Minimalism is a way of living that can assist you in letting go of many aspects of the consumer culture we’ve built our lives around. It can help you rediscover value in immaterial things like your mental well-being, relationships and the ecosystems that support you. This also includes eliminating waste and wasteful practices from our societies. On an individual level, this goal can be achieved through many routes, such as rejecting mass consumption, avoiding the production of waste, repairing instead of purchasing new products, reusing, composting and recycling (when no better options are available) just to name a few.
However, this doesn’t mean you can’t or aren’t supposed to have material possessions. The problem comes from the fact that many of us forsake our health, relationships, dreams, small projects, personal growth and our desire to help others and contribute to society, just to own more and more things, which means we produce more and more waste. This trend is global and has lead to a culture of worshiping opulence and the few global elites that display it the most, which in turn feeds back to the consumerism loop.
Why is this important? Well, just to illustrate the damages of our mass consumption habits here is an example: In 2020 every single household in Germany produced an average of 476 Kg of waste. This waste burdens our ecosystems and can be reduced by changing our consumption habits. Big changes on a political level, like introducing circular economies might take a while and will never come on their own. The responsibility lies on our communities and each individual that participates in them. By progressively changing to a minimalist vegan lifestyle we can play a meaningful part in protecting our environment and handling our limited resources responsibly.
How much you decide to commit to a minimalist life is up to you, however, it is as important as organizing with your community and pushing for a socio-ecological transformation. The majority of global waste and emissions are perpetuated by a small percentage of the world population and this needs to stop. There is no need to aspire to be greater polluters or usurpers of land. Instead, we shall strive for a better world, one sustainable for all it’s inhabitants.
Within the minimalist movement there is still a lively discussion as to how this goal can be best achieved, both individually and collectively. Some solutions are hard and might seem a bit too much for some people, others are quite easy to integrate into your daily life. Bear in mind, this is not about moving to the forest or a cave to drastically reduce your waste. Nor blaming ourselves for the destruction of our ecosystems. It’s about trying out what works for you while being critical about the consumerism we are socialized into in our capitalist system.
For practical advice and more information on the subject I highly recommend this blog (https://wastelandrebel.com). Shia is an expert in the subject and constantly uploads new information.
It can happen, that once you start diving into this subject, you will encounter a great amount of information on new terms like waste, consumerism, zero-waste and minimalism, and might feel a bit overwhelmed or even like there is no point in any of it. All I can tell you is this: just give it a try. We are not going to save the world with our individual actions. Change needs to happen on a global scale. However, our actions and values can inspire others to join us and be part of the movement that not only envisions a better future but is actively trying to create it.