Sustainability is a tricky, divisive subject. It’s easy to dismiss movements that advocate for less waste and more corporate accountability as panic-generating, shallow, and irrelevant to the lives of average citizens. Yet as news stacks locally and internationally, it’s clear that the consequences of unbridled consumption are catching up with us in the forms of dwindling resources and evidence of climate change.
At the same time, living sustainably can be a pretty intimidating endeavor. There are more than a thousand ways to go wrong, and failure seems to wait at every turn. As a result, too many of us give up on sustainable living before we’ve even begun.
So if you’re one of the many who
Aim for “low-waste” instead of “zero-waste”
If we’re being honest, failure is inevitable when it comes to leading a sustainable life. Stumbling is part and parcel of enacting positive change, especially where circumstances are less than ideal. That said, if it helps you, try updating your vocabulary to better match your expectations.
The term “zero-waste” is a bit of a misnomer and can be confusing for beginners. Even the most zealous zero-waster leaves some form of waste in their wake. So instead of expecting yourself to lead a zero-waste lifestyle, leave room for mistakes and aim for a low-waste lifestyle instead. Save yourself the guilt trip.
Zero-waste may be the ideal, but it is certainly not the standard.
Start small and slow to create lasting change
In the same vein, don’t pressure yourself to make these changes overnight. Don’t throw out everything you own and frantically replace them with “sustainable products.” Use what you have, learn to make wiser purchases as you need them, and reflect on what makes a lifestyle truly sustainable. Sustainability isn’t all-or-nothing. Don’t overwhelm yourself with rules that ask for more than what you can give.
Take small steps slowly to make sure that the changes truly stick. Start with refusing single-use plastics, then maybe learn more about composting and recycling. You don’t have to give up meat forever or start protest groups against companies to make a difference (though doing those things will largely help). Doing your best doesn’t mean doing everything all at once. Make changes at a pace you can sustain, so you don’t burn out too fast, too soon.
Invite others to pursue sustainability with you
You don’t have to pursue a sustainable lifestyle all by yourself. Try talking to a friend or two to see what they think about living more sustainably. If they’re interested in doing it with you, great! If not, you’ve gotten them to think about it at the very least. Simply inviting others into the conversation is a great first step.
The more people talk about it, the more people will find that living sustainably is actually accessible. It might look different from person to person, and some people might put in more effort than others—but that’s okay. Imperfect progress is better than strictly holding out for perfection.
As zero-waster Anne Marie Benneau puts it, “We don’t need a handful of people doing zero-waste perfectly. We need millions of people doing it imperfectly.”
Sustainability deserves the effort and time of day we can give it. It’s not just a passing trend or yet another way for people to feel morally superior to others. It’s something real that we all ought to be working towards in any way we can, to ensure a better future for ourselves and generations to come.
