Week 8: Global Leadership School

This was another great week at the UTR! The possible topics that I’d picked out for my topic of sustainability were: energy and resources, environmental impacts, sustainable communities, globalization, SDG’s, climate change and fair trade system. However, for this week, I decided to make my presentation about Zero Waste concept, inspired by a TEDx Talk: Why I live a zero waste life by Lauren Singer. In this video, she explains what has inspired her mission to produce as little trash as possible — or no trash at all — what she calls a zero waste lifestyle. She learned how to make her own products such as toothpaste, lotion and deodorant. She stopped buying new products — whenever possible, or shopped items second-hand.

“To me, living a zero waste lifestyle means that I don’t make any trash,” she says, “so no sending anything to a landfill, no sending anything into a garbage can and no spitting gum on the ground and walking away.”

http://www.trashisfortossers.com/p/about.html

I thought that this is a superb idea and a great topic for my classes. Therefore, I created a presentation explaining about the basic definitions of Zero Waste, the 5 R’s (Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Rot), and the ways we can reduce our ecological footprint. I also introduced TED.com website to students as I believe it’s one the best online sources to self-educate and get familiar with the great ideas from all over the world. Then, we watched Lauren Singer’s talk together and discussed some simple steps we can take in our daily life to cut back on own personal waste. At the end of the presentation, we talked about 10 easy steps to go zero waste:

1. “No thank you, I’m fine.”(free samples, promotion bags, plastic bags,…)

2. Get a water bottle

3. Buy in bulk.

4. Learn to pack lunch in a reusable container

5. Buy to last.

6. Start a compost bin (= Rot)

7. Find a way to replace plastic cups.

8. Repair instead of buying new things.

9. Recycle as much as you can.

10. Reuse as much as you can.

So, what do you say, is it time for us to break up with our trash?!