Low Waste

 Low-waste life ought to be a neurodivergent dream: orderly, enduring and attentive. Yet the movement too often turns ecological care into an ableist purity test.

Autistic people rarely do things halfway, in my experience, so helping the planet whilst following a set of rules, regulations and routines sounds lovely. Going zero waste has changed in the last decade or so: From storing all your trash in a mason jar to simply doing the best you can to live your life eco-friendly. Whether that means reusing paper to make art, composting your scraps into arable earth, reusing what you have in your life or reducing plastic, I am of the opinion that every little thing helps the change along. Eco-influencers online (TheSimpleEnvironmentalist, GreenEarthCo, Gittemary Johansen, Shelbizleee and the EcofriendlyUnicorn) are excellent voices to listen to regarding low or zero waste and sustainable living in general.

When it comes to eco-ableism within the movement, one needs only take a look around; how many disabled eco-influencers have flooding your feed lately? How many eco-influencers use a wheelchair, are chronically ill, blind or indeed, neurodivergent at all? Vanishingly few! They are, in most cases, ablebodied and ableminded. Of the influencers I've mentioned, seemingly none of them (aside from TheSimpleEnvironmentalist who has opened up about chronic migraines) appear to struggle with any disability. That reinforces the notion that low or zero waste living is an ablebodied, ableminded pursuit, for those with enough energy to frequent bulk stores, thrift, upcycle, mend or grow their own vegetable patch. 

This aesthetic and pace prioritizes the neurotypical mind, and the ablebodied person; a slap in the face for any of us who are environmentally conscious and wish to do our small part to halt climate change. It is also a myth that zero or low waste is a pastime for the affluent; one ecofriendly switch is costly upfront, but it will save you years down the line, not to mention keeping less plastic in the oceans or landfills or polluting the rivers or nature.  

With a chronic illness and sick days, how does one live sustainably? If you use tissues, painkillers, over the counter medications, only can stomach (ethical) fast food brands and don't have the energy to compost, much less go to the bulk store or even to the fridge to eat your cheese before it goes bad? You don't need to be a perfect zero or low waster. We all have offdays and that's nothing to beat ourselves up about. One sickday isn't going to undo all the other good things you do on a daily basis. Bumps in the road exists for a reason. 

But how to be zero or low waste in a way that doesn't gainsay an autistic reality? 

My advice would be, at your own pace. 

Reading books like Robin Wall Kimmerer's Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants (2013) and Ursula Le Guin's Word for World is Forest (1973) further opened my eyes and I began to think what can I do for the environment? Having grown up with an environmentally conscious grandfather and loved the great outdoors, it was a natural first step to look to the woods and marshes surrounding my house.

My own involvement proper began in 2014, when I attended a Danish folkehøjskole (post-school education facility where you board at the school and take lessons without a final exam) by the German-Danish border and had little incentive to waste things. I biked 8 km to the ‘local’ grocery store on occasion (when the school's less than stellar food made me crave something else), brought my reusable tote bag and cut my own hair (badly). I dried my clothes on a clothesline in my room and for the first time discovered the aforementioned zero waste influencers (particularly Danish Gittemary Johansen), whose wisdom I took to heart. 

Sure, I didn't do everything she recommended, but I chose the things that worked (and works) for me. While I have yet to switch to toothpaste tablets or reusable floss (sensory sensibilities and difficulty of access respectively) I compost, mend, reuse and live below my means. Which must surely count for something. I plan to switch out plastic containers and invest in more durable products, and the golden rule: use up the things you have before buying new.

 

Though this might clash with either scarcity mindset, frugal habits or rigid thinking, it helps to trust oneself and the process. Going low waste isn't the end of the world — it is simply living in a way that benefits you and the planet. Frugal and low waste living needn't be a thing to revile, one can be those things and live well. Not all people need a million kr to be satisfied with life, but if we are able to live in ways that bring us joy, that is a magnificent start to it all.

What I'm saying is, you don't need to be loaded to be low waste, quite the opposite. Buy or thrift the items you need gradually and your household will be more sustainable over time. Use up what you have before buying new. The most practical tip would be to buy in bulk, as it reduces decision fatigue and reuses containers like jam jars. I myself have chai jars and metal tea caddies stored in my cupboard, my own low waste contribution. The small consistent habit of composting scraps or reusing jars creates a steady rhythm which appeals to detail focus and object attachment.

A low waste life comes with decision fatigue and constant moral calculations; plastic or glass, local vs. organic, food baron vs. food preserver. If you know your local chain store feeds food barony (as most do), do you then visit three independent stores to stock up on your groceries and risk draining your energy just to assure yourself that your grapes are not plastic wrapped? Or do you forgo the plastic wherever you are able and buy your groceries in one place? Do you spend money on comfort items like chololate or chips without asking what labor produced the chocolate? Do you research what you buy beforehand? To me, that's half the fun, looking at options, evaluating different brands, finding new shops, seeing what's out there. Some stores I've found and have yet to buy from (as I like window shopping more than actual shopping) are mostly online. I do miss the feeling of browsing shelves and see with my own eyes the different soaps and other items for sale.

In the end, sustainability isn't a test to pass. It's a relationship. Between us, our bodies, our environment, our routines and the world we live in. Like any relationship worth keeping, it thrives on honesty, flexibility and small acts of love.