Recycling, carrying reusable bags and coffee cups, buying compostable or metal straws, investing in solar energy… these are just a few of the eco-focused habits that consumers have embraced in recent decades. How did these choices become more popular and what other small, waste-reducing changes can we embrace everyday?
Conservation scientist Dr. M. Sanjayan talks with Lauren Singer, an environmental studies major turned Zero Waste YouTuber who shares simple options for living more sustainably without losing modern luxuries. Her personal four year experiment has produced one single mason jar of trash. On the civic front, Sanjayan also summarizes the transformative results of California’s 2006 carbon policies.
This Vox Climate Lab video, Going green shouldn’t be this hard, is one in a six-part series in partnership with the University of California:
…the videos explore the surprising elements of our lives that contribute to climate change and the groundbreaking work being done to fight back. Featuring conversations with experts, scientists, thought leaders and activists, the series takes what can seem like an overwhelming problem and breaks it down into manageable parts: from clean energy to food waste, religion to smartphones.
And what’s in Singer’s mason jar? She shares the details in this video:
To learn more about how she lives a zero waste life in New York City, watch her YouTube channel and visit Trash Is For Tossers where she lists her Zero Waste Alternative product recommendations.
If you’re in Brooklyn, you can also check out Package Free Shop, her zero waste lifestyle pop up shop collab with fashion designer Daniel Silverstein. The shop will be up from May-July 2017.
Next: How this Japanese town is working to produce no trash.