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A review by inkerly
101 Ways to Go Zero Waste by Kathryn Kellogg
4.0
3.5 Stars
This is a good e-book that sums up all of Kellogg's blog posts about sustainability and transitioning to a zero waste lifestyle. I became interested in zero waste because I'm a natural minimalist who also loves to save money, and the sustainability community appealed to me. I first read up on going zero waste through Kellogg's blog and have been hooked since. I started my journey by switching to eco friendly menstrual products and am making the leap with my other personal care products (oral care, hair/skin) as well, so I was more than excited to read this book for Kellogg's other recommendations/starter plan.
I think this book is great if you are just starting to learn about zero waste, and want to adapt it into your lifestyle for the first time. There are a lot of great swaps mentioned (who knew there could be so many ways to make the switch to ecofriendly items?) that are even superior to plastic-based items. Additionally I noticed a pattern - many of the swaps mirror what we used to do back in the day -- i.e. before mass industrialization and excess consumption. For example absorbent rags/cloths were used for menstrual cycles long before tampons and plastic pads, and reusable bags were used before the introduction of plastic bags. I was glad that these "old-fashioned" solutions were brought up, instead of shoving down "eco-friendly" companies down our throats. (“Eco-centered” companies can often border on faux classist elitism)
However there are some recommendations in her book that are just not realistic, or just very surface-level solutions. For example, the author mentions choosing to walk or use public transit instead of cars for your destination. Even in the most metro-friendly cities, the public transportation system (at least in the USA where the author is based) is not geared to the average pedestrian. Trips by public transit can take upwards of 3 hours and that’s on a good day. The only sensible option for people without cars wanting to save on emissions is to use car rental services like ZipCar or Uber (Carpooling isn’t as effective as people would like to think it is). Same issue with the other suggestions; going to a local farmer's market to shop for groceries (expensive in the inner city); and her most radical suggestion, petitioning local restaurants to have eco-friendly practices, seem far fetched. While I know she has good intentions, how likely is it that you can petition your local restaurant/store on these things? The author says that the best way to promote this lifestyle is to lead by example and not impose it on others, but I would hate to be "that person” that puts the onus on smaller businesses to change instead of the bigger chains that are responsible for the majority of the waste out there.
In spite of that, I do agree on some level that change starts with us, and in our local communities, and i think this book can be supplemented with more core concept - teachings about zero waste.
This is a good e-book that sums up all of Kellogg's blog posts about sustainability and transitioning to a zero waste lifestyle. I became interested in zero waste because I'm a natural minimalist who also loves to save money, and the sustainability community appealed to me. I first read up on going zero waste through Kellogg's blog and have been hooked since. I started my journey by switching to eco friendly menstrual products and am making the leap with my other personal care products (oral care, hair/skin) as well, so I was more than excited to read this book for Kellogg's other recommendations/starter plan.
I think this book is great if you are just starting to learn about zero waste, and want to adapt it into your lifestyle for the first time. There are a lot of great swaps mentioned (who knew there could be so many ways to make the switch to ecofriendly items?) that are even superior to plastic-based items. Additionally I noticed a pattern - many of the swaps mirror what we used to do back in the day -- i.e. before mass industrialization and excess consumption. For example absorbent rags/cloths were used for menstrual cycles long before tampons and plastic pads, and reusable bags were used before the introduction of plastic bags. I was glad that these "old-fashioned" solutions were brought up, instead of shoving down "eco-friendly" companies down our throats. (“Eco-centered” companies can often border on faux classist elitism)
However there are some recommendations in her book that are just not realistic, or just very surface-level solutions. For example, the author mentions choosing to walk or use public transit instead of cars for your destination. Even in the most metro-friendly cities, the public transportation system (at least in the USA where the author is based) is not geared to the average pedestrian. Trips by public transit can take upwards of 3 hours and that’s on a good day. The only sensible option for people without cars wanting to save on emissions is to use car rental services like ZipCar or Uber (Carpooling isn’t as effective as people would like to think it is). Same issue with the other suggestions; going to a local farmer's market to shop for groceries (expensive in the inner city); and her most radical suggestion, petitioning local restaurants to have eco-friendly practices, seem far fetched. While I know she has good intentions, how likely is it that you can petition your local restaurant/store on these things? The author says that the best way to promote this lifestyle is to lead by example and not impose it on others, but I would hate to be "that person” that puts the onus on smaller businesses to change instead of the bigger chains that are responsible for the majority of the waste out there.
In spite of that, I do agree on some level that change starts with us, and in our local communities, and i think this book can be supplemented with more core concept - teachings about zero waste.