I know that most of you Pandas care about the environment and Planet Earth very deeply. After all, it’s not only our home but also where all those desperately cute animals we love to feature on Bored Panda live. From cats and dogs to every single wild floof that we’d adopt at the drop of a hat if only we could.
However, the climate crisis continues to ravage the planet. As politicians are calling for a global green deal, Europeans are reeling from the floods that devastated Germany, Belgium, and are now shifting to Austria. While we know that laws, international agreements, and changes to how major businesses operate are the main driving force in the fight against climate change, each of us also has a personal responsibility to move away from a wasteful life to one that has less of an impact on the environment.
That’s where the r/ZeroWaste subreddit comes in. The online community is dedicated to sharing everyday tips and tricks that help protect the environment and raise awareness about how we can all do our bit. Inch by inch. Step by small step. The end goal is to make sure that all discarded materials are reused. Ideally, absolutely nothing would be sent to landfills.
As you scroll down, remember to upvote the lifehacks that you found to be the most useful. We’d also love it if you share any of your own environmentally-friendly tips and tricks with all the other Pandas in the comments. Intrigued by a low-impact lifestyle? Thinking of joining the r/ZeroWaste community? Good on you! But first, you might want to check out their in-depth wiki. It’s incredibly informative.
I had a friendly chat about the subreddit’s history, community, and how to convince people who are on the fence about doing more to protect the environment with moderator Inasaba. “/r/ZeroWaste was created in 2013, and I have personally been a part of the community since 2016, back when we only had around 5,000 subscribers. The sub really started growing in 2018, hitting 100k subscribers by the end of that year. The growth recently has been amazing!” they told Bored Panda about the subreddit’s growth towards the 577k members it has now.
You can find the full interview below. I also reached out to the Greenpeace team for a few insights into how to tackle plastic pollution and move toward a more environmentally-friendly lifestyle. You’ll find their insights below, too.
#1 Christmas Tree Rental
Image source: riceblush
#2 Instead Of Polluting The Planet With Confetti, Hole Punch Leaves! Fully Biodegradable
Image source: thecureisthecause
#3 My Christmas Present To My Mother In Law. (It Looks Like Her Dog.) I Used All Donated Scrap Fabric. I Throw Away Nothing When Trimming – I Keep Even The Tiniest, Weirdest Pieces When I’m Quilting My Big Quilts, Because You Never Know When Something Is Going To Need A Shadow, A Collar, Or A Nose
Image source: exhaustedoctopus
#4 Libraries Are So Vastly Underappreciated
Image source: Random_420-69
#5 This Awesome Moroccan School Security Guard Wasted No Quarantine Time And Restored, Free Of Charge, These Benches That Were Supposed To End Up In The Trash So That They Can Be Reused This School Year
Image source: thecureisthecause
#6 Recycling Old Picnic Coolers For Stray Cat Shelters
Image source: charliesheenpart
#7 Turkish Garbage Collectors Open A Library For All Of The Books Citizens Discard In Their Trash
Image source: br_shadow
#8 Italian Brand Barilla Removed The Plastic Window From Their Boxes (UK)
Image source: Clari24
#9 Toothbrush With Replaceable Bristles So You Don’t Have To Keep Buying A New Handle
Image source: simple_gay
#10 This Was Enough For Me To Finally Kick Starbucks For Good
Image source: nanniemal
#11 I Just Finished My Latest Art Made Solely Put Of Recycled Wine Foils
Image source: Snicklefritz25
#12 Sunnybee, A Farmer’s Market And Store In Chennai, India, Has Begun Wrapping Their Produce In Banana Leaves. Makes Me Glad That My Country Is Thinking Forward Like First World Countries
Image source: is62fpx3on
#13 My Shopping Bag Has A Printed Holiday Pattern So It Can Be Reused As Wrapping Paper
Image source: zuckerbooger
#14 This Week I Will Hit My 8000th Bag Of Trash Cleaned Up. I Love My Life, And I Encourage Others To Try This
Image source: Daniel_Toben
#15 This Is Completely Out Of Season And I Did It Four Years Ago, But I Work In A Bakery In A Health Food Store And This Is How I Evaded Throwing Away Broken But Otherwise Perfectly Fine Cookies That Didn’t Make The Cut For Platters. Injure Bread Men!
Image source: iris513
#16 A Few Weeks Back I Put A Box Of Empty Candle Jars Out On My Verge For Giveaway – I Didn’t Want To Throw Them Away – And Today I Found A Lil Box Of Candles In My Doorstep With Some Of The Jars Refilled With Lovely Scented Candles
Image source: escabeloved
#17 A Library That Rents Cake Pans!
