TheBulkHouseisthefirstzero-wasteshopintheChinesemainland.Allofitsgoodsarereusableanddegradable.courtesyofYuYuan
InthethreemonthsafterYuandherboyfriendJoeHarveybeganpracticingthezero-wastelifestyle,thecouplemanagedtolimittheirwastetoonlytwosmallglassjars.ThetwojarsaredisplayedintheBulkHousetoinspiremorepeopletojointhem.courtesyofYuYuanLiningbothsidesofGulouAvenueinBeijingarevariousboutiqueshopsattractingtouristsandlocalpassersbyalike.Amongthem,onesmallshopstandsout,withabiggreensignreading:“TheBulkHouse:ZeroWaste,PackageFree,Reusable,Natural.”
“Whatdoyousell?”“Areallyourproductsmadeofrecycledmaterials?”“Whatdoes‘zerowaste’mean?”Theseareamongthequestionsthattheshopkeepershearmostoften.TheownerandfounderofBulkHouse,YuYuan,amillennialfromWuhanincentralChina,isalwayshappytoanswerthemaspartofamini“environmentalprotectioncampaign.”
“ZerowasteisstillanewandnicheconceptintheChinesemainland,”Yuadmits.“Ihopemyeffortswillhelpmorepeoplegettoknowandembracetheidea.”
AchievingZeroWaste
Inearly2016,ahurriedresidentialmovemadeYurealizetheimportanceofreducingherpurchasing.Shebeganto“dosubtraction”inherdailylifeandponderedoverthekindoflifeshereallywanted.Sixmonthslater,shechanceduponsomeTEDtalkvideosfeaturingBeaJohnson,founderofZeroWasteHome,andwasgreatlyimpressedby,aswellasattractedto,thelifestyle.
“Herfamilyoffourproducesjustoneglassjarofrubbishinanentireyear!”Yuexclaims.“Abrandnewlifestyle,zerowastesavestimeandmoneyandmakestheparticipantshappier.”
BeaJohnson’sstoryinspiredYutocompletelyabandonherformerlifestyleofheavyconsumerism.Soon,YuandherBritishboyfriendJoeHarveybegantotrythezero-wastelifestyleandclassifytheirgarbage.Overthenextthreemonths,thecouplemanagedtoproduceonlytwosmallglassjarsofhouseholdwaste.
“Onlywhenyourealizethecontentsofyourhouseholdwastewillyoureducetheproductionofgarbagefromthesource,”saysYu.
OnDecember21,2017,ataninvitationfromYu,BeaJohnsonhostedherveryfirstsharingworkshopintheChinesemainland.“Atfirst,Iwasafraidnoonewouldcome,buttheticketsendedupsellingoutquickly,andwefit140inavenuethatseatedonly100,”recallsYu.Conjuringupthesceneremainsexcitingforher.“Iwasgreatlyencouraged.Idecidedthatifsomanypeoplecareaboutenvironmentalprotection,Ihavetokeepgoing.IknewIwantedtoopenazero-wasteshoptopasstheideaontomorepeople.”
AshopperintheBulkHouse.Theshopsellsvariousgoodsfordailyusethataremadeofmaterialssuchasstainlesssteel,woodandorganiccotton.byLilia
EveryEffortCounts
Thoughherstorefrontremainssmall,BulkHouseattractsalargevolumeofcustomers.Somehavebecomeregulars,includingforeigners,andotherstravelfromothercitiesjusttovisittheshop.
Thestore’sshelvesarefilledwithtoothbrushesmadeofhorsehairbristlesandbamboo,strawsandothertablewaremadeofstainlesssteel,handmadesoapsandessentialoilmadeofplants,preservativefilmmadeofbeeswax,clothbagsandnetbagsmadeofpurecotton,creativeproductsmadeofrecycleditemsandmore.Allofthesegoodsarereusableandpollution-free.BulkHousealsosellsunpackedshampooandwashingpowdersmadefromChinesehoneylocust,whicharesoldbyweight.Customersareencouragedtobringtheirowncontainersorbags.
Hangingnexttothewallsareuniqueandfreshlyrenovatedclothes,andanareaisdesignatedforCDandDVDexchange.Attheentranceisarecyclingstationwherepeoplecandropoffunneededitemsortakewhatevertheyneedforfree.Emptybottlesandjarscanalsobesenttotheshopfortransporttorecyclingcompanies.
TheonlyfoodorbeverageservedisJaneGoodall’sfairtradecoffee.Fairtrademeansthatworkersarepaidfairwageswithoutexploitationoroppression.Otherhandmadegoodsintheshoparealsocertifiedfairtrade.Yuhopestohelpmorepeoplewhilecontributingtoabetterenvironment.
Inacorneroftheshopstandsaglasscylinderfilledwithplastictapecollectedfrompackagingmaterials.“Theyhavenorecyclingvalueanddon’tbiodegradesowekeeptheminthecylinder,”Yuexplains.“Thatistherealgarbage.”Toavoidcontributingmoretothecollection,Yuusesbiodegradablepapertapemadefromcornsyrupthatbecomesstickywhenwet.
Intheshop,theconceptofzerowastecanbeseenineverydetail.
“Thepaceoflifeisbecomingfasterandfasternowadays,andweneedapausetoponderovertheimportanceoftheenvironment,”Yusays.“Emergingproblemssuchassmogcausedbygasemissionsandplasticpollutionallmakethesituationworse.Wehavetochange.”
“Wearenotjustconsumers,”sheadds.“Weshouldcontributetosociety.Everypennywespendshouldfavorthesocialandecologicalenvironmentratherthanworsenthecurrentsituation.Ihopemorepeoplerethinktherelationshipbetweenhumans,societyandnature.Humanbeingsareboththeproducersofwasteanditsvictims.”
ExceptfortheIKEAshelves,allthefurnitureintheshopwaspurchasedfromsecond-handfleamarketsordonatedbyfriends.Theconceptofzerowastecanbeseenineverydetail.courtesyofYuYuanMoreMotivation
Alongsiderunningthestore,YuandHarveyregularlyhostsecondhandfleamarketsandmeetingstosharetheirexperienceinenvironmentalprotection.Lackingabundantfinancialresources,theyperformalltheworkbythemselvesandconsiderit“worthitnomatterwhatittakes”becausetheyaredoingwhattheytrulywant.
Followingtheirlead,morepeoplearetryingtouselessplasticandembracethezero-wastelifestyle.
“Ihopetoinspireawiderangeofoptionsandfostergreaterconvenienceforcustomers,”Yudeclares.Sheremainspositiveaboutthefutureandplanstoprovidemorefoodproductsandbuildaone-stopshoppingplatform.“Wewanttoopenmoreshopsinothercitiestohelppeopleunderstandthezero-wastelifestyleandprovideeasyaccessforadvocatesofenvironmentalprotectiontotryzero-wasteproducts.”
Althoughothercountriesalreadyhaveahandfulofzerowasteshops,YuwantstotakeherBulkHouseabroad.
“Publicawarenessiscrucial,”sheconcludes.“Itarousesconcernfrompeoplefromallwalksoflife.IdowhatIcanandhopeeveryonedoeswhatheorshecanandmobilizespeoplearoundthem.Manyhandsmakelightwork.Whenweworktogether,wecanmaketheworldabetterplace.”