As we wrap up the War on Waste Challenge, this is a great time to think about how far you have come in reducing your rubbish, recycling better or swapping for greener options.
You might not consider yourself even slightly zero waste, but guess what?
You are heading in that direction, and hopefully you managed to find your ONE thing in each of the weekly topics to fight the War on Waste.
If you did get side tracked and only managed a couple of changes overall, then that is still awesome!
Any swaps and changes you made really do help reduce your impact and take you one step closer to reducing trash in your life, and of course in landfill.
Although it is the final post in the challenge, it’s not quite over….and I’m breaking my rule of only suggesting one thing to do, but they aren’t too hard and it will be worth it.
This week, your challenge(s) is to.....
> Create a quick list of the things you changed during the challenge.
Note down the key things that come to mind, and do include the things that didn’t work so well too.
Sometimes we prefer to ignore our little (or big) failures, but if you think of them as a learning opportunity it can inspire you to find an alternate way to achieve what you want.
If you knew something was going to fail, you would have done it differently right?
Finding ways to reduce waste can be frustrating, and it is a learning curve, so if you struggled on a few, here are 6 things that can make you feel like a zero waste failure…AND why you shouldn’t let them.
>Don't start mentally adding up the things you didn’t get a chance to do.
We are all busy, usually juggling many balls and it is OK to drop a few.
You can note these down as things to do in the future, and be completely content with your journey so far and add one a week, or month to this template for your war on waste goals. I designed it specifically to help setting and achieving goals to reduce waste in the easiest way possible (and yes, just stick to one goal at a time!)
>DO make a day this week or weekend to drop off some recyclables.
You have probably been collecting various recyclables that don't go into your kerbside collection bins. For example soft plastics, e-waste, light globes, ink cartridges or all of the above. Dropping them off will not only clear out some space and get these unwanted resources made into useful items again, BUT it will also make sure you know exactly where to take them next time.
>If your trash or recycle bin is still overflowing ….
Sometimes, as you begin to recycle more, the landfill bin is usually under control but the recycling bin becomes a problem and it can be hard to fit in all the items you've realised can be recycled. If you need some tips and help with over full bins, head to this post on how to do a rubbish bin audit (without sorting through smelly garbage) which I guarantee will help you tally up your biggest waste /recycling items and give you a clearer picture of what to focus your efforts on.
>Celebrate what you did!
Go shout yourself a coffee in your keep cup, an ice-cream in a cone or host a sustainable movie night. Ok, well that might not be how you want to celebrate, but you really should congratulate yourself and celebrate. Working through this challenge took effort and commitment! There's no certificate of achievement but with your new waste warrior super powers, you might want to work out your Waste Wrestler Name here.
If you’re interested on taking more actions, remember, you can revisit any of the topics at your leisure to look at additional steps you can take, and I regularly add new posts on ways to reduce waste and live more sustainably.
If you want to receive news and updates straight to your inbox every few weeks, hit subscribe (you also get access to the members area where I am adding a collection of useful resources).
I’d absolutely love any feedback you have in the comments below, including your wins, challenges, or how it has impacted your household trash.
Thanks so much for joining in!