Zero waste a 'lifestyle change' for Saskatoon family

If there's one thing that Saskatoon's Zdunich family wants people to understand about their decision to reduce their waste to nothing, it's that they are in it for the long haul.

"We decided it wasn't going to be a challenge for us; it was going to be a lifestyle change," Katie Zdunich told CBC Radio's Saskatoon Morning.

"We are a team in this house so we are just going to try and do it the rest of our lives."

Vancouver couple inspired change

It was about a year ago that the Zdunich family — Katie, her husband and their one-and-a-half-year-old daughter — was first inspired to make this change after watching a documentary called The Clean Bin Project. It features a Vancouver couple who get involved in a head-to-head competition to see who can produce the least of amount of garbage.

The first step the Zdunichs took was to set up a compost bin, and vowed to stop throwing so much food away. Those simple changes made a big difference in the amount of gabage the family generated.

Zdunich also went to work finding recipes to make the family's soap, lotions and toothpaste.

"It's actually really easy. People can just Google it and they would be shocked," she said.

Bring your mason jars 

The family also shops with mason jars and various other containers at the ready, opting for the bulk bins, while shunning the highly processed and heavily packaged middle aisles at the grocery store. Plus, they've adopted an anti-consumerism philosophy.

"We don't buy new. We go to second-hand stores and we just use what we already have," said Zdunich.

Zdunich isn't sure how much money the family is saving, but she does know their example is inspiring others to make changes and reduce the garbage they produce. Zdunich's husband, a teacher, has also made his classroom into a zero waste zone.

"It's pretty amazing to see Grade 8 students get on board with it and then talk to their family about it and create change in their own homes."