There鈥檚 a new route in conservation called zero-waste, which is a lifestyle that cuts out all concept of waste by utilizing reusable products instead of plastics or disposables. From singles in the city to families in the suburbs, Chicago residents see this new concept as the ultimate step toward sustainability.
In 2012 Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced a blue cart recycling program that collects recyclables from eligible households in Chicago. According to the 2016 Blue Cart collection results, only 9 percent of Chicago鈥檚 waste was recycled and the rest was going to a landfill. These statistics concern people like Julie Cahillane, who manages sustainability at Northwestern University through SustainNU.
鈥淵our first step should be reducing [waste] in the first place,鈥� Cahillane said. She commented that many people think recycling is enough, but she added that to really think about environmental impact you should 鈥渆liminate before you even create it.鈥�
Celia Ristow changed her attitude about waste by creating Litterless, a lifestyle blog that tracks her journey to zero waste in Chicago. She and her friend Bailey Warren of Zero Waste Chicago promote a community of like-minded people through their online content.
鈥淚t鈥檚 one thing to care about the environment, it鈥檚 another to put your money where your mouth is,鈥� Ristow said.
Both bloggers set up volunteering opportunities around the city to learn about going waste-free and facilitate community members who want to meet each other.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 easy if you have the resources,鈥� Ristow said about the inspiration for her blog. Since she started Litterless, she鈥檚 cultivated a small community in Chicago to swap tips and tricks to maintaining a zero-waste lifestyle.
Ristow鈥檚 major tips are to start small. 鈥淚鈥檓 a believer in starting off painless,鈥� Ristow said. Her first major switch was going from plastic bags to cloth bags to go grocery shopping. Then she used glass jars to store food instead of relying on plastic containers.
鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 have to be perfect to be meaningful,鈥� Warren said. The term 鈥渮ero鈥� can be daunting to beginners, but Warren and Ristow insist that the effort is only as hard as one makes it.
As the mother of 3-year-old twins, Meg Torres, 35, said she understands this sentiment. Her family is based in Naperville, a western suburb of Chicago. Torres said she was concerned about her family鈥檚 dependency on plastic, so she began self-educating herself on the zero-waste lifestyle.
鈥淧lastic is everywhere. In nearly every toy.鈥� Torres said. 鈥淭ry telling a 3-year-old they cannot have the toy they want because it has plastic.鈥�
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