Zero waste simply means redefining the system, Zero waste is the philosophy of a lifestyle that is used to protect the earth by wisely using single use product to reduce the bad impact of the waste. Currently we live in the linear economy where we consume and take resources from the earth and then dump them in the ground, but the motto of the zero waste  is to enhance ecological footprint moving into circular economy where we write trash out of existence, where no any trash is to be sent to landfills, incinerations or the ocean. Materials will be reused in Zero waste system until the optimum level of consumption. Zero waste lifestyle encourages us to evaluate our current lifestyle by seeing how our single action is creating negative impact on the environment. We can see there are many things around us, we make, we commit so adopting a zero waste lifestyle is one of the most sustainable ways of living. It is the choices that influences environmental areas by preventing resource extraction, minimizing the amount of materials. Zero waste lifestyle not only helps in reducing pollutants, but also is an affordable one. There are various ways one can practice Zero waste lifestyle such as Recycling, reducing, reforming, composting biodegradable waste. The major problem of the world and the urban area is the massive generation of the waste, this is actually contributing much impact on the environment.

Status of Waste Generation in Nepal:

Deposition of the waste haphazardly has a multihued environmental impacts. An inefficient waste management system has created the serious negative impacts on the environment like outbreak of infectious diseases, increased in land and water pollution, obstruction of drainages and loss of biodiversity.  The wastes are  generated from households, companies, educational institutions and organization which consists of  plastics, bottles, glass, papers, e wastes, metals etc. Some waste can be recycled and used but not the every wastes. In Nepal many areas faces difficulty in the management of the water, solid waste and waste water treatments. The survey was carried out by the Asian Development Bank and found that average per capita household waste generation rate was 170 grams (g)/capita/day. The study also described that the household waste generation rates differs with the economic status and climatic conditions. On average, households with monthly expenditures of NRs40,000 ($417) and above generate more than twice as much waste as households with monthly expenditures of less than NRs5,000 ($52). Households in Terai municipalities generate nearly 80% more waste than those in mountain region municipalities. For institutional establishments, the average daily waste generation was 4.0 kilograms (kg) per school and 1.4 kg per office. Similarly, the average daily waste generation of commercial establishments was 1.4 kg per shop and 5.7 kg per hotel or restaurant. Based on the analysis and findings, it is estimated that waste from households in general contributes about 50%–75% of the total MSW generated. Thus, the average MSW generation was found to be 317 g/capita/day. Using these per capita waste generation rates and the population in 2011, the total MSW generation of the 58 municipalities was estimated at about 1,435 tons/day and 524,000 tons/year. The analysis of household waste composition presented that the highest waste category was organic waste with 66%, followed by plastics with 12%, and paper and paper products with 9%. The composition analysis of institutional wastes revealed 45% paper and paper products, 22% organic wastes, and 21% plastics. The study found that commercial wastes comprised 43% organic wastes, 23% paper and paper products, and 22% plastics. In aggregate, MSW is composed of 56% organic waste, 16% plastics, and 16% paper and paper products. This indicates great potential for producing compost from organic waste, and reusing and recycling other materials, with only about 10% going to final disposal if resource recovery is maximized. The study uncovered that about 30% of surveyed households in the municipalities were practicing segregation of waste at source and composting using traditional methods of management.

Some under mentioned approaches can be effective one for the sustainable lifestyle:

5R( Reducing, recycling, reusing, rethinking and rejuvenating ideas); 5R principle is the one of the most affordable, logical way of promoting Zero Waste Lifestyle. Is not it so sweet to eat all those candies, noodles, chips sharing nobody? But does any of us care for those wrappers, where does those wrapper actually go? All the wrapper, trash, plastics gets decomposed on the water bodies and which abruptly cause marine life in danger. Because of an anthropocentric nature of human, our ecosystem is declining and our environment is on the treat, so sharing my story of Zero waste lifestyle, The principle of 5R  can be used in every possible way such as using broken, unused plastics bottles for plantation of some indoor plants which are best for maintain indoor environment, unused bottles for making beautiful showpieces, left over paper for making decorative crafts, plastics mats with plastic wrappers, woolen craft work with Bengals and left over rusted iron pieces, seedling plantation in wrappers of noodle and chips. I had also shifted to the habit of minimalism and applying 5R principle in every possible ways.

 Zero wastage of Energy: Do you know, what is the major cause of increasing  global temperature? The global temperature is increasing at an alarming rate due to excess use of energy, Question my arises, how can we can reduce our energy consumption? Using of the solar panel, LED light in home can save nearly 40% energy loss than any other bulbs. I had also subsidized the use of renewable like solar power in my house.

Composting of Biodegradable Waste: food waste is the threat and pressing challenges in the global scenario. It comes from not only the leftovers on people’s plates but also the unsold and unprocessed produce going to the landfills to decompose and release polluting chemicals into the air, water, and soil. So composting is the best way to solve and preserve the soil as decomposition of the food waste causes harmful bacteria pollute the soil, air and environment resulting the emission of the green house gases in the environment, so compositing could be the better solution for all the problems related to food wastes, leftover of vegetables, scarps of fruits. Sharing my story I have been teaching about the vermi composting process to my friends, farmers, family, sisters. I had also installed vermi composting set up at my home. The compost will be prepared after 2-3 months and we will be using it on the vegetables which will also minimize the use of chemical fertilizers.

To sum up, We should start by rethinking, reducing, reusing, recycling and then reintegrating/ideas  whenever possible so that we generate a more sustainable society and minimize the waste.