New Handbook on Sustainable Consumption! On the occasion of International Zero Waste Day, celebrated annually on March 30th, we present the new handbook on sustainable consumption!
Have you ever heard of reusing? Did you know it’s a better practice than recycling and reduces the harmful impact on the environment and climate? Have you ever wondered why and how to apply it in everyday life?
Whether you are a beginner or already an expert in reuse, this guide is designed to help you acquire new skills and/or improve existing knowledge and abilities when it comes to reuse practices and their application in everyday life.
But most importantly, it can inspire you to start reflecting on your own consumption patterns and the system that enables them. After reading this guide, we hope you will not only want to change your habits but also become part of a movement that seeks to bring about change in an already deeply corrupt system.
We are aware that finding solutions to the climate crisis and the broader ecological crises we are currently facing is not the responsibility of individuals or even local communities, but of decision-makers at the international and national levels. However, isn’t it our duty as citizens and activists to influence the institutions responsible for decision-making? Each of us can do a great deal to reduce our own environmental impact. This guide explores what we can change in our way of life to resist entrenched consumerist practices and choose sustainability.
It is time to start talking about why recycling is important, but also why it is not enough. It is time to debunk myths, explore alternatives, and understand the impact we have when we reject single-use solutions and take resource efficiency and reuse seriously. We want to encourage you to make decisions based on evidence, aligned with your own values.
The guide is structured to challenge established beliefs, promote ecological awareness, and educate. Each month is dedicated to a specific topic of reuse and sustainable consumption. In the second part, you’ll find a calendar with challenges to introduce new, more sustainable practices into daily life. But don’t worry; these challenges are designed to gently encourage reflection without being overwhelming, aiming to provide a more comprehensive understanding of sustainable living.
It is intended for everyone who wants to contribute to reuse and the reduction of unnecessary consumption through their actions: activists, communities interested in exploring these practices, and individuals eager to acquire new skills and share them with others.
We dedicate it to everyone who has, in various aspects of daily life, already become masters of reuse and efficient resource use—whether recently or long ago, out of activist drive or necessity, whether they are aware or not that they are contributing to the well-being of people and the planet.
Your participation is essential for the success and survival of this movement!
This publication was produced with the financial support of the European Commission under the KA2 Erasmus+ Adult Education program and the project “Towards Communities of Reuse Practice (TORP).” It reflects only the views of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use of the information contained therein.