How NOT to Go Zero Waste: 10 Sustainable Living Mistakes to Avoid
When I first tried to going zero waste, I did what a lot of people do — I overcomplicated it and tried to do everything, all at once. Looking back, I can see all the sustainable living mistakes I’ve made along the way, most around obsessing over plastic. There were times I even worried the climate crisis was too big for me to make a difference. It didn’t take long to realize that this version of sustainable living wasn’t actually sustainable for me.
Over the years, I’ve learned that living a little greener isn’t about perfection. Instead, it’s about finding what works in your real life and letting it evolve. Here are ten common mistakes that many of us (myself included) fall into when trying to live with less waste. From buying all the “eco” swaps to chasing zero waste perfection, these are lessons learned the hard way. And hopefully, a gentle reminder to give yourself a little grace along the way.
Prefer to listen instead? In this episode of the Sustainable in the Suburbs podcast, I’m reflecting on more than 20 years of trying to live a little greener —and the sustainable living mistakes I’ve made (and learned from) along the way. It’s an honest look at how sustainability shifts over time and why progress matters more than perfection.
10 Sustainable Livings Mistakes to Avoid
1. Start Small — You Don’t Have to Change Everything at Once
When you first get excited about living more sustainably, it’s tempting to want to do everything all at once. But going slowly is the best way to ensure that you are using up what you already have while building new habits.
Trying to overhaul everything at once can be overwhelming, and you’re likely to meet a little resistance along the way. So much of what we buy, use, and do is tied to comfort and convenience — and that’s okay.
Start small. Focus on one corner of your home or one daily routine at a time. It’s much easier to build new rhythms when you give yourself room to adjust instead of trying to flip a switch overnight.
Real sustainable living happens through small, doable shifts — not the all-or-nothing approach.
2. Keep Using the Plastic You Already Own
When you first start paying attention to plastic, it can feel overwhelming — because suddenly you see it everywhere. But here’s the thing: plastic itself isn’t the enemy. It’s our culture of overuse and disposability that’s the real problem.
Resist the impulse to throw away perfectly good plastic items that have a lot of life left in them! Reusing what you already have is one of the most sustainable things you can do. That zero waste aesthetic — all bamboo and matching glass jars — looks great online, but in real life, the most eco-friendly container is the one you already own.
Keep using your plastic items until they’re truly worn out, and then look for the most responsible way to recycle or repurpose them. The goal isn’t to live without plastic entirely — it’s to use it wisely and keep it out of the landfill for as long as possible.
3. You Don’t Need Every ‘Sustainable Swap’
Beautiful items are nice, but buying things you don’t need to replace perfectly good things you already own defeats the purpose. If you didn’t need it before, it’s probably not “essential” now.
There are a million eco swaps out there, and a million questions to go with each one. It takes time (and a bit of trial and error) to figure out what you’ll actually use and what fits your lifestyle. Some swaps really do make life easier and can even save you money over time .
As you use up what you already have, think about where a swap might genuinely help. Research which companies you want to support, and make changes slowly. The goal isn’t for it to look pretty, but to build sustainable habits that actually stick.
4. Avoid Getting Stuck on Plastic Packaging
Bulk sections, refill shops, and farmers markets are great for reducing your household waste — if you have access to them. But many people don’t, and that’s okay. Driving across town just to skip a bit of plastic packaging isn’t sustainable for you or the planet.
Make the best choices you can with what’s available to you. Worrying about fruit stickers, elastic bands, thrift-store tags, or the blister packs from your allergy meds? That’s missing the forest for the trees. Focus on what makes the biggest impact — buying less overall, choosing local when you can, and supporting companies working to reduce plastic waste upstream. For example, a bag of locally grown carrots wrapped in plastic is still a more sustainable choice than imported, package-free ones shipped halfway across the world.
Getting to know your household waste — the garbage, recycling, and compost — is a great place to start, but it’s just the beginning. Keep looking for the small, meaningful shifts that fit your life and make sense where you live.
5. You Don’t Have to DIY Everything
DIY swaps can be wonderful — you can tailor things to your needs, learn new skills, and sometimes even save money. But it’s simply not possible (or realistic) to make everything yourself. Time is a resource too, and not everyone has the same amount of it.
