My Zero Waste Journey

In 2016, while living in the Bay Area with three roommates, I stumbled across a video about someone trying to live a month without creating any trash. Suddenly, it hit me: between the four of us, we were casually tossing out two bags of trash every week (what were we even buying?). That video flipped a switch—I’d never considered zero waste as an option, but from that moment on, I decided to give it a shot.

And so began my journey. For the next four years, I was all in (while my roommates reluctantly were), slowly reducing my consumption and waste. I even managed to get my roommates on board—naturally, they were thrilled about giving up conveniences like paper towels. I took my zero-waste ambitions on the road too (I used to work at music festivals; RIP Warped Tour) and did my best to leave as little behind as possible.

Over time, my efforts paid off. As roommates came and went and I eventually found myself living solo, I managed to get my waste down to a single mason jar a month—a great conversation starter.

Then 2020 hit, everything changed. Grocery shopping got complicated, bulk bins disappeared, and online shopping with all its packaging became a necessity. My zero-waste ways quietly took a back seat as I eased back into a convenient, plastic-filled life.

Now, nearly five years later, I’m in New York City with my partner, aiming for “low waste” instead of “no waste.” and I am learning very quickly that zero waste in NYC is significantly harder than it was back in California. And, as you can imagine, my partner is just as enthusiastic as my old roommates were about this plan.

I’m excited to get back to this lifestyle, though—not because it’s easy, but because I genuinely enjoyed the challenge (and let’s face it, it’s hard to quit the thrill of fitting all your trash into one jar). Here’s to the next chapter in my low-waste journey.