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Opinion: Reusable Swaps Are Not Our Only Solution
The market is saturated with bamboo, wood, and metal products, but do they serve their purpose to save the environment?
As a newbie environmentalist striving to reduce my consumer waste, I followed popular zero-waste social media accounts and understandably, started to get more and more envious with each passing day.
Zero wasters made their lifestyle seem so effortless and easy. Just swap your disgusting plastic toothbrush with its bamboo alternative and switch the plastic containers with stainless steel etc.
My first instinct was to throw all of my plastic items away and replace them with their natural, reusable, and more aesthetically pleasing counterparts. I feverishly saved money to rush to the nearby zero waste store (luckily I lived in NYC, so I had access to these establishments) and purchase the next item on my list.
However, about two months in, I realized that my attempts to become more sustainable were actually creating more waste than I wanted to.
Since all of my now trashed belongings cost resources to make and money to buy, I came to the conclusion that I need to, most importantly, curb my consumeristic desires first before becoming the cool, low waste kid on the block.
