30 'Zero Waste' Ideas That Will Inspire You To Live A More Eco-Friendly Lifestyle

Every single one of us can take part in making the world a better place. And while recycling your garbage and using less plastic are great first steps that everyone can take, there's so much more we can do. Thankfully, the r/ZeroWaste subreddit is here to help us. This online community focuses on the 5 R's principle (refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle, and rot), and its users regularly share all sorts of useful tips and projects that will help minimize your environmental impact. Check out a collection of inspirational 'zero waste' ideas in the gallery below!

#1 Instead Of Polluting The Planet With Confetti, Hole Punch Leaves! Fully Biodegradable

Image source: thecureisthecause

#2 Recycling Old Picnic Coolers For Stray Cat Shelters

Image source: charliesheenpart

#3 Libraries Are So Vastly Underappreciated

Image source: Random_420-69

#4 This Was Enough For Me To Finally Kick Starbucks For Good

Image source: nanniemal

#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 Christmas Tree Rental

Image source: riceblush

#7 Italian Brand Barilla Removed The Plastic Window From Their Boxes (UK)

Image source: Clari24

#8 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

#9 Toothbrush With Replaceable Bristles So You Don’t Have To Keep Buying A New Handle

Image source: simple_gay

#10 Turkish Garbage Collectors Open A Library For All Of The Books Citizens Discard In Their Trash

Image source: br_shadow

#11 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

#12 I Just Finished My Latest Art Made Solely Put Of Recycled Wine Foils

Image source: Snicklefritz25

#13 My Shopping Bag Has A Printed Holiday Pattern So It Can Be Reused As Wrapping Paper

Image source: zuckerbooger

#14 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

#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 Old Spice Has Plastic-Free Deodorant

Image source: Reallysmallcavebears

#17 A Library That Rents Cake Pans!

Image source: zerowastecalifornia

#18 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

#19 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

#20 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

#21 For Anyone Out There Who Has An Old Trampoline And Isn't Sure What To Do With It

Image source: hyrule-hysteria

#22 We Need More Coffee Shops To Do This

Image source: GeekBite

#23 Bulk Frozen Vegetables In Romania! First Time I've Seen Somethibg Like This

Image source: caballorider

#24 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

#25 My Drugstore Just Got A Refill Station For Laundry And Dishwashing Detergent!

Image source: mushabooms

#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 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

#28 Today I Retired My 13 Year Old Cardboard Box

Image source: almost_exact

#29 I Built This House Almost Entirely Out Of Dirt And Reclaimed Materials!

Image source: earth_block_horno

#30 Our Local Supermarket Makes Juice Out Of Unsold Fruits. Literally Zero Waste

Image source: EduKehakettu