Are we ready for zero trash lifestyle?

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How would you define nature? A place with lots of greenery, tree or simply the sub-urban? For me, nature is more than that. It is based on our lifestyle and how we appreciate the nature. It could be from the simplest things like recycling to preserve nature or eating only organic based food to avoid animal extinctions.

Nature can be associated with educating the young generation of the importance of preserving the forest because it is the source of oxygen to the human being. Nature could be clean water or natural disaster and the way you define it could be different with how people will define it.

As for me, nature is a world with no or less trash, lots of greens, and a balanced ecosystem. Same just like zero waste lifestyle where people were trying to live without producing trash. But my question is are we able to live without producing single trash?

Maybe yes, maybe no. The reason is that we need plastic bags to store groceries, chemicals to preserve the food and things such as fuel to keep the cars moving. The question is not supposed to be asked on the expert but rather on ourselves. Are we willing to sacrifice a lot of things in order to have a balanced ecosystem?

Again the answer could be yes or no. Not all people share the same awareness nor thinking with every single person on this planet. While others said we can find a way to live without producing trash. Others may think it is impossible to do so.

The problem of trash did not rely solely on the plastic bags, papers, empty canned drinks or chemicals waste but it is more than that. Just imagine how much trash people actually produce from the unused cellphone as I believe many of us will keep changing it in the future thus leaving the old one ended on the trash can.

As of 2017, 1.5 billion smartphones sold every year it is not a surprise if many of the old smartphones ended in a trash can. The model for recycling our old smartphones is actually causing massive pollution because once they ended in the trash can, they also end up in landfills, leaching toxic chemicals into the soil. In fact, electronics account for up to 70 per cent of landfills’ toxic waste.

Same goes to women’s cosmetics. As I have seen many influential people talking about going green to the point they live almost 100 per cent did not produce any trash. They should think again about their words. Make-ups, skincare, perfume are one of the contributors to the many nature problems. In facts, according to the report, 0.7 tonnes of plastic trash enter Lake Geneva every year is from cosmetics.

So are we ready to live without trash? On certain things, people may be able to live without but they may also not be able to live without the gadget. So my answer is I did not think people are ready to zero trash lifestyle.