learning project: low-waste lifestyle
For the past couple months, I've been reading a daily article related to the universe of sustainability, namely the worlds of sustainable travel and green transport. I've learned about companies in both of those spaces. Experiential tourism, ethical travel, regenerative tourism, over tourism, eco-tourism, carbon credits, and carbon off-setting.
I've also exposed myself to the many companies [on LinkedIn and through a search engine] that are innovating in the sustainable space of eco-friendly transportation, offering options related to electric vehicles, creating the infrastructure of electric vehicles and charging stations to be accessible, making public transit easier, and getting the word out on micro-mobility innovations like bike-sharing/ride-sharing companies.
The articles have been from the publications "Brightly" and "TreeHugger." Articles about how to go green while commuting, how electric cars are not the only option for low-carbon transport, the misdirection in transferring money and resources to electric vehicles and not improving public transit options, how to get people out of cars and reimagine public transit, and 10 jobs in sustainability.
This has been a couple years after experimenting with low-waste living. When I first moved to Utah, I was able to craft my own lifestyle. I tried to do it in my hometown by making my own hazelnut milk using a cheesecloth or bringing my 'Package Free' coffee cup to the coffee shop which I ordered from "Package Free Shop."
In Utah, I ordered two stainless steel containers to serve as my lunch boxes, a wooden cutlery set from the company "Eco Roots" which I absolutely love, a citrus-scented shampoo bar, and a wooden dish soap. I shopped in the bulk foods section of the grocery aisle. I also used to go to the local zero-waste shop where I would get the used mason jars [in order to be more like Lauren Singer, the "zero-waste" queen of the internet] to use as drinking jars or as pasta storage jars, and to pick up some activated charcoal toothpaste tabs. I also frequented "buy nothing" groups on Facebook and got almost all of my items for my room on Facebook Marketplace. I was also listening to low-waste living podcasts and other podcasts for sustainability-minded humans.
I was feeling elated exploring the zero-waste lifestyle after learning about it for so long. I remember one time when I was working at the hotel, cleaning the room, where I was listening to an interview with a sustainable lifestyle influencer and I just felt so optimistic about the future. I would like to explore it even more again, in a new environment where I travel a lot or work remotely. There are a lot of zero-waste/low-waste travel products and options from really smart companies.
I would like to be a part of these green/ethical travel and sustainable mobility initiatives in the future and, in my personal life, live a more low-waste lifestyle.