Living Zero Waste for Ten Days

Benefits and Drawbacks of Social Influence while Living Zero Waste

By Madeline Medine 

This week, I started a ten-day venture into zero waste living as an assignment for my Psychology of Sustainability class. Any trash waste that I produce, I plan to carry around with me in a mason jar for the project's duration. My motivation for completing this zero waste project is to see--in somewhat measurable terms--how unsustainably I live, and hopefully institute change following its conclusion. However, I have already noticed other external motivators that have pushed me to reduce my waste; some of them worry me when I consider my long-term plans to continue living a low waste lifestyle. 

Though I do not want to discount my intrinsic motivations for this project, a major reason why I have been entirely successful--with no trash whatsoever in the first few days-- is because I am subject to the social influence of my classmates. Because I am aware of their participation in an identical project, I know that some of my actions are a result of strategic self-presentation. At home, I have a few open bags of cheese and

bread that I am afraid will expire or mold before the end of this project. I know that it is counterproductive to waste food by not eating it until the end of the project (to avoid carrying the plastic around with me) but I also know that if I do finish the foods and carry around the plastic, it will be a source of shame and embarrassment--like I have failed the project. I dread the several upcoming days when I know the pristine condition of my empty prego jar will inevitably be sullied. The trash has already been produced, so I will be (metaphorically) carrying it with me regardless of what I choose to do, but I notice that I wrestle with the inconsequential decision of whether to carry the trash in my mason jar just as much as I wrestle with the actual damage that producing trash does. 

The power that social influence has on my ability to maintain a sustainable lifestyle both excites me and worries me. It does assure me that social and injunctive norms, if sustainable, can positively affect the world without requiring every person to be enthusiastic about sustainability. If the fear of being frowned upon is the only reason people choose to act sustainably, we clearly have not made the necessary foundational changes in addressing our relationship to the Earth and how we view our planet. I see this in myself, and I hope to further address how I can shift my motivations to be more intrinsic rather than extrinsic.