It’s been a while since I wrote about my personal sustainability path. There was not much to update about. Or rather, nothing I was happy to report about. Thus, things changed, but for the negative. Trying to live a sustainable life and moving a lot, you see how much of what is possible is influenced, if not determined, by the environment.
Within the Netherlands, I moved two times. There was a substantial difference between the places I lived. In the region around Wageningen, I had to use the car to get to the climbing and boulder gym as there was none in my town. I could have given up my hobby, but I did not want to go that far. Thus, twice a week I had to use my car for a 30-minute drive (one direction). Another downside was that I could not separate my waste. In general, people had access to recycling bins. However, I lived above a bike store, which was very handy in some situations. Though, one of the downsides was that only had access to company waste collection. That meant that all waste was thrown into one big bin. I was told that the waste is sorted at a later stage. I have no idea if this is true and to what degree. The only recycling bin I had access to was the glass containers. I did not have access to an organic waste bin. That was partly solved by my worm hotel. Though, I usually have more organic waste than the worms can consume. Therefore, I had to throw away some of my organic waste. Getting rid of my waste always meant dealing with cognitive dissonance. I felt very happy whenever I could at least put the glass in the right container. I could observe psychology working. I think if I’d stayed there much longer, I would have had to abandon some of my core values or find some narrative to deal with the cognitive dissonance. This, to me, was a clear example of wanting to do things differently but being unable to do so.
On the positive side is that I became a member of a cooperative organic supermarket, I continued to bike to work, continued to eat organic and vegan, and continued trying to reduce my plastic consumption.
Plastic consumption was, for a long time, a big point on my list of potential improvements. I was stuck with this one. I had no zero-waste store in my surroundings. While living in Den Haag, I experimented with delivery from a zero-waste store, but the costs were too high. Around Wageningen, I still had no zero-waste option. The main plastic waste source in my household is food. I have a wood/bamboo toothbrush, my toothpaste comes in a glass container, I use solid soaps, etc. I experiment with alternative cleaning products so that I can reuse the bottles. So, it is rather easy to reduce plastic consumption in the bathroom. However, reducing plastic use regarding food consumption seemed impossible.
These times might be over (at least for the time I reside in Antwerp). Searching for organic supermarkets, I found The Barn, a zero-waste shop. They offer vegetables and fruits without packaging. But what fills me even more with joy is their assortment of staple foods without packaging! I get tofu shreds, gluten-free pasta, nuts, dried fruits, nuts, salt, oats, etc. I can even buy soda for cleaning! I do not get everything there, but much of my staples are covered by the shop. Other stores also offer some zero-waste options (Robuust, natuurhuis, bioplanet). But the Barn is so far the best option. How privileged I am to have options! This is another clear example of the effect of structures on behavior. I wanted to reduce my plastic consumption, but so far, it has been difficult. Because my environment changed, I could take action I earlier was unable to take.
There is a big supermarket chain I can get organic food from. However, I also thought about supporting local farmers. Several farmers offer vegetable boxes. While this is a good concept, I prefer to choose my food. Furthermore, most boxes can only be picked up on Wednesday. I am a food prepper, so I need to get my food on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. Like this, I can prepare my food on the weekend. Hence, the boxes offered do not work for me. Though, there is a farmers market on Sunday where I can get organic food. Buying food only on Sunday is a little challenging. It does not give me much time to prepare my food for the week. Also, I need to know on time what other things I need for my meals, as the other supermarkets are closed. Usually, I stand in the veg section, looking at all the vegetables and thinking about what I could cook. Based on this, I buy other ingredients I need. Obviously, if I go to the farmers market on Sunday, I have to adapt my strategy. I also go boulding on Sundays, which makes going shopping on Sundays more difficult from a logistic perspective.
Nevertheless, I am determined to make this work. Thus, I changed my schedule. I think I will still implement further changes to optimize my time investments. Accordingly, I need to invest more in planning. But it works. I guess what I am doing there might be too much for many people. It is quite an effort I put into purchasing sustainably. It would be less effort if I just went to the organic supermarket and did not diversify over several markets and shops to reduce my footprint.
To get my food, I do not only have to invest more time in planning, but also more time in biking. That is another thing that changed. I have to bike much more because the distances are bigger. Luckily, I have an e-bike. Nevertheless, I feel the difference… My commute is also not as nice as it was before. Antwerp is quite a busy city, and I do miss seeing cows, horses, and flowers on my commute. In any case, I stick to the bike. In a busy city, such as Antwerp, that is anyway the only reasonable option. I guess if the distance between work and home were even bigger, I would get a pedelec (goes up to 45km/h). For now, the e-bike suffices.
I also do not have to take the car to get to the sports facilities. There is an awesome climbing gym outside the city. Though I can also go to one that is in the city. It takes me about 30 minutes by bike to get there. But it is doable, and the gym is lovely . I can also select from two different boulder gyms within the city. I also have to bike between 20 and 30 minutes to get there. Thus, overall, I am currently biking a lot more than I did before.
I also again have access to recycling bins. I am privileged to use these fancy underground waste bins (I know, it is probably not special, but to me, these underground bins are such a clever invention).
I now live in a bigger apartment, which is bad for my footprint. On the plus-side: it is a new building that is well-insulated. Furthermore, the apartment has a heat pump. Thus, no gas. Still electricity. And I tried to go for a sustainable supplier. I think there are debates by the owners about installing solar PVs on the roof.
Overall, since I moved to Antwerp, I could improve serval things! I use my car less, consume less plastic, separate my waste again, and support a local farmer. I am really happy with these improvements! I know that the experience I have is very limited. Life circumstances are different for everyone. From my perspective, though, I would argue that Antwerp provides a good basis for people to adopt a behavior supporting sustainability.
In my research, I started to focus more on justice issues. Clearly, what I do now might not be possible for people with different socioeconomic backgrounds. A sustainable lifestyle must not be something determined by socio-economics! I guess this is something I can and should address in future blog posts.
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