Zero- Waste Life Isn't Wishful Thinking

HANNAH SARTIN rarely dumps a plastic wrapper or paper ball as trash. At 32, she owns Munich's first zero-waste shop and has published a book that offers tips on a sustainable lifestyle. MARKUS WANZECK meets her on a cool, hazy morning over coffee where she surprises him by pulling out a steel cup from her bag to take away her cappuccino.

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What makes your shop different from others?

Unlike other grocery shops in Germany, where you find cereals, corn, nuts or pasta in packets, we keep them in glass dispensers. Besides bringing their own cotton bags, customers carry their own cases or boxes for weighing the goods. The same goes for fruits and vegetables. Since shampoos come in plastic bottles, we choose to sell hair soaps. Milk and milk products like yoghurt as well as cooking and baking oil products are sold in glass bottles that can be returned for a refund.

What gave you this idea?

It is hard to lead a life without garbage. I remember when I first took my own cotton bag and box to our favourite organic shop, the vendor at the bread counter praised me enthusiastically, but people at the cheese counter said that I am not allowed to use my own box, for hygiene reasons. So, I just bought the bread and a few vegetables. Overcoming these daily hardships was my main motivation to open the shop. A lot of our friends told us how much they wanted to pursue a lifestyle like ours but could not imagine coping with all the hassles involved. So, we started a crowdfunding initiative to raise funds for our shop, and people lent us more than €50,000! We opened the shop in February 2016.

In Germany, there is a system of waste separation. Plastic packaging, for example, is collected and recycled. It becomes a raw material for new products. So, why despise waste?