There are incredible makers, small businesses, and ethical companies creating products with care — from sourdough to deodorant and everything in between. If you’re looking for inspiration, check out my directory of Sustainable Canadian Brands. Prioritizing shopping a local, small businesses is a powerful way to build a more sustainable, resilient, and fair economy right where you live.
Because sustainability isn’t about doing it all yourself — it’s about supporting the people and communities who are doing it alongside you.
6. Let Go of the Idea of Perfection in Sustainable Living
Nobody is truly zero waste — nobody. We live in a linear economy, and the systems around us simply aren’t built for waste-free living. There will always be things you can’t avoid, whether because of where you live, your budget, your time, or your health.
Access to bulk stores, refill shops, and farmers’ markets is uneven at best — and that’s okay. Sustainable living looks different for everyone.
Your version won’t look like a curated social-media feed, and it shouldn’t have to. Real sustainability is about what works for you, in your real life, with your real circumstances. That’s not failure — that’s what makes it sustainable.
7. Lead by Example, Not Preaching
This might seem strange coming from someone who writes about this kind of thing, but hear me out. Share your journey, lead by example, and engage outside your bubble when possible — but avoid trying to convince everyone. It tends to turn people off.
Shame, fear, and criticism simply aren’t effective ways of motivating people to examine their choices. Similarly, announcing sweeping changes to the household is likely to be met with resistance. Focus on your personal habits and waste first, then move on to common items one at a time with family input.
The goal is to be approachable enough that people feel like they can ask questions and join you. Remember that real change starts with conversations.
8. None of Us Are Experts at Everything
Sustainability is an enormous topic — and there will always be more to learn. Simple swaps and recycling statistics are just the tip of the iceberg.
The truth is, the waste problem and the climate crisis are rooted in centuries of injustice — colonialism, racism, exploitation, and profit being valued over people and the planet. These systems are deeply intertwined, and none of us can address them all in the same way.
It’s so important to notice whose voices are — and aren’t — being heard when we talk about sustainable solutions. Environmentalism has to be intersectional if we want it to be truly effective and just.
We each have our own skills, access, and capacity to contribute to the bigger picture. There’s no single “right” way to do this work — and that’s exactly how it should be.
9. Turn Guilt Into Action, Not Apathy
It’s so easy to feel guilty about the choices we’ve made in the past — but remember, when we know better, we do better. And even then, we’ll still make mistakes.
We’re living in a throwaway society, and opting out of that can bring up a lot of feelings. Guilt, frustration, even exhaustion — they’re all part of the process. But those feelings don’t have to weigh you down or defeat you.
Take a breath, look at what’s in front of you, and let that awareness guide you toward something better. Sustainable living isn’t about being perfect — it’s about paying attention, learning, and acting with care.
Feeling guilty is only natural, but let it move you toward action, not apathy.
10. Find Your People — Sustainability Is About Community
You may feel like you’re the only one in your area trying to live more sustainably, but chances are, you just need to find your people.
When I first moved to my town, I joined a local birding group. I knew nothing about birds — I just loved nature and wanted to help. Many years later, I have friends of all ages from that group and know a good deal about local wildlife now too.
An online community is amazing (and necessary), but a local, eco-minded community is where real change can take hold. Search for local groups online, ask at the library, go to a town council meeting, volunteer, or join the community garden.
And if those things don’t exist? Start one!
Living a little greener isn’t about doing everything perfectly — it’s about doing what you can, where you are, with what you have. Sustainable living works best when it fits your real life. The goal isn’t to own every “eco” product or to produce zero waste; it’s to keep learning, adapting, and making thoughtful choices that add up over time.
If you ever feel stuck or unsure, take a step back and notice how far you’ve come. Every small shift matters — and the more we each do, the stronger our collective impact becomes.
What do you wish you knew when you started out? And if you are just starting out, leave your questions below!
a beginner’s guide to a zero waste kitchen (e-book)
The kitchen is the heart of the home – it is also the largest source of our household waste! Focused on saving money, reducing packaging, and preventing food waste, this digital workbook is a beginner’s guide to a zero waste kitchen.
