How To Start Zero Waste Lifestyle in UAE?
March 09, 2017 By: Amruta Kshemkalyani

As part of my minimalist and sustainable lifestyle, it’s been many years that I go everywhere with my reusables, don’t throw anything, and try to reuse/ repurpose things. So when I decided to go zero waste it felt a natural next step to me. At the start of 2017, when I invited all my readers to join the Zero Waste UAE Social Initiative, in my personal life, along with zero waste lifestyle I also decided to ditch fashion shopping. It felt a little too ambitious at the start but I will say it was the best decision of 2017. It’s good to see our home is getting clutter-free, plastic-free, and healthier day by day. Plus who doesn’t like seeing your monthly living cost going down? Yes, by adopting a zero-waste lifestyle, we are even saving Dirhams!

If you find all of this interesting, then here are my tried and tested tips to start your Zero Waste Lifestyle in UAE. If you are a bit scared or overwhelmed by the name ‘Zero Waste’ let me tell you, Zero Waste Lifestyle is just an extension of our sustainable lifestyle. In that case, you can start with simple lifestyle changes and beat plastic pollution.

1. Take a break from Shopping

You are thinking now “Stop shopping, in UAE?” Yes, that’s exactly what my first tip is. Stop shopping for a while; maybe a week, a month, and go through things you already have. Ask yourself, do you really want those new things on your shopping list?

The biggest benefit of taking a break from shopping is you suddenly get some time, which otherwise you were wasting in mall hopping and window shopping if not in actual shopping. You can use that time to do things that you like or even invest that time in learning something new. Remember, ‘own less, do more’? You can never have enough me-time, have that time spend free. Utilize it to think over your shopping habits. I rarely go to malls these days and believe me I am happier (and my husband too, seeing smaller credit card bills).

The best things are to make a list of things you need and things you want. You can keep your list of wants away for a while and look at a list of needs. Now you need to think about how can you get those things without adding to waste. Go through these tips to find out more.

Read here how I followed a ‘No Fashion shopping’ year in 2017.

2. Reuse things you already have

So many times we buy things for some dedicated use, but do we really need separate items for every use? If you look closely, do your homework and get creative; you don’t have to head to the malls for shopping every time. You can make so many things out of what you have. You can first invest in a basic sewing kit, a basic toolkit for home, some glues and that’s it. Also, learn here what is the difference between upcycling and repurposing? There are numerous probabilities of what can you make out of your unwanted things. And I am not talking about creating only home decor, you can make lots of function items. Read here 25 simple creative ways to reuse your household trash.

You can also check this DIY tutorial to reuse your denim to make some storage solutions for your home in just 15 minutes. Find more such ideas in our reusing and upcycling section.

3. Invest in Reusables

You need to stop using disposable items altogether. It’s not really as tough as you think. All you need to do is invest in good quality reusable items, which can last long, and practice to carry them with you where ever you go till it becomes a habit.

With reusable items, you don’t just reduce waste and save the environment but you can also save a lot of money which you were wasting in disposables. Some people think disposables are convenient, but that’s not really true. You still need to find a garbage bin to throw it, unless you are okay with littering. From my experience using reusable items is not very hard, I used to forget at the start but then I started keeping a set of reusable cloth bags in the car and all my essential reusable items in my purse.

By using these tea towels, napkins, and handkerchief we are saving yearly at least 36 kitchen towel rolls (standard supermarket size) and 24 facial tissue boxes (standard size).

Here is a list of my favorite zero-waste swaps, which I carry with me almost everywhere.

4. Shop Second Hand

This is really useful when you want to buy furniture or fashion pieces. Last year when I was already practicing my less waste lifestyle, we suddenly had to replace our old dining table. I found a pre-loved dining table, better quality, and much more durable on Dubizzle. It was luckily even matched our other furniture. It’s a bit larger than we expected but we love it. We even play table tennis on it! 🙂

Here is our widely popular Second-Hand Shopping UAE Guide.

In buying pre-loved you always save money. You just need to check if the item is not damaged. My suggestion is never to buy cheap quality stuff, however, less money you are spending on it. Because that money is going to get wasted. There are many online sites and even shops in the UAE where you can buy second-hand items. Read here our experience of the Dubai Flea market, a popular second-hand market.

5. Be a conscious consumer

Read labels, shop local, and buy bulk this is my mantra for Zero Waste UAE shopping. Buy as much local as possible to reduce your carbon footprint and to consume fresh especially in the case of food items. You need to read labels carefully, don’t just get carried away with words like Eco-friendly, green, healthy. Check ingredients for food items, check materials for other items. Search alternatives and compare (not just price but these all things as well). Head to our Green Consumer section to find about sustainable products and services available in UAE.

