Zero Waste Blog

When I was first planning my visit to Quito, Ecuador this summer, I didn't have high expectations of my ability to live zero waste in the city. After my experience two summers ago in Mexico with Styrofoam plates and cups at every restaurant, I was quick to assume my time in Ecuador would be similar. Thankfully I can report that I was very wrong. Quito has quite a passion for sustainability when it comes to plastic reduction and I found that being zero waste there just involve

Let me just start out by prefacing this article by acknowledging the fact that flying is extremely bad for the environment. Like many modes of transportation, taking a trip in a plane has a huge carbon footprint and ideally should be avoided as much as possible. On the flip side though, I personally believe that in order to create more peace and inter-governmental cooperation, we need to further our cultural understanding by traveling to other places in the world. For many pe

In honor of the completion of Plastic Free July, I've compiled a list of the thirty-one practices you should take up today to ditch plastic for good! How many of these do you already do? Tip #1: Don't rely on recycling! Relying on recycling doesn't always work in your favor. There is only a 30% recycling rate in the US and it is an energy intensive process. You can read more about why I don't think recycling is the answer in a separate post! Tip #2: Buy food without packaging

I've spent a while now perfecting my zero waste home life. But every time I need to take it on the road, it throws me for a loop! Traveling without waste can be a huge challenge. Whether its a day adventure, weekend get-a-way, or a month long trip, it's important to plan ahead in order to keep your trip waste free. If you're taking to the road any time soon, make sure to look over my list of essential items and think about what you can do to keep your trip waste-free! What to

Plastic Free July is supposed to be a month raising awareness around plastic consumption and production and encouraging people to try new things to reduce their garbage output. As a zero waster, Plastic Free July has my name all over it. I have managed to keep my trash production under 1.0 ounce for the last 11 months which is a huge achievement. I haven't however been monitoring my recycling consistently and I know I have a decent amount of plastic that gets recycled. It is