Zero Waste Lifestyle

Funny how people from all over the world is trying to change their lifestyle to zero waste just to make the world a better place while China is still teaching their people what recycle is by putting out ads.

Recycling ads in Shenzhen Metro

Its basically impossible to be zero waste in China without going out of your way and make your life really really hard.

Small intro to my life, I work from 09:30-18:00, staying with my boyfriend in a small apartment in the outskirts of Shenzhen City, so travelling to work takes me 2 hours each day. I have 3 dogs, 1 cat and 1 hamster, and I'm trying to lose weight. Emphasize of the 'trying'.

So for an example day in my life:
07:50 My alarm goes off
08:25 I actually wake up and do the usuals to make myself decent
09:00 Feeding my babies(cats&dogs) then have a small pre-breakfast snack which normally consist of bananas and a box of soy milk while walking to the metro station

Trash: the aluminium/cardboard box from the soy milk
Compost: Banana peel

Yeo's Soy milk going into the recycling bin if there even is one

10:00 When I actually arrive to the office and cook 2 boiled eggs in the kettle, and order delivery coffee with my colleagues

Cheap and good coffee, might I say better than Starbucks

Trash(potential): the plastic egg carton if i finishes the carton of eggs that day, cuz cheap eggs only comes in plastic cartons here, or you can get the posh eggs that comes in paper cartons for double the price.
Recycle: Paper cups and holder from the coffee, BUT there's no recycling bin in my building. so Trash it is.
Compost: Egg shells. BUT there's no compost bin in my building either(or anywhere for that matter unless you make one yourself, in which you need a garden or at least space in your kitchen)

11:00 Orders lunch on the app 饿了么
12:00 Lunch arrives in tons of plastic

Example of my lunch with a lot plastic containers

Trash: Plastic. Just tons and tons of plastic.

Recycle: Paper/cardboard boxes the salad come in.

13:00 Finishes lunch and watch YouTube videos while I pretend to work

16:00 Tea and fruit break time

Plastics bagged fruits. even the dragon fruit and lime got a double bag

Trash: More Plastics. I don't get it, fruits have their own skin as a protective cover, why put another bag over it?

Compost: Teabags, fruit skins.

18:00 Leave the depressing office as fast as I can

19:00 Order and have dinner with my boyfriend

Trash: You know already, plastic.

Dinner/lunch for two

20:00 Order some groceries if I'm meal prepping

20:30 Cook and contemplates on life decisions

Groceries for spaghetti sauce meal prep

22:30 Finally finish meal prep(these stuff takes so long)

Meal prepping is a workout

23:00 Watch K-drama while showering

00:00 Sleep

Here's the thing...
China is so inconvenient that it becomes so convenient.
Does that make sense?

Plus, labor is so cheap here so everything can be delivered.
Moreover, people aren't properly educated here to be mindful.
By that I mean, they would rather choose a beautifully packaged already de-skinned and washed corn on a cob, rather than a organic corn with its skins still on.
Or choose a branded supermarket/delivery service rather than the traditional market. I do that too, cuz I get ripoff by the vendors from traditional markets so many times and I'm just fed up with it...
Getting plastic bags when offered even though they just got one thing.

When I refuse plastic bags at stores they get so confused.
Or when I leave notes for the food delivery guy saying I don't need their bamboo chopsticks, they'll still give it to me.

Technology advances really quick here.
But changing people takes time.

While Hongkong is already not giving people plastic straws(HK Disneyland gave me paper straws when i asked), and China is still at the stage of :"look guys, this plastic straw is bad for environment and we should recycle" but not ban it, just recycle.
*proceeds to hand out straws anyways*