Zero (plastic) waste workshop

It was an interactive and inspiring workshop. The professional Nila Patty guided us through the universe of life without plastic and the way of living zero- or low waste.

The workshop started with a short, informative talk about the origin, use and cycle, of plastic. The speech had an interactive character. For example, Nila made several statements to the group and asked us after each statement whether we agreed or disagreed, and why. For the duration of the workshop, we could ask her anything. All regarded questions were answered truthfully and comprehensively explained. Where to buy pasta? Where to buy milk? How about the plastic you consume indirectly when you, for example, go out to dinner?

Although all we learnt is too much to reiterate, here are a few take home lessons:

• When you buy a product covered in plastic, you do not only pay for the product but for the plastic cover as well. So when you park your PMD container at the road for the garbage collectors at the end of the week, the container is basically stuffed with products you paid for.
• Treat plastic like a diamond. Both are blessed with a long life and won’t whither fast. When you lose a diamond, you will pity that, as it is of great value and will not pass into dust for the next decade. When you lose plastic, you might not pity it in the same way but it will also not pass into dust for at least a decade.
• Remember that plastic is only one of the products we make from crude oil. As long as we need petrol, kerosene, asphalt, and such, we might as well make use of the by product to create plastics.

After the talk, we went to work. Nila presented several creative ideas on-screen on how to transform your plastic bottle. The transformative ideas varied from a plant holder to a piggy bank. Nila inspired and motivated us to start our own low-waste journey, step by step. Very inspirational!