After completing a one-week zero waste challenge, it was obvious that achieving zero waste in our everyday lives is very hard to do. Key takeaways for us (in order of priority) are to reduce what we consume overall, compost as much as possible, find alternatives that are reusable and recyclable. Here are some of our findings from the week and the immediate changes we can make. Whenever and wherever possible: 1) use reusable coffee mugs for buying coffee-to-go, 2) carry a hanker-chief for drying clean, wet hands, 3) use reusable bags for shopping and storing food, 4) buy from the bulk food section whenever possible, 5) shop at farmers markets to eat more fresh, whole foods, 6) use a soda stream for carbonated water and other beverages, and 7) buy refillable beer growlers. We hope our small changes continue to grow into large scale changes for ourselves and others. Now it’s your turn. We challenge you to find ways to minimize waste and reduce your carbon footprint. Go!