The term “Zero Waste” can be misleading because the fact is that most of us will never reach that goal. Rather, I urge you to consider doing what you can, whenever you can, to reduce the waste that goes in to the landfill. While many of us have become aware of the impact single use plastics and other disposable items have on our environment, there are surprisingly many who just haven’t caught on. This is a topic that I am very passionate about (yes, I am the one at the parties trying to help my friends consider not using items that will get used once and then thrown away) and I hope that I can give you some ideas as to how you can reduce waste during a move.
1. Boxes: Use recycled moving boxes and packing material whenever possible. Many of us will break down the boxes used after a move and put them directly in the recycling bin. While cardboard can indeed be recycled and transformed in to chipboard like cereal boxes, paperboard, paper towels, tissues and printing or writing paper, as well as corrugated cardboard, wouldn’t it be more efficient to continue using those boxes until they are no longer usable for a move and THEN recycle them? Besides helping eliminate waste, you will also notice a huge reduction in costs for your move as these boxes are expensive. Ask your friends who have recently moved for their boxes. Alternatively, I have been administering a very successful and FREE moving box exchange for over a year now at my office in Kensington where you can drop off or pick up moving boxes.
2. Packing materials: Use previously used packing materials whenever possible and do whatever you can to AVOID using plastic bubble wrap and plastic wrap that the professional movers use to wrap furniture. All this plastic will get thrown away and just go in to the landfill. Instead of bubble wrap, consider using kitchen towels to protect fragile items such as dishes, etc. and use household blankets, moving blankets or towels to protect furniture instead of those large rolls of plastic wrap.
3. Tape: This is difficult to avoid when moving. I encourage you to really pay attention to every piece of tape you are using when sealing those boxes. If you can find paper tape, water activated tape, 100% plant based tape and sellotape, these are excellent alternatives to the standard packing tape we see most of the time. It will cost a little more than usual, but you can calculate that against what you saved with the re-used moving boxes!
4. Re-fueling: Everybody needs lots of water to hydrate when loading and unloading the moving van on the big day. Most movers will come with their own water container, but they’ll need to refill. Have them refill directly from your sink or from a large format water dispenser. AVOID handing out individual plastic water bottles. Even if they are reused during the day, they will get thrown away (yes, in to the landfill) at the end of the day. This is one of the easiest adjustments to make in our daily lives is to eliminate the use of plastic bottles. There are so many alternatives out there and it is actually quite fashionable to bring your own insulated metal water bottle anywhere you go these days! Also, when it’s time to sit down to eat, try to avoid using plastic utensils, and use a fork or spoon you may need to wash instead.
These are just a few tips and tricks to help get your juices flowing in the direction of reducing waste where we can, and when we can. Remember, we only have one earth and our space is quickly becoming impacted at those landfills. Every little change will make a huge difference over time. Thanks for reading and if you have any additional “zero waste” tips to share, please email them to me at [email protected]! I’d be happy to post in a future article.