‘Buy Nothing’ is a great path to sustainability

The average American home contains 300,000 objects. And no time is that more apparent than after the holidays, when our homes are flooded with a bunch of new “stuff” (toys, household items, obligatory gifts) that we often do not need.

For many, January represents the perfect opportunity to recover from the over-buying and over-consumption that defines the month of December. The start of the New Year is a prime time to reassess, declutter and simplify our homes – and, by extension, our lives.

In 2021, my wife Erin and I set out to do something to counter the “culture of stuff,” which also is a culture of waste. The U.S. produces 268 million tons of waste — 140 million going into landfills — each year, with the average American tossing 4.5 pounds of trash per day. We launched Buy Nothing Evanston, a Facebook group for sharing, reusing and repurposing the items Evanstonians already own.

To date, the group’s more than 4,800 members have used it to donate furniture, electronics, clothes, back-to-school supplies, empty Amazon boxes and more. In recent months, our members have turned their attention toward the growing community of migrants in the Chicago area, collecting new and gently used cold-weather gear like coats, hats, gloves and blankets.

This is a simple but notable example of the power of community. It also proves that people will enthusiastically join a sustainability group, if you give them a free, “frictionless” way to participate. In fact, it’s not all that surprising. This was one of the original ideas of the internet: a place for like-minded individuals to come together, communicate and solve pressing challenges. The innovation that underpins digital platforms like Facebook was critical during the COVID-19 lockdown and remains part of the fabric of our society today.

There are more than 100 Buy Nothing Facebook Groups across the state of Illinois; you can locate one in your community by visiting BuyNothingProject.org. If you give away just one item a month, you could reduce your own carbon footprint while alleviating a financial burden for a neighbor in need. It’s a win-win.

Ellis Booker

Evanston