Manchester produces more than 1.1 million tonnes of waste per year. According to World Waste Facts, it’s more than 2.1 billion tonnes worldwide and the amount of waste is increasing.
In the event that our plastic consumption progresses at its current speed, there will be three to four times more plastic than fishes in our oceans by 2050, said WWF.
According to Global Footprint Network, this year’s Earth Overshoot Day was on July 29, which marks the day humanity begins consuming more resources than our planet is actually producing and generating in a natural way this year.
Only 10 years ago, Earth Overshoot Day was on September 25.
Due to those alarming facts, a new movement developed in recent years: the Zero Waste Movement. Its aim is to create a lifestyle, which wants to reduce the amount of garbage produced to a minimum in order to not waste the natural resources and to not contribute to our planet’s destruction.
But how do people manage to only produce a jar of trash a year?
Often practiced by young millennial women, Zero Waste is all about recycling, reducing, re-using, composting, thrifting, sharing and doing it yourself.
Living without producing nearly any trash might seem impossible at first glance, especially in big cities like Manchester, but there are actually quite a few possibilities to at least downsize your own waste consumption.
All around the world special Zero Waste or Unpackaged shops are arising.
Flourish Foods is just one example of this type of outlet which opened in Greater Manchester last summer.
Want Not Waste followed shortly after in December to join Village Greens, a community co-operative in North Manchester.
You can either bring your own jar or a container from home and fill them up with the goods you want to buy, then pay based on the weight.
Another possibility especially in order to reduce your consumption in clothing is to visit one of the second-hand stores in and around Manchester like Thrift Shop right at Piccadilly Gardens tram stop.
To go step by step you can start using reusable bags instead of plastic bags, stop buying plastic water bottles and take your own reusable ones from home or even use toothbrushes made out of wood.
It can have no huge impact on your daily life but has been found to make a difference in saving the planet.
*Image courtesy of _Sam4817 via Flickr, with thanks.
