Going Low Waste with Julie Fathy: Simple Steps for a Sustainable Life

Fifteen years ago, Julie Fathy and her family set out on a mission to drastically reduce their garbage waste. Since then, she has fully embraced the low waste lifestyle and developed a platform to encourage others to follow in her footsteps to eliminate waste from their own lives.

On January 16, Fathy spoke to customers and co-operators at the Bozeman Community Food Co-op’s first ever Gather & Grow speaker event to share her experiences and give tips on how anyone can incorporate low waste techniques into their life.

According to Fathy, there are multiple layers of benefit you can receive from adopting a low waste lifestyle. On the surface, low waste living will leave you with less trash and clutter to navigate in your everyday life. Between Fathy, her husband, and her youngest child, only one small wastebin of garbage (or less) is produced each week.

To begin reducing your weekly waste, Fathy recommends conducting an “informal trash audit” to identify the types of waste you typically produce. After identifying the sources of your waste, you can begin reducing your output by switching to low waste alternatives like reduced-packaging and bulk products.

In the grocery store, waste can be reduced by using cloth bags for groceries, produce, bulk items, and bread; and using jars or bottles for harder-to-contain products like honey, peanut butter, olive oil, or shampoo. To avoid purchasing new items and generating new waste, Fathy recommends using containers you already have around your home or asking friends for old containers they might not be using anymore.

If you must buy new bags, “make sure they are 100% natural fibers. You can compost natural fibers at the end of their life. Synthetic fibers must go to the landfill,” Fathy says. When outright reducing waste is not an option, Fathy suggests prioritizing locally and sustainably grown foods.

Beyond simply reducing your waste, a low waste lifestyle can include learning new skills that increase your connection with the natural world like sewing and mending, making the most of veggie waste though creative cooking and composing, and finding community in likeminded individuals who want to exchange new tips and tricks for low waste living.

Fathy believes it is important to understand the full story of your food to understand the deeper layers of how you can reduce your waste. This can be done by seeking answers to questions like, “who grew it; where and how was it grown/raised; how far has it traveled; what resources were needed to grow it and bring it to your table; how does it nourish your body?”

If you are already committed to living a low waste life and are looking to bring family and friends into your lifestyle, Fathy suggests taking “a gentle and kind approach in your encouragement.” Developing a low waste lifestyle can be slow work, and pushing others too much can lead to resistance.

Ultimately, Fathy believes each person’s journey should be unique to their own “lifestyle, interests, and talents.” There is no one way to reduce your waste. “Remember to give yourself some grace; perfection is not realistic, but we can all do better.”