Image source: zerowastecalifornia
#18 Picked Up A Used Cardigan That Turned Out To Look Much Better In The Picture Than In Person, So I Turned It Back To Yarn And Crocheted The Yarn Into A Cat Bed
Image source: couchpotatolady
#19 We Need More Coffee Shops To Do This
Image source: GeekBite
#20 You Can Grow Loofahs (They Are In The Cucumber Family), Dry Them And Use Them To Wash Dishes. 5 Plants Make Enough For About 2 Years In Our House. Fully Biodegradable When They’re Worn Out
Image source: scavenger_hobo
#21 For Anyone Out There Who Has An Old Trampoline And Isn’t Sure What To Do With It
Image source: hyrule-hysteria
#22 My Dad Built A Green House Out Of Piles Of Random Stuff He’s Been Saving In The “You Never Know When It Will Come In Useful” Pile. Old Windows, Bits Of Flooring, Recycled Straightened Nails, And Off Cuts Of Steel Roofing. Only Had To Spend $40 On 8 Large Bolts. So Proud Of Him!
Image source: rnords
#23 Old Spice Has Plastic-Free Deodorant
Image source: Reallysmallcavebears
#24 Bulk Frozen Vegetables In Romania! First Time I’ve Seen Somethibg Like This
Image source: caballorider
#25 Sometimes Junk Store Frames Don’t Come With Hanging Hardware. Tin Can Lids Get The Job Done. Learned This Trick From My High School Art Teacher
Image source: blabbitygabbity
#26 My Boyfriend Wrote A Paper On How Superworms And Mealworms Can Digest Styrofoam Into Biodegradable Waste At A Fast Rate. We Expanded It Into A Project At School This Year. This Is A Farm That I Started A Week Ago. It’s Simple And Low Maintenance. Please Try It Out!
Image source: k0ella
#27 Our Local Supermarket Makes Juice Out Of Unsold Fruits. Literally Zero Waste
Image source: EduKehakettu
#28 As A Truck Driver I Am So Tired Of Seeing Garbage Everywhere Left By Other Drivers. So I Decided To Be The Change That I Wanted To See In The World
Image source: -life_starts_now-
#29 My Drugstore Just Got A Refill Station For Laundry And Dishwashing Detergent!
Image source: mushabooms
#30 Decorating My New Apartment My Updating The Furniture Left Behind
Image source: HereForCuteDogs
#31 I Built This House Almost Entirely Out Of Dirt And Reclaimed Materials!
Image source: earth_block_horno
#32 Can’t Believe A Zero Waste Shop Opened Up Only 15 Minutes From My Rural Village In Scotland!
Image source: Shanibandangle
#33 Today I Collected 8 Bags Of Garbage From Nature… We Try To Justify Our Ignorance In Front Of Ourselves And We Will Say “It’s Not Mine”, But We Are No Longer Entitled To That Nowadays. Nature Is Our Collective Responsibility, And This Sense Of Responsibility Motivates Me To Clean Up The Forest
Image source: luboslavonody
#34 Somebody Made Homes For Street Cats To Take Shelter In Out Of Water Jugs
Image source: thecureisthecause
#35 My Eldest Daughter, 13, Started Doing Embroidery After She Saw Some Videos On Instagram. Yesterday She Surprised Me With This Beautiful Flower That She Stitched Over A Hole In My Favorite Jeans!
Image source: reddit.com
#36 The Paper Didn’t Reach
Image source: Stonkerer
#37 A Friend And I Have Started Doing Weekly Trash Walks Around Our Neighborhood In La. This Week We Filled Two Whole Trash Bags Going Less Than Two Blocks. We’re Hoping To Keep Growing Our Little “Club” And Maybe Inspire Some Others To Start One Too!
Image source: amoebaboiz
#38 I Sell Clothing Online And Finally Mastered Zero Waste Mailers! Made 100% Of Discarded Plastic And Sealed Shut With My Sewing Machine
Image source: rhinocerousfeet
#39 A Local Soapmaker Sells Miscellaneous / Broken Pieces Of Soap Without Packaging At A Discount. Perfect For Trying Out New Scents!
Image source: CharmingtheCobra
#40 George Kent Using His Own 64oz Nalgene Bottle Instead Of The Single Use Plastic Bottles Provided At The Impeachment Hearing Today
Image source: sherrihartsell
#41 With An Axe And Two Knives, I Carve Spoons From Freshly Fallen Wood Picked In My Forest. Spoons Are Everyday Tools That Have Been Used Since The Beginning Of Humanity
Image source: urubu_artisan
#42 Office Goes Zero Waste And Gave Everyone One Of These
Image source: samonaidobroto
#43 Diyed A Soap Dish Out Of Unused Takeout Chopsticks, Glue, And Thread
Image source: kaitlin941
#44 I Used Bird Seed For My Graduation Pictures Instead Of Glitter/Confetti!
Image source: clairemt11
#45 A Knit A Sweater Made Entirely Of Old /Scrap Yarns I Had Lying Around
Image source: JadedYarn
