Zero Waste: Call of Duty

This is not a warzone video game post but an environmental battle and commitment each one of us should consider for Mother Earth because we only have one planet.

As a sequel to my zero waste part one blog post in 2018, here are five more practical and doable ways we can practice at home to reduce waste. 

Make your own coffee at home.

The pandemic has altered my coffee routine to a whole new level. On a regular working day in the office, I usually buy kopi c tapao(take away) in a single-use cup. With COVID-19 introducing work-from-home as the new norm, I learned to grind my own coffee in the morning. Saving at least 252(working days) single-use cups for 2020 alone. 

Bring your own reusable bread bags.

It's a common practice here in Singapore community bakeries to individually pack bread in single-use plastics. If you are a bread person like me, you can easily accumulate these bread plastics in no time. So next time you visit your local bakery, don't forget to bring your own bread bag, your baker will surely appreciate you for that.

Use reusable metal straws.

You may think plastic straws are small and insignificant in adding to the tons of trash that we already have. But according to this CNA article, plastic straw usage in Singapore is excessive. Experts tell us that plastic straws can be damaging to sea animals and the environment. 

Use bar soap.

Bar soap packaging comes in biodegradable boxes and the entire bar can be used so nothing is wasted. While toiletries like liquid body wash in plastic pumps are convenient to use, only a small percentage of it can be recycled and most of them probably end up in the landfill for hundreds of years. Singapore has only one landfill and with the current rate, it will be full by 2030 according to environmental experts. 

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Give reusable pads a chance.

Depending on your average menstrual period say four days, a regular female who uses three pads a day is guaranteed to dispose at least 144 pads in one year.  Studies have shown that one sanitary pad could take from 500 to 800 years to decompose as the plastic used is not biodegradable, and can lead to health and environmental hazards. Our pads will definitely outlive us. This compels me to do something but using a menstrual cup is a big leap for me so I figured why not give reusable pads a chance.