"Nothing is lost, nothing is created, everything is transformed", Antoine de Lavoisier - Choosing the zero waste lifestyle
We are Eléonore and Jacques Dupont, we have been married for three years, and we are the parents of a little Ombeline who is 10 months old. Eléonore is a medical intern and Jacques is a stay-at-home dad and a reserve agent. Eléonore grew up in a family that has always been sensitive to environmental protection (CPN club, recycling, etc.). Our wedding had already been placed under the sign of recycling, since we had created tablecloths from old sheets, collected napkins here and there, made all our decorations from recycled objects and distributed ecocups to our guests.
Our zero waste approach accelerated two years ago by recovering a worm composter and signing up for a local and organic vegetable basket. Seeing the quantity of waste decrease visibly since we already mainly consumed vegetables, the question quickly arose of going further by lightening this famous trash can as much as possible. We therefore committed to a "minimum plastic" approach, zero plastic still seeming difficult to achieve. So we started to turn to bulk via several grocery stores present in our city. We also signed up for a "locavor" in order to regularly order local products (meats, dairy products, herbal teas, vegetables) to supplement the contributions in our basket.
Another aspect of our approach is reuse and recovery. Thus, the recovery of "bulky items" on the sidewalk has become a regular activity on the days when the "monsters" are out and our basement therefore collects cupboard boards, wooden boards of various sizes, beams, garden chairs that only need a little tinkering to make them functional again. We also undertake this approach with a view to saving money; in fact, everything we recover, we do not have to buy. The money saved allows us to regularly visit our families and to consider energy renovation work because that is also what zero waste is about: being united between humans and with the planet.
Ombeline's arrival also led us to think about the model we wanted to give her. So we opted for washable diapers most of the time and handmade changing wipes. The furniture in her room comes from second-hand furniture either recovered from our families or bought in consignment stores. We also made the choice for her to be looked after by her dad so that he could teach her from a young age our values and our love of nature. So she will learn early to take care of the garden, to wait before the fruits ripen and to respect the weather and the seasons.
What has delighted us most since we began our approach is that our friends, who were initially cautious or even skeptical, have also embarked on this approach, each on a particular path: some by making a lot of homemade items, others by hunting in second-hand stores, others by changing their diet. Some have even participated in climate marches! Also, so that everyone can share their little exploits or discoveries, we have created a Facebook group that we try to regularly update "Eco-friendly at home and in the garden"
We still have a long way to go, for example by making our own laundry detergent or dishwashing liquid, but each step in its own time. We believe that for an integral ecology approach to become possible, it must be progressive and not exclusive from the beginning, otherwise we are quickly overwhelmed. Share FacebookTwitter
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