. (My exceptions would be linen/underwear/mattresses)

3.       Eat at home.

4.       Avoid packaging.

5.       Carry food storage, drinking container, utensils at all times.

6.       Give something old a second life before discarding.

The thing is landfills are a makeshift solution for a HUGE issue. They cause air and land pollution, which tarnish the water we drink, the soil where our produce grows and the air we breathe. Hello lungs!

Humanity has not committed to a long term waste solution, and yet, humans have adopted a nasty little addition— consumerism— which increases the amount of waste used. Seventy percent of those purchases are items we do not need. Which means 70% of the waste produced can be prevented.

Zero wasters go a step further and avoid items we DO need if it comes in packaging. For instance, I live in the Edgewood, which is a few minutes from the Kroger shopping center on Moreland. Yes, there are plenty of assorted teas to choose from, but they are all boxed up in paper and plastic and more paper and staples. I opt for a store called Nuts 'N Berries, which is near Brookhaven for my teas, just to avoid a little bit of packaging.

Rice, pasta, beans, trail mix, oats, flour, olive oil, soap and honey are all brought in bulk. I buy package-less fruits and vegetables. I have a list of items that are NOT waste free. In my transition, I hope to find no-trash alternatives to each.

Primitive people were resourceful to gather food, clothing and shelter. I try to mirror their minimalism behavior in the 21st century world. 

[fortnegrita]

Alternatives to Using Baby Wipes

Before reading this article in New York magazine, I was two wipes away from an empty travel size pack. I liked to keep a stash for, well you know, those moments when I need them. Two left was usually my time to stop by the nearest pharmacy to re-up, but with recently becoming more aware of the trash I produce, I knew this would be the last wipes I used. We feel a little cleaner with the swipe of a moist wet wipe on our bums, but that swipe of security isn't worth the dirty clean up it will cost your city sewage system. Even though most moist wipes/ baby wipes claim to be flushable all that really means is it can make it down you home's pipes. But can it shoot through miles of pipes and sewage and that's another story. The New York City Department of  Environmental Protections says those wet wipes cost about $18 million extra per year, and the wet wipe phenomena has doubled since 2008! Those MTA seats must be baby powder fresh. Here are my suggestion for the flushy fiends. 1. If your at home USE A WASHCLOTH! It can't be any better than this, and when you think about it moist wipes are really just a c-list washcloths. Wash clean thoroughly, wash it and dry. Ready for a new use without waste. 2. Slightly dampen toilet paper prior to going in a public stall to do your deeds. Yes they are much thinner, but toilet paper was created for toilet in a sense that it dissolves after 5 seconds so it's less likely to clog up pipes and water streams. 3. Splash some water. This may not be good for the public bathrooms, but if your at a family or friends home take advantage of the sink right next to you. Just don't leave water everywhere. 4. If your the type of person that can get over your wipes, throw them away instead of flushing them. I don't encouraged this at all, but if you have to, throwing away is the lesser of evils.