The Zero Waste lifestyle is a passion of mine and I’m hoping to raise awareness and bring the movement to my rural community of Richmond County. I grew up in a small town called Rockingham near the NC/SC state line. In 2003, I moved to Greensboro, which is a much larger city, to attend UNCG. We lived there for 15 years before we decided to move back to Rockingham just a few months ago. It is such a different world in so many ways.  While there is much to love about small towns, such as the tight-knit community and lack of noise and traffic, there are also many aspects about small town life that makes going zero waste challenging.

Richmond County is one of the poorest counties in NC.  This alone means that there are many resources that we just don’t have available. So many people here don’t seem to understand how significantly their actions create a ripple effect and affect the lives of people all around the world.  While people that live within the city limits have their trash and recycling bins picked up, most county-dwellers are responsible for getting their own trash to the landfill, us included. This means that recycling is a burden for most people, if they even choose to recycle.  However, so many residents either don’t care, don’t understand why recycling is so necessary, or don’t think their actions will make a difference. Many people don’t even bother taking trash to the dump or landfill, they just throw it onto the sides of the roads. I’m hoping to change that mentality here.

There are so many things about Greensboro that I took for granted when I lived there. For example, I got my herbs and spices from a shop that would encourage you to bring your container back for refills at a discounted rate. Our olive oils came from a different place with the same set-up. A local co-op offered many items in bulk, allowing co-owners to bring their own containers to fill.  Local bakeries sell freshly made bread, sans plastic if wanted. Here, in Rockingham, I have found that asking if I can use my own coffee cup, either at Dunkin’ or at the only locally owned coffee shop in Rockingham, is almost always met with funny looks and hesitation about whether that’s even legal. Asking the waiter/waitress for my kids’ drinks in a real glass and not styrofoam/plastic has been met with confusion, and handing straws back while saying we don’t need them has been met with eyerolls, handing them right back to us, or just throwing them in the trash!  Outside of a handful of locally owned restaurants, most food places are fast food chains, which means that eating zero waste when out of the house is difficult. Even my favorite locally owned sit-down diner serves food on styrofoam plates complete with plastic flatware. Unfortunately, many members of my own family are also part of the problem. I’m trying to educate them on how their actions are going to affect the world that their grandkids and great-grandkids will grow up in.

As for my own personal zero waste journey, it’s one that will never end. My family and I have already made many changes: we don’t use paper towels at home, we refuse straws, we use refillable water bottles and coffee cups whenever possible, we bring our own grocery bags, we don’t invite unnecessary items into our lives if we can help it, and we have dramatically reduced the amount of animal products that we use.  I feel that as far as I’ve come, I have so much further to go and so much more to learn. I’m even working on an Environmental Studies and Sustainability degree. Lowering my own personal consumption and moving toward a more zero waste lifestyle is something that I’m passionate about. I’m hoping that as I speak to more people in my community about the importance of going zero waste, I can get them to understand that one person can make a small difference, that many people working toward a common goal can make a huge difference, and that our actions today will affect those in generations to come.