Ready to start your sustainable living journey?
When I read my first zero waste book, I completely dismissed the entire movement because it was clear I couldn’t do even half the suggestions while living on a low income in the Midwest! I wish I’d run into the more inclusive/intersectional bloggers first; I wish I could’ve started with the larger perspective rather than getting there a roundabout way. So thank you for blogging with this larger perspective in mind!
Tbh, I had a similar feeling Lisa! At the time, there were zero refill options around us and we have such a short window here for local produce and farmers markets. I still tried it though, and it was not a useful exercise for me. There are so many others things to work on besides packaging that have tremendous value for climate action. Thanks so much for reading <3
Thank you so much for this post! I wish I had come across this sooner. The “DON’T”s above are exactly what I have been doing ever since I was into sustainability, which is about almost a year ago… I realise that throughout the year, I’d been having the literal ‘zero waste’ mindset, “in physical sense”, and feel absolutely guilty about every waste I produce, being nit-picky about waste and environmental concerns at the small scale.
I would love to say that this mindset of mine has significantly improved ever since I’d taken a trip with my family to New Zealand last month. There, they were also really focused on environmental concerns, such as plastic waste, nature and biodiversity loss, and human impacts. They had really strict measures, more so than the other countries we’d visited (maybe except Australia). Perhaps because they were a farming country.
Once, I even had the opportunity to take a sneak peek at their recycling bins/centres (in truth, we made a detour there to dispose of our waste as we were told to clear them by the owner of the AirB&B. Not so pretty experience sharing a space with the trash bag in the car after all…). There were these large bins separated into the different types of recyclables in which you sort your recyclables — washed and clean. There were the staffs working behind, ensuring that the recyclables / trash were sorted properly etc. This struck me as a little strange, yet somehow endearing (if that’s the word for it, Idk). In New Zealand, the locals were really laid back compared to us Asians, and yet they were willing to do their job well. It could be their job, but to do something well, you must really care about it, don’t you?
After some time observing, I realised that the locals had a really sustainable mindset too, at least the ones whom we viewed from our car window, and they were unlike the locals in my country. Here, we do not have different bins where we can sort our wastes / recyclables, which is a rather pitiful and sad thing, in my opinion.
As we drove on, I thought that the country really was inculcated with this mindset of environmental sustainability, and I thought it would be incredibly beautiful if every individual on Planet Earth (including the astronauts at the space stations floating out there) actually stop to think how beautiful the universe would be if we all played a part to ‘save the world’. But of course, such a rose-tinted vision could only come true in fantasies, and wouldn’t miraculously play out when we all sit in our rooms, daydreaming or staring at our glowing screens. And this was the assumption I had made as I thought that I was the only person in the world who cared (which isn’t true).
Framed by the windows, as I continued pondering, the majestic rolling hills of farmlands and the towering clumps of trees going by like motion pictures in fast forward, a sudden thought flashed in my mind’s eye—the world doesn’t really ever slow down, and reality was falling short to my ideals, like a missed target. I was starting to get disappointed with my non-existent nemeses, and catastrophising the end of humanity and the world, and how my life was going down the drain when I had barely started secondary school. It was as if I was the arrow that had missed the target, and thus spiralling downwards into the hollows depths of my mind.
I started venting to my mother how our country hadn’t replaced the plastic packaging with paper products and things like that when we went to the supermarket afterwards.
Back to my home country, during a research for my project, I realised that we have really good waste management systems, and how far we’ve come in ensuring sustainability. I found out what we’ve done, are doing, and are aspiring to become.
Through this whole experience, I realised that to truly help, we shan’t have tunnel vision on one minor aspect, forgoing the rest, the major aspects of environmental sustainability, to look at the bigger picture and find what you’ve done, or can do, as a pebble in the vast ocean, like how the little red dot has done in the scale of the world. Even so, like this post mentioned, we’ve just scraped the “tip of the iceberg”. So a mental note, to stop drowning yourself in apathy and guilt, but fire those emotions and thoughts into doing something worthwhile and bringing some meaning to your life, one action, one ripple at a time.
I just realised, I’m 13 hours ahead of the timing of the comment.