This is my first six months living zero waste. Below is all the rubbish I have produced from June 2014 - December 2014.
Way back at the end of June 2014 I was coming close to completing my first year of plastic free living. I wrote a blog post about my first year plastic free and reflected on what I had learnt. By the end of my first year I was not actively putting anything into the bin. What could not be recycled was put into a box and I would go through the contents every couple of weeks and find ways of recycling or reusing. As the first year living plastic free came to a close I realised that I was putting less and less into the box. So I casually told the Builder that I was going to try and be zero waste to which he replied “you pretty much live that way anyway, why not?”
So the last six months I have been actively living zero waste. What this essentially means is that I have sent nothing to landfill. And below are my results from June 2014 – December 2014.

The contents is a mix of items that cannot be recycled (yet) by the local recycling companies.
Way back at the end of June 2014 I was coming close to completing my first year of plastic free living. I wrote a blog post about my first year plastic free and reflected on what I had learnt. By the end of my first year I was not actively putting anything into the bin. What could not be recycled was put into a box and I would go through the contents every couple of weeks and find ways of recycling or reusing. As the first year living plastic free came to a close I realised that I was putting less and less into the box. So I casually told the Builder that I was going to try and be zero waste to which he replied “you pretty much live that way anyway, why not?”
So the last six months I have been actively living zero waste. What this essentially means is that I have sent nothing to landfill. And below are my results from June 2014 – December 2014.

The contents is a mix of items that cannot be recycled (yet) by the local recycling companies.
- Receipts, plane tickets, a bus ticket, and baggage tags
- Scratchies
- Two tea sachets
- Three straws
- Two clothing tags
- Broken rubber band
- Cling film
- 4 medicine blister packs
- String with plastic bits on the end
- Staples
- Parts of my old makeup packaging that could not be recycled
- Two produce tags
- Stickers and plastic packing tape
Going zero waste was easier than I thought it would be. But I do believe there are two reasons that made it easy for me. The first one is that I had been living plastic free and so the transition was a gentle natural step. The second is I live in a big city and have access to so many more tools that allow for this kind of life.
I have friends that live in the country town where I grew up and after talking to them I can understand how cushy I have it compared to small town living folk that want a similar lifestyle. It can be done but would require a lot more effort.
This is something I want to explore because I kinda feel like a fraud. While it is okay for me to type away about how successful living plastic free has been and how little trash I have produced in the last six months, the reality might not be that easy for everyone and I want to help provide solutions for the small town dwellers and not just us city living people that have access to bulk stores and the like.
Will I continue plastic free and zero waste living in 2015? You betcha! This lifestyle has become so deeply ingrained that I cannot imagine going back.
Do you think a plastic free or zero waste change is on the cards for you in 2015?
I have friends that live in the country town where I grew up and after talking to them I can understand how cushy I have it compared to small town living folk that want a similar lifestyle. It can be done but would require a lot more effort.
This is something I want to explore because I kinda feel like a fraud. While it is okay for me to type away about how successful living plastic free has been and how little trash I have produced in the last six months, the reality might not be that easy for everyone and I want to help provide solutions for the small town dwellers and not just us city living people that have access to bulk stores and the like.
Will I continue plastic free and zero waste living in 2015? You betcha! This lifestyle has become so deeply ingrained that I cannot imagine going back.
Do you think a plastic free or zero waste change is on the cards for you in 2015?