Buy bulk when you know your household is going to consume it before expiry. It’s not a good idea to buy perishable in bulk else you will end up increasing your food waste. But buying bulk can help you saving money and reducing waste significantly. By buying this bulk honey bottle, which we use on daily basis I could avoid 3 plastic bottles plus I have observed you can keep these glass honey bottles in the fridge without crystallizing, which otherwise occurs when honey is in a plastic bottle. Plus once honey is finished I am reusing the glass jar for shopping or at home.

6. Buy Package Free

Most of the time you buy an item and the packing material is pure waste. I try to keep packaging materials like boxes, bubble wrap to reuse it, or repurpose in my DIYs most of the packaging items are just waste like plastic cling film and foam tray with vegetables. I keep glass bottles and jars and recycle plastic items. So now I try to buy items as much package-free as possible.

With plastic bags and packaging items, we need to keep in mind that these items can be recycled only a few times so it’s necessary to reduce their use. But when you do zero waste shopping, you refuse all packaging material and buy naked items that mean without packaging. I like to buy local organic vegetables from Farmer’s market. Most of the supermarkets have counters where you can buy some package-free food items which include grains, cereals, spices, honey, cheese, nuts, snacks, etc. But I am still unable to find essential items like milk, oil package free.

Read here a complete guide to Zero Waste shopping in UAE.

7. Refuse

Most of the time when you attend an event, conference people give corporate gifts, literature which generally goes to a garbage bin. So I have started politely refusing these items, I even explain to them why I don’t want it and people understand it and even get curious about this lifestyle.

But sadly I am still not there in refusing gifts from friends which I don’t want. Frankly, most of the time my friends and dear ones give me sustainable gifts. But sometimes people give you a gift with so much love that I don’t feel like saying no.

8. Make your own

Instead of buying ready-made packaged items, try making your own beauty, skincare, hair care products, or home cleaning products out of natural ingredients or from your kitchen.

This way you can reduce significant waste and a lot of money too. In every culture, there are grandma’s home remedies and they work great. But sadly as our society progressed and started using ready products. Now in supermarkets, you can find so many items from different brands for a separate application. I mean do we really need a face wash, body wash, shampoo, conditioner, and what not separate for men, women, and children for many types and from even many more brands? I don’t think so. This is just an example. Plus rarely you get any package free or zero waste refillable product. So I ditched these 10 commonly used store-bought personal care products and opted for natural alternatives.

I also like to browse my kitchen or fridge to find if any fruit or vegetable is over ripped, have I stored any fruit peels, vegetable scraps? And I use it to make my own products. I have even tried using food waste or scraps for skin or hair care and the results are amazing. Read this list my favorite 10 zero-waste beauty DIYs I make from my kitchen ingredients for healthier skin and hair.

So many items from the kitchen can be used even for cleaning home. Read here how I use dry or over ripped lemon for cleaning the oven and microwave.

9. Repair and Mend

Since years I have been witnessing how UAE residents, buy new items if their old item is damaged or broken. Very rarely people take efforts to find a place to repair or mend their broken items. I agree it is difficult to find these repair shops or you really need to drive another end of the city to get it done which makes it inconvenient. But there are repair shops in UAE and you can get so many of your damaged items mended. For years I have been getting repairs done in UAE on items like shoes, bags, electronics, furniture, kitchen utensils, and home appliances.

The cost of repair is higher here, but that is because demand is low. If we increase the demand for such services, the cost of repair will go down. But first, we need to keep in mind that we need to invest in quality items. Let me share my experience, one leg of this solid wood side table from Pride of Kashmir came out after a few years of use. I tried to fix it at home, but it needed some special tools which I don’t have. Then I checked with the store manager and asked if they can fix it. Fortunately, the manager agreed and I got it repaired. I think the key is to ask first.

10. Cook at home

I don’t need to tell you the advantage of a fresh, homemade meal and how healthy it is. But food is one of the huge waste in the garbage bin of any household and we need to control food waste with high priority. Especially when half of the world faces hunger and malnutrition problem.

We generally have a day in the week before food shopping where we try to use up some leftover items to empty our fridge, we call it the empty fridge day. For example, once I left with these last few items in the fridge and made this yummy past out of it. But not all such ‘let’s empty fridge’ days are a success every time.

Generally worldwide when people talk about a sustainable lifestyle or Zero-waste lifestyle, many people talk about being vegan. Vegan is great for health and is really good for the planet in many countries. But when we talk about a country like the UAE where there is almost no source of natural drinking water and farmers are not necessarily using greywater for farming. Finding local or sustainable vegan food is very important otherwise you could actually overuse natural resources! Read this article about Understanding Sustainable Food for detailed information or our quick guide to sustainable eating.

