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Zero waste resolutions for the zero waste outreach team

It’s a new year and a new semester, which means it’s a perfect time to reflect on past habits and work to be better not only for ourselves, but for our planet.I asked our Zero Waste Outreach team what they're doing to work towards living a zero waste lifestyle. It'simportant to recognize that implementing a zero waste lifestyle is a learning process, and I hope that these goals serve as inspiration to formnew habits.

Year: Freshman
Major: Environmental Studies
Goal: Support sustainable clothing over fast fashion

Fashion can be tricky for college students. Shopping on a budgetwhile staying on trend amidstconstant changecan seem almost impossible. Fast fashion sometimes seemslike the perfect solution, but the environmental costs are detrimental. The fashion industry is one of the biggest polluters in the world, second to the oil industry. Globally, we now . , investing inand finding new ways to love and keep clothes we already have can combat the negative impacts of fast fashion.

Looking for more inspirationtoreject the fast fashion industry?

Year: Sophomore
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Goal: Reusable alternatives

Single-use plastic products are purchased and discarded so frequently that it'seasy to adopt an “out-of-sight, out-of-mind” mentality. However, these plastic products do not disappear once they're disposed of.Instead, most plastic - especially water bottles, grocery bags and ziploc bags -contributesto the. . Bringing reusable bags to the store and using steel water bottles are eco-friendly alternatives that are easy to adoptinour everyday lives.

Resources to inspire you to help reduce plastic consumption:

Bryce Poirot

Year: Junior
Major:Neuroscience and Psychology
Goal: Always make sure my recycling is sorted correctly

Recycling is tricky. Similar to learning a new language, there are many exceptions to set rules and it is complicated to remember everything., a non-profit organization focusing on recycling, is an excellent resource for ǸԹ recycling questions. Every community has slightly different recycling standardsso it’s important to look up your community'srules. However, there are somerules that apply everywhere, like, and.

Here are some resources to bookmark when you have questions/clarifications:

Year: Junior
Major:Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Goal: Be more diligent at composting

Composting is nature’s own “zero waste” system!. Generally, acceptable compost includes food scraps, #7 PLA plastic, paper, etc. We are lucky to have,so composting might lookdifferent than the classic worm-filled backyard bin (although this is always still an option!). Looking for a place to start? Try putting a compost bin in your kitchen to collect scraps (sign up for anEco-Visitto get a free one!).

Read more about composting:

Year: Junior
Major: Business with Strategy and Entrepreneurship
Goal: Minimize food waste

; 40%!!! Reducing food waste will not only reduce methane emissions from landfills but can alsoin America that are considered. Planning meals ahead, properly storing foodand creating an at-home compost bin are just some of the ways toreducefood waste on a personal level.

Resources and ideas for minimizing food waste:

Year: Junior
Major: Environmental Studies, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Goal: Fix my own clothes

Did you know that the averageAmerican generates 82 pounds of textile waste every year? That’s 25 billion pounds of textile wasteevery year! It's estimated that 85% of this goes to our landfills and only 15% gets donated or recycled. We live in a society that is constantly pressuring us to keep up with the latest trends andencouragesus to buy more clothes. Fixing clothes we already have, rather than throwing them away, is a great first step to reduce clothing waste. As Patagonia said, ""

More resources to avoid fast fashion and keep our clothes usable for many years:

Year: Senior
Major:Environmental Studies and Sociology
Goal: Meatless Mondays

is a global movement that encourages people to reduce meat in their diet for the health of the planet and personal health. Here’s a crazy stat:if the world reduced meat consumption by 15%, it would have the same impact on greenhouse gas emissions as taking 240 million cars off the road each year. Try some new plant-based recipes - it's thetoslow the climate crisis.

More resources (and great recipes!):

Year: Junior
Major:Environmental Engineering
Goal: Listen to more zero-waste/sustainability podcasts

With Spotify and Apple Music services, we have access to more podcasts than you canimagine. Listening to podcasts about the climate crisis and sustainable living can be educating, eye-openingand inspirational. Things are constantly changing in regardto our climate; listening to new statsis a perfect way to stay inspired, while gatheringmore talking points to present to others. My goal is to stay educated, and I plan toupdate everyoneon great episodes along the way!

Podcast and documentary recommendations: