Local resident starts initiative encouraging people to live zero waste lifestyle

Written By JULIA LLOYD

Nancy Lotecki-Neely wants to inspire people to live a simpler, more sustainable lifestyle. 

This past Saturday (July 27) a workshop was held at the Caledon East Community Complex at 10 a.m., for anyone who wanted to learn how to minimize their waste and plastic use, as well as their impact on the environment. 

“Like many people, I've always tried to do my part for the environment. I work in public health and in late 2017, I switched to a new position that focused on the environment and climate change,” said Lotecki-Neely. 

Upon beginning her new position, Lotecki-Neely started understanding the issues around climate change and learning about the impact humans have on the environment. She began reading about people who had gone “zero waste” and produced only one jar of garbage a year. 

Lotecki-Neely founded Zero Waste Caledon at the start of 2019. She set up a Facebook page and posts regularly about ways people can reduce their waste. As well, she is working on setting up a website and blog. 

The workshops are run by Lotecki-Neely and help educate people about zero waste and how to live waste free. Another workshop will be held in Orangeville on August 24 and in Inglewood on September 21. She hopes to host more workshops later in the fall. 

“I've done some guest speaking and participated in other workshops as well, such as the EcoCaledon Environmental Community Workshop.” Said Lotecki-Neely.  “I've been invited to be part of a Zero Waste Panel at the upcoming Zero Waste Festival on August 10 in Guelph, organized by the Guelph Tool Library and I'll be involved in Food Summit this fall, organized by EcoCaledon.” 

At the workshops, Lotecki-Neely covers ways to consume less and shop package free. She demonstrates how to make dishwasher tabs and how to wrap gifts using fabric. 

At the workshop she showed residents how to make and use: DIY dryer balls, DIY dishes tabs, reusable snack bag, class jar of toothpaste and floss, bamboo toothbrush, mason jars of dried goods, reusable grocery bags, gifts wrapped in fabric, solid shampoo and bulk conditioner, glass container of meat and cheese, beeswax wraps and soap nuts for laundry. 

“My goal for 2019, is to create only one mason jar of garbage and to reduce my recycling and plastic use,” said Lotecki-Neely. 

One of the things Lotecki-Neely did to help promote her initiative was to challenge herself and other residents to be plastic free for a month. This July, she made her own deodorant by using an old deodorant container and a DIY natural deodorant recipe. 

When it comes to the environment, said Lotecki-Neely, there are three big issues that drive climate change: burning of fossil fuels, clearing of lands and land-use and human consumption and waste. 

The average Canadian produces about five pounds of garbage per day. Waste incineration contributes to air pollution, landfills are a source of greenhouse gases and plastics are contaminating our oceans.