To reduce food waste, I also grow my own food in a container garden. Like herbs and greens from scraps or seeds.

You can also pick your own harvest on the farm in UAE in winter months and make a zero-waste meal.

11. Compost

Compost is the ultimate solution for stopping organic or food waste going to landfill. But compost is useful in the UAE, only if you have your own garden. Sadly we don’t have a public compost system or no local farmers accept your compost. However, you can create your own DIY composting or use organic waste as fertilizers.

Many people who have their own garden, use Bokashi composting system and are happy with the results. But to make use of this big potential organic waste, we need waste to energy solutions like biogas, or municipal composting which could be even open to the public. That would be the most sustainable solution to organic food waste disposal in UAE. Here is our great guide to all things composting along with many different types of composting.

But most important is to reduce food waste. We have started a tradition of empty fridge day at home, which helped us reducing food waste significantly. Especially during the holy month of Ramadan, you need to provide attention to food waste, read here tips to reduce food waste.

12. Recycle

If you are taking all the above efforts, you will be still left with waste that would be a mainly recyclable waste. As I mentioned before you still can’t get some items without packaging in UAE. (Please share with me, if you find any place that offers these items package free). But you can recycle these plastic, glass bottles or tetra packs. Have a look at our guide to household waste recycling to know what is the right procedure to recycle different materials.

But remember there is a limitation on recycling these products. The plastic covers of bottles are not recycled, the plastic liner of the tetra pack might not be recycled. So it’s always better to reduce the consumption of such packaging. Better to buy in bulk to avoid the number of packages. Here is our UAE Recycling Guide.

13. Go Digital

By now most of us have ‘do not print’ quote added permanently to our email signature. But it’s not limited to printing or to office work. Opt for digital newspapers, magazines, newsletters, bank’s e-statements, e-receipts, e-tickets to reduce your paper waste. Sometimes I feel like we should even share our business cards digitally, why do we need printed cards? Just remember to de-clutter your digital life once in a while.

14. Eat out or Home Delivery

This is one of the biggest parts of UAE’s lifestyle. We can not blame anybody here. Long hot unbearable summer months, hectic work life, long working hours, long traffic ques when this all is routine, then we feel like giving ourselves a break on Thursday night and want to order food. Or eat on weekends to have a hassle-free relaxing time. But these things add up big waste!

I am not saying I am a saint and I don’t do these things. Guilty as charged, I order home delivery and eat out regularly. When I eat out I try to find restaurants and cafes who focus on reducing waste. Either in the form of reducing food waste or having sustainable table setting or providing as much sustainable food. I regularly get my coffee thermos filled with my choice of drink from cafes and refuse their paper or plastic cups. But people feel really weird if I ask them to pack our leftover food in my reusable lunch box. Sometimes the staff is not very uncomfortable with such a request and co-operates. But to avoid an awkward situation, we try to order food just as much as we need. I am also used to getting some funny comments from restaurant staff when I tell them not to bring a plastic straw with my drink. One of the restaurants even denied packing our leftover food, because I cut the portion into byte size for my son and he didn’t even touch it. I tried discussing food waste topics, but he threw a standard answer ‘our policy’ on my face.

But with a home delivery option, the food comes with a plastic bag, plastic cutlery, plastic containers, and all bad stuff! I have been telling people over the phone for years ‘please don’t send plastic cutlery with our order’ but apart from few orders, they ignore! I collect unused cutlery, paper napkins come with home delivery and use it somewhere, and even recycle them. But nowadays we try to order from places, where they send food in paper boxes and paper bags which we can recycle.

Definitely cooking at home resolves many problems but if we all consumers get wiser and increase the demand for sustainable or fewer waste practices. Maybe we can change existing home delivery, dining in practices, and enjoy these services guilt-free.

15. Stop wasting Natural Resources

If you do all the above and can’t stop wasting water, electricity, and fuel you can’t really adopt zero waste lifestyle. Here are simple ways to reduce the use of resources through small changes in lifestyle. For UAE specific tips read our guide to ways of green living in UAE and most importantly, use these handy tips to save water.

Lastly, here is our list of Zero Waste Video Tutorials with all tried and tested tips. Watch it and subscribe to our Youtube Channel as well.

Now, you have a practical guide to Go Zero Waste in UAE and beyond! You can also download a free mini-guide at the bottom of this post. Don’t forget to get more regular tips on Zero Waste UAE on Instagram here and join our Facebook community. Would like to know your thoughts and your experiences in reducing waste.