By Yulia Pabat

I had never considered myself to be a wasteful person. I was careful about recycling my trash, and I felt that I was great to avoid wasting things like food or water. However, I experienced a life change several months ago when I hosted a party at my flat. I was cleaning up after the party when I noticed that the recycling bin was overflowing. This made me wonder whether or not recycling is enough anymore. I felt that I could make more of an effort to help our world. Now I’d like to move on to the real actions that I took.

To begin, I decided to try an experiment. Firstly, I knew that I needed to have a clear plan in order to make a life change. To start, I promised myself that I would research how to reduce my waste. Secondly, I wrote down a list of all the ways I needed to change my habits. After that, I purchased the reusable containers I would need to reduce my waste in the long run. I bought five reusable canvas shopping bags. Each bag was for a different type of grocery. Finally, I researched local business that would support my cause. I continued to search for stores that allowed me to bring my own food packaging. Now I don’t throw away bottles or cans because I reuse the container.

In the past, I felt like I was not able to contribute to true conservation because I had been putting so much recycling into the environment. Now I put close to no trash or recycling into the world. To sum up, I’d like to say that, I feel amazing about my efforts. This was an experiment, but now it will be my lifestyle!