Zero Waste Scotland

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In the summer as we purged all our belongings I had high hopes of starting over in Scotland 100% zero waste. We would show up to a furnished but basically empty apartment and we could start from scratch making good choices about the food, toiletries, and cleaning supplies we brought in. Everything would be wooden or glass and both beautiful and useful. We would patiently wait until the right item was available, instead of buying the first cheaply made option we ran across.

None of this happened.
(I did thrift and reuse jars for grocery items purchased in bulk; I also ate Snickers and bought crap on Amazon.)



For the past two or so years we have been slowly but surely reducing the amount of landfill waste we produce and plastic we use. But starting fresh actually set us back a little in our efforts. First of all, our apartment is more than furnished and came stocked with a large supply of plastic packaged cleaning products and some food items (that I'm thankful for!) plus one junk drawer, and like three junk closets. Secondly, old habits die hard. I never could refuse a candy bar or pint of Ben & Jerry's when going to CVS and moving isn't going to change that the amount of self control I can or cannot exercise. And there are some things I haven't found a good answer to and it turns out the grass is not always greener on the other side of the Atlantic. Also, readjusting was hard. It takes a while to figure out where to go and what works.

Knowing that Scotland is proactive about reducing waste and that climate change is not a controversial subject here (even in church!) a false assumption I'd made is that it would be easier to be zero waste in Scotland. That's not been entirely true. Here's what has been encouraging and frustrating:


YAY: I basically never have to order my drink "with no straw" because they default don't give you one. And they default serve you in "for here" mugs.

BOO: Except on the train where they won't fill up my reusable mug. :(

YAY: I found a unicorn--unpackaged grapes! Unpackaged bread, from full loaves to chocolate croissants, can be found at any grocery store, even the little bodega across the street from us. I managed to wrangled up a zero waste bread, fruit, and veg lunch from there for like £2 one day.

BOO: And yet, these same stores are selling things like zucchini individually wrapped in plastic! And bundles of plastic wrapped bananas! WHYYYYY?!

YAY: Regular people have compost bins on their kitchen counter because I guess the city gives them out with trash and recycle bins and they pick up the compost regularly. There are neighborhood compost bins on the streets for apartment dwellers.

BOO: The placement of the neighborhood bins make no sense. The way you sort recycling for the different bins makes no sense. I was so overwhelming trying to figure it out at first. I'm doing the best I can.

YAY: I like our open shelving and my thrifted and reused glass jars! I love New Leaf Co-Op (the three pictures above)! I'm getting better at making meals focused on whole grain veg and seasonal produce purchased without packaging.

BOO: Still a lot of packaging on the shelves and in the fridge. Also finding zero waste condiments and cheese is still hard, and finding zero waste meat, coffee, and junk food is somehow harder than before. Will have to keep searching! I am too lazy to make things!

Also: I was wanting to hand-wash my clothes, with like, water I collected in a bucket while showering, but I'm too lazy to hand-wash clothes and too clumsy to keep a bucket in the shower with me. I do continue to air dry laundry on a rack though. On the other hand, we don't have a dishwasher so I'm hand-washing in the sink each night and keep thinking a machine would actually waste less water? I DONT KNOW. LEARNING IS HARD. MAKING GOOD CHOICES IS HARD.

Pictured below: Random grocery store I ran across in Paris because everything is pretty there.
































Moral of the story: there is no such thing as zero waste, really. Trash happens, but we can imake better choices by considering the full lifespan of the things we use and consume. For me the hardest part is the first step: "refuse." What I love is the confidence and independence that comes with both living my values and getting creative with resources, and I love the fun of discovering unpackaged products unexpected places.

A peek into my imperfect pantry: 


If you are new to the concept of "zero waste" here is a short list of people who actually know what they're talking about some images they've created that I find informative and helpful. Basically, we are drowning in our trash and it affects the air and the oceans and the health of people and the planet. Most of the trash we make is unnecessary and avoidable, and so "going zero waste" is a small way to be good stewards of the earth and our resources. I encourage you to read more!


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