Hello, hello! Welcome to my first ever blog post, ever.
Every day this month, I’ll be posting bits and pieces of useful resources for the transition to a zero waste lifestyle, tips n’ tricks for reducing your waste, and helpful examples from yours truly. I’ve been engaging in the zero waste community for about 4 years, and have drastically reduced the amount of trash I create. I have a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science and have studied in the realm of human-environment relationships and climate change.
I got interested in the zero waste lifestyle because of what I was studying, and it only made sense to me at the time to change my behavior based on what I valued: earth, sustainable solutions, and food. I’ve worked in grocery stores, restaurants, bakeries, and on a conservation corps crew doing trail maintenance, fuels reduction (tree felling with chainsaws), and other conservation-based projects. I’m currently a full-time morning baker at a local food Co-Op.
I also play guitar, make art, hike, rock climb, read, tend to my plant babies, listen to podcasts and music, and experiment in the kitchen. I’m a super introvert, and a very empathetic, quiet, and resourceful human. I try lots of different things all the time just for the sake of “why not?”
Food is one of my favorite things and is one of the most intimately-woven components of being a human. We are what we eat. What our food is and where it comes from is not only important to our own health and well-being but also has an impact on the environment. I am a vegetarian and ‘part-time vegan.’ I love to create using vegan and vegetarian cooking and baking. I watch shows and movies and documentaries about food, I read about food, I talk about food, I work with food, every day.
I’m also incredibly passionate about reducing food waste and food packaging. I often describe myself as a “freegan,” a term popularized by the dumpster diving and DIY culture, meaning taking advantage of the vast amount of wasted, perfectly salvageable food thrown away on a daily basis. Freeganism, dumpster diving, the zero waste movement, and the DIY culture are all protests towards consumerism, the fact that 40% of the food produced in the U.S. is never touched and thrown away meanwhile millions live in food insecure areas and food deserts, and a throw-away, single-use culture.
My personal philosophy towards the environment and the zero waste lifestyle has been morphed and shaped and challenged by my education, the zero waste community on social media, and my own environment (where I live/work, who I surround myself with, my government). I’m here to make an impact, not by showing you just HOW little trash I can make, but by living in ways in tune with my own values, and hoping that someone else is inspired to make changes in their own consumptive habits.
I personally believe that there is more than enough “stuff” in the world and unless it’s absolutely necessary, you don’t need more of it. I believe that single-use plastics such as coffee cups, straws, utensils, bags, and water bottles are unnecessary, wasteful, and should be avoided at all costs. I’m a big proponent of bringing your own, planning ahead, and learning new habits to reduce your waste. I believe that consumers have the best advantage point for changing the world. You CAN and SHOULD vote with your dollar! Purchase goods and services that treat employees well, make an effort to participate in sustainable practices and align with your values and virtues. I believe people need to learn how to start fixing things instead of tossing away and buying new. It’s easy once you know how! Learn to sew, bake, garden, repair, make it yourself. I believe that food waste can be reduced by choosing what you eat and where it comes from, and learning to cook. I believe plastic is a useful material for advancing the medical, science, and technology fields, but it is just silly to make something that never “goes away” a single-use item that millions (or billions) of people use on a daily basis.
So follow along with me this month, and I’ll let you peer into my lifestyle a little bit. I hope you find something interesting along the way!
Love,
Ollie
Zero Waste Ollie 
Freeganism is really a throw back to the way my grandparents lived. They reused everything, nothing went to waste. As kids our job was to straighten bent nails and knock the mortar out of old brick, making these items reusable. Any salvageable packaging was reused over and over – coffee cans, wooden cheese boxes, fruitcake tins, etc. Look through elderly folks basements and you will find the ingenious ways they reused so many things. Great job Liv, looking forward to more!
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