Zero Waste Initiatives

One of the most difficult – but most effective – forms of environmental consciousness is the zero waste lifestyle. This practice is a stark difference from the traditional way of life in America, and especially in Chicago, as it requires resources that seem far less accessible than the classic plastic and waste products we usually indulge in. However, there are actually several resources in Chicago for us to utilize for zero waste habits! Below, we’ll go through two zero waste categories: sustainable shops/refilleries in Chicago, and personal practices for a minimal to zero waste lifestyle.

A significant portion of plastic waste comes from our daily necessities, especially in groceries and hygiene. Imagine a world in which, instead of having to buy additional large plastic bottles for every new shampoo or body wash, and accumulating more plastic produce and grocery bags with every purchase, our shops relied on reusable containers and provided necessities through refills. The shops highlighted here are just a few local examples of these refillery shops as well as sustainable stores at which we can pursue zero waste practices!

The Eco Flamingo

Located in Lincoln Square, this zero waste general store provides customers with bulk food, cleaning products and personal care items through refill methods. Customers are encouraged to bring their own reusable containers to fill with
Eco Flamingo’s goodies! In addition to this zero waste practice, The Eco Flamingo also hosts dropoff boxes for Terracycle and Ecoship, in which customers can bring in recyclables to be transformed and repurposed into zero waste products!

The Unwaste Shop

This West Loop commodity also encourages customers to bring in their own containers, this time to be refilled with
hygiene, cleaning and self care products! The Unwaste Shop not only prioritizes plastic-free goods and zero waste
initiatives, they also emphasize non-toxic, sustainably sourced products. Sold by the ounce, these products are available in any quantity to customers, so you can make a visit as frequently as you’d like, or buy in bulk to last you a longer time!

Dill Pickle Food Co-Op

This sustainable grocery shop in Logan Square prioritizes locally sourced ingredients and products, ranging from
meats and produce to bulk dry goods including [but not limited to] coffee, tea and spices! They also house several
sustainable and whole-ingredient home goods such as hygiene and personal care products and cleaning supplies! Bring your own containers here, as well, and purchase any of these items in bulk to further promote your own zero waste habits!

For more information and shop examples, check out THIS LINK!

Beyond the purchases we make, the actions we take daily impact our environment immensely. What’s more than purchasing zero waste products is pursuing daily zero waste initiatives throughout our everyday lives. I have found great insight from onetreeplanted.org, in their post on Zero Waste Life Hacks. Without sharing all 21 of them with you, I’ll highlight a few that I have found to be the most accessible and impactful in my personal life.

No plastic water bottles
The main draw people find to buy water in plastic bottles is the guarantee that the water inside is ‘cleaner’ than the alternative tap water. In reality, 64% of bottled water sold in the US is just tap water in a misleading package. Additionally, the overwhelming demand for plastic water bottles is met with extremely harmful construction, as thousands of gallons of oil are needed to manufacture the amount of bottles sought after by the public. Finally, most of this plastic, after use, ends up in permanent landfills, harming air quality, or oceans, jeopardizing marine life and water quality. Instead, using a reusable water bottle throughout my day-to-day has eliminated the need for plastic water bottles almost entirely.

Switch to digital documents
It’s kind of scary to confront just how much paper we use as college students in our daily lives. When we compile the notes we take, the articles we need to print, the environmental harm done by the technology we’re required to use, as well as the
constant bills we receive in the mail, our paper waste is overwhelming. In our collegiate careers, I know that eliminating paper waste altogether is unfeasible, but there are steps we can take to significantly reduce the amount of paper we use and waste in a day. For example, taking digital notes, opting for digital purchases of textbooks rather than buying
paperbacks, enrolling in paperless billing, and requesting a digital receipt when shopping are all incredible ways to slim down our paper use by large percentages.

Avoid single use plastics
Similar to the plastic water bottle item, this practice is actually much more accessible than it seems. Simply carrying a utensil set with me, packing my meals in reusable containers for the day, and consciously recycling plastic packaging [where alternatives to the packaging in the first place are inaccessible] have been easy practices I’ve found to reduce my daily plastic waste. Stainless steel or glass straws are also a great alternative to plastic ones, which end up deep in the ocean with great potential harm to sea life.

To view the rest of this list and gain more information on the few described above, check out THIS LINK!