Zero Waste Society
The Zero Waste Society was set up in 2018 and due to a massive influx of interest in its first year they gained nearly 80 members. The purpose of the society is to help people to make small changes to reduce their waste and promote easy ways to live a low impact life. This is with the understanding that not everyone is able or willing to completely cut out waste, but with the hope to influence people to make as many small changes that will accumulate to a large difference. The society welcomes members at any stage of their zero waste journey and was set up with aim of creating an inclusive, welcoming and empowering community of like-minded individuals.
The society has aimed to spread its impact and conversations beyond just the student population and has ran several local community events to include parts of the demographic that are not usually included in talks about climate change, and hopes that this is a sentiment that will be taken further into their lifestyles.
As its main regular activity the society holds DIY workshops of household items which give people the opportunity to make useful products with no waste such as deodorant, candles and moisturisers. Underlying in these workshops is the theme of making things for yourself or finding an alternative to your everyday items. According to co-president of the society and final year Geography student, Nicole Mwananshiku, these workshops seem to be very popular as they involve members/attendees making something physical to take home with them. Every activity hopes to equip members with the skills and knowledge to live a more planet friendly lifestyle.
Nicole says that the best part of being involved in the society is that it “brings a community feel to the zero waste/low impact movement which can sometimes feel isolating” due to not everyone sharing that same journey. She also regards the greatest achievement of the society to be the smallest of things such as “when people tell us the small changes they have made in their lives as a result of our society, which shows that everyone has the potential to make a change for the better it just takes a small push and taking the time to educate.”
Nicole feels that being part of the Zero Waste society has enriched her university experience as it has given her an opportunity to practice leadership and communication, which will be skills she can use in her future career. She has enjoyed being part of the committee as it has made her feel like she is contributing to a greater cause which she is passionate about. In terms of her future career, Nicole has found her experience with the society has reinforced her hope to work in a sector involved in reducing waste/environmental concerns in order to make a real difference. She hopes to use her platform to spread information about the issue of waste and the importance of reducing it to minimise the impact on our earth and climate.
There are many challenges that the world has to currently face in terms of Climate Change and in particular related to waste. Nicole argues that “For the world to continue to grow sustainably it will take drastic changes in the make-up of society and economic structure.” She also advocates for the concept of a Circular Economy, which is an economic system aimed at eliminating waste and the continual use of resources. Nicole believes the world needs to move towards this as standard.
The Zero Waste society hopes to become more integrated in the University setting and attempt to change the waste set up already in plan to make low impact living more accessible for the most people possible. You can find out more about the society online.