Zero-Waste Lifestyle: Tips for Reducing Your Environmental Footprint

As melting glaciers continue to raise ocean levels to severe droughts and forest fires, climate change continues to threaten everyone. From the largest business entities to individual well-being, governments are pushing to adopt new policies, creating sustainable alternatives for sourcing energy, and focusing on reducing the public’s waste.

The International Trade Administration estimates that Qatar alone produces 1.3 million tons of household waste annually, all of which goes to landfills. Here, a ‘Zero-Waste Lifestyle’ proposes a shift in helping the country reduce its carbon footprint. Here are some tips you can use to apply a zero-waste lifestyle:

• Eliminate single-use plastics: you can replace plastic cutlery, bags, and bottles in exchange for reusable / biodegradable ones that are either made from metal or paper respectively. Many places also provide the options of bringing your own bag or buying a reusable one for groceries such as Lulu, Carrefour, Al Meera, and Monoprix.
• Recycle: you will be able to find different color-coded trash bins across public spaces in the country, categorized into glass, plastic, or organic waste. You can also find large bins across the country for paper recycling. Additionally, Al Meera also has a rewards program where you can recycle used plastic bottles for points. To recycle papers and cardboard packaging, Elite Paper Recycling has many recycling bins across the country, usually stationed behind supermarkets and malls.
• Reduce overconsumption of fast fashion items: a large sum of clothes end their life in landfills due to fast paced fashion trends and unsustainable buying practices. Being conscious of upcycling clothes, repurposing them, or thrifting are all better alternatives to this practice.  
• Compost organic waste: research what food waste in your household can be turned into something else. Eggshells, fruit peels, and other scraps can all help nourish your garden with vital nutrients. Prepared right, eggshells are also a good source of calcium for your pets. 
• Recharge batteries: instead of buying new batteries for your electronics, it is a better investment to buy a battery charger instead. It’s the simplest way of increasing the longevity of a product in your house. Otherwise, batteries left in landfills can leak harmful metals and toxins into the soil and water sources.  
• Unplug electronics: even when you are not actively using an electronic device such as your television or PC, many electronic items still continue to use power. A quick fix to this is simply unplugging them from the outlet when not in use.
• Use digital alternatives where possible instead of paper: many places require digital copies of documents anyway, it is then best to have this approach from the start where you can create something online and share it digitally instead of written documents that may need to be scanned. 

Climate change is a crisis that affects us all, irregardless of our stature or place. Therefore, it then becomes our responsibility to hold ourselves accountable. Corporations and organizations will only then follow suit if we ensure to create that demand in the first place starting from the habits and choices we make everyday.