By Eve Bell

Today is International Zero Waste Day.

Right now, we’re using the resources of 1.75 Earths every year.
Earth Overshoot Day gets earlier every single year.
We’re borrowing from the future just to get through the present.

I spent 15 years building a business that helped parents reduce waste.
I thought reusing was the answer.
But over time, I realised it wasn’t enough.

The answer lies upstream. Like most solutions do.

Our waste problem begins with wasted time.

We waste time in ways we don’t even notice.
Scrolling. Numbing. Shopping.
Trying to fill something we can’t quite name.

Time is non-renewable. When we waste it, we waste everything.

And that waste flows downstream.
Into our homes, our habits, our bins.

Valuing time begins with connection.
Connection to purpose.
To knowing what you bring to the world.

When we live with purpose, we move differently.
There’s less chasing. Less filling. Less throwing away.

Not because we’re trying to be better.
But because we’re more connected.
More aware of what matters. And what doesn’t.

We don’t just need better recycling.
We need more connection.

Sometimes, the most powerful form of environmental activism
is simply finding what you’re here for.