New decade, new you? You don’t have to rearrange your whole life to do your bit to help the environment. Make small changes, so that you don’t over face yourself:
Plastic bags
let’s make 2020 be the year you remember your bag for life, on average a plastic bag is used for 15-20 minutes meanwhile that bag will have a lifespan of 500-1000 years in the landfill. Paper, canvas, cotton are some of many environmentally friendly alternatives to the plastic bag.
Let’s slow down on the fast fashion
The near constant change in our latest fashions and the rapid rise of online shopping has resulted in a surge in plastic use like no other. Every top, shoe and dress ordered arrives heavily packaged in branded plastic packaging and the delivery of items is only fuelling the rise of carbon emissions.
Let’s fix the bathroom issue
The average household’s biggest bathroom waste harmful to environment are disposable razors and toothbrushes. Shockingly, one individual plastic toothbrush will take 400 years to decompose and on average a UK consumer will use 6-8 new toothbrushes per year. But what are you supposed to clean your teeth with? Don’t worry, we hear you. The alternative is a 100% biodegradable bamboo toothbrush. Let’s swap that disposable razor for a stainless-steel alternative too. A little more expensive but being reusable and ensuring a smoother shave it’s a win, win, for the environment and your skin.
Travelling with care
Travelling is exciting for the most of us, however, travelling with care should accompany our plans. A round trip from London to New York will cost us three metres of arctic ice. For most of you budding travellers complete air travel abandonment is not an option, but progress where you can with more favourable transport options is still progress. A prime example is travelling by train, far more environmentally friendly then its air travel counterpart.
Ditch the car, Ditch the gym
Not an option for everyone but leaving the car at home where you can for a bike, walk or public transport will make a difference and get you some good (free!) exercise, for every mile you walk instead of driving your carbon emission decreases by one pound! Think of difference we can make by swapping out the car for the trainers for certain trips.
Insulation
A smart choice for both your carbon footprint and bank balance, insulating your home will increase warmth by retaining heat and decrease your need for your central heating. That’ll mean a cheaper energy bill. A typical 27cm of insulation in lofts can save a household an average of £240 annually and then when you incorporate cavity wall filling and draft proofing windows and walls the savings are incredible.
Fruit and veg box
Go on, give a plastic free veg box a go! Apples in polystyrene trays, aubergines with plastic ‘jackets’ and plastic punnets are some of the worst offenders. The supermarket veg aisles are rammed with plastic. So, opting for fruit and veg delivered to your home instead is a massive improvement. 56% of UK waste is used plastic packaging, but if we ditch the plastic on our greens, we can bring this down.
The art of saying no
Mindfulness is the tool to you need to use to help you cut down on your plastic or carbon consumption. The instant gratification of new buys is enough to get you caught up in the moment, later realising the lack of need of the new purchase. Remind yourself of the effects of buying certain items, simply buying less and avoiding waste is a fantastic way of conserving our natural resources.
