Zero waste. Are they possible?

That surely involves a huge lifestyle change. How do you manage it?

I would recommend doing things one step at a time rather than trying to take on everything at once. Adjustments take time. start with simple things: always take along your own shopping bag, for instance – including small cloth bags for fruits and vegetables. Next, you might stop buying PET bottles and take your own reusable bottle along with you. Or use refillable containers for food and other products so you can do without disposable packaging. When more and more little things get to be a habit one after the other, things get a lot easier.

“The most sustainable method is always to use what you already have at home.”

All this involves quite a bit of research, right?

Yes, that is part of it. There are lots of websites, books, blogs and Facebook groups. You can also find out interesting things from talks. There are more options and products than you think: For example, toothpaste in tablet form that you can pour into a glass. Or shampoo in solid form. But you can also have empty shampoo or detergent containers refilled: this can be done at package-free stores, as well as at pharmacies, drugstores and health food shops. I still use my old

Dishwashing bottle I bought two years ago. The most sustainable method is always to use what you already have at home.

Doesn’t zero waste take more time out of your day because it takes longer to look for things?

Yes and no. When you start, you do have to spend time getting information, but later on you automatically get better organised. Nowadays, I go shopping less, but more specifically: I know what I need and where I can find it. So it doesn’t take any longer than it did before. And many things are closer than you might think: The neighbourhood shop around the corner sells yoghurt in a deposit jar, and the health food store nearby sells reusable bottles for a deposit that I can bring back. For other things, I have to travel a bit further: in Zurich, where I work, I buy feta at a Turkish store and tofu at a package-free shop.

How has your day-to-day life changed since you started living zero-waste?

I cook more myself and prepare a lot of things at home that are hard to find without packaging – such as dough. I usually have my water bottle with me and my reusable bag – often Tupperware, too, or small bags so I can buy things spontaneously. I weigh the Tupperware containers I use for shopping and write the weight on each one. This way, the sales assistant at the checkout knows straight away how much to deduct. So I’ve actually created a new routine for myself.

But surely there are things that are simply impossible to find anywhere without packaging – electronics and laptops, for example?

Yes, that is difficult. I buy a lot of electronic equipment second-hand. We produce a lot of electrical waste, even with appliances that are still in working order. I also go to second-hand stores or use loan and rental platforms such as Sharely and Pumpipumpe: I can use stickers on my mailbox to show what I have at home and what others can borrow. This is handy for things like drills and other devices you rarely use. Any I only ever buy second-hand clothes now. 

Isn’t it virtually impossible to keep track of the entire production chain of a product?

Living one hundred per cent according to zero waste is never entirely possible. But there are still lots of ways to reduce all kinds of waste. If I cannot avoid packaging waste, I can at least make sure it’s recyclable. And I like try to make use of the power I have as a consumer, too.

What do you mean by that?

For example, I’ve called companies to ask how something will be packaged and whether I can send the packaging back. Or once I wrote to a meat substitute manufacturer that I loved their products and would very much like to buy them, but I also wanted to live according to zero waste. They then asked if I knew of a package-free store they could contact where they could sell their products. That kind of thing is great. You can definitely make a difference if you’re committed.

At first I was embarrassed to ask sales assistants if they could put something directly into a Tupperware container for me. When they responded positively, I realised how easy it was.”

What’s the biggest benefit of the zero-waste lifestyle as you see it?

Since I changed my lifestyle, I have closer contact with the people I buy from. I automatically buy more organic and locally sourced food, because a lot of such foods are often automatically zero waste. It might well be that I now lead a healthier life as a result, too. And I’ve met a lot of inspiring people.

And what was or is the most difficult thing?

When I went shopping, I was a little ashamed at first. At first I was embarrassed to ask sales assistants if they could put something in a Tupperware container for me. When they responded positively or simply answered: “Yes, of course!I realized how easy it is.