If you are interested in living a zero-waste lifestyle, you should know that it will extend to all areas of your life eventually. This includes your shopping habits, your diet, your social life, and even your hobbies, if you are diligent enough about it! If you’re looking to enjoy a fun hobby while also keeping your waste and environmental impact to a minimum, here are 5 fantastic pastimes to try out. The planet will thank you for it!

#1: Upcycling

This is an awesome hobby for the creative souls out there who love to dabble in DIY and arts and crafts. Upcycling is the process of repurposing items in a creative way by transforming them into something useful or beautiful. Some examples would be turning old glass jars into planters or chandeliers, or customizing old clothes to create stylish new pieces.

As well as being very fun and highly educational, upcycling is also understandably great for the environment. It allows you to give old items a new lease on life, which prevents them from going straight to the landfill while also being helpful to you. Check out upcycling blogs, Pinterest and other creative websites for some cool tutorials and ideas, or meet up with other upcyclers in your area to learn more about this earth-conscious hobby.

#2: Hiking and Trail Running

Hiking is an awesome environmentally-friendly hobby for a number of reasons. It helps you to fight off the symptoms of anxiety and stress, boost your creativity, and allows you to experience nature in all its glory without consuming or discarding a thing.

It’s extremely easy to enjoy zero-waste hikes and walks, too; simply bring your snacks and drinks in reusable containers and be sure to pack a towel, too. If you’re a beginner, find some short and easy trails close by to practice on, or take a friend along for company. Local hiking clubs are also a very popular option.

#3: Gardening and Permaculture

Aside from online bingo UK, gardening is one of the best hobbies you can have if you are truly passionate about going zero-waste. By composting and creating your own fertilizers, you can maintain complete control over your food waste, and the feeling of having grown your own veggies is unbeatable as well.

Gardening has been shown to be extremely good for you, helping to banish stress and mental health issues, and it’s also wonderful for the planet. Your plants will absorb carbon emissions from the atmosphere and help to keep the air clean, while also adding nitrogen back into the soil to support a healthy ecosystem from every angle. Bees, birds and insects also love a lush, green garden!

#4: Bee-keeping

This is obviously not one for the novices out there, but it still deserves a spot on the list! With global bee populations declining rapidly, these fuzzy helpers need every bit of help they can get. Even celebs like Morgan Freeman have turned to bee-keeping to help preserve their populations, and you can help too with the right equipment.

If you do choose to keep an apiary, you will never run short of a delicious supply of fresh honey, and you can also rest easy at night knowing that you are doing your part to save an insect that is crucial to the environment and humanity alike.

#5: Cooking and Baking

Food prep and regular cooking are essential parts of any low-waste lifestyle, so you might as well get stuck in! Cooking your own food gives you as much control as possible over what goes into your body and how much waste you generate, and it also allows you to make solid environmental choices when buying your ingredients. Keep a lookout for products that are non-GMO, fair trade, organic, cruelty free, pastured or vegan. You can also explore dozens of different cultures and cuisines as you go!