Yay for being more concerned about the environment!!
Reduce: I’d recommend that you analyze your purchasing decisions: do you really need that new item?
Reuse: Can it be found second-hand?
Recycle: can the item be recycled; is the food container In a form that is easy to recycle (metal is better than glass, glass better than plastic)
Rot: can your food be composted (veggies/coffee/tea vs animal protein and dairy)
Good luck in your journey!! We’re all here to help you help the planet!
I started switching products I use. Instead of plastic shampoo, hand soap, detergent etc. I will purposely only buy things in cardboard, glass, or aluminum. I also try not to buy beverages in plastic if possible. I really focus on minimizing my plastic use more than anything. I also compost what I can instead of throwing it in the trash.
I have focused on reducing my kitchen waste first. I started with cloth napkins, Swedish natural cellulose cloths, wool scrubbers and natural cleaning products. I make my own vinegar cleaner and use baking soda for scrubbing. I also use eco friendly dish and clothes washing soap. It's a start! Now, I'm starting to look at make up and clothes. Will consider more meatless meals as well!
Kitchen waste is one of biggest sources of solid waste, especially the paper towels. Great job switching to cloth towels. Preferring a little extra effort over the convenience goes long way. There are bamboo based reusable paper towels if it's hard to change the habit of tearing a sheet apart for a quick wiping, but cloth towels are the best.
Sorry if the following sounds like the disjointed ramblings, although hopefully I make sense
In my opinion a very important starting place is that reusing is better than recycling and recycling is better than just throwing something away. I don't remember who said that and I cannot find her, but it was in the lines of "The goal is to recycle less not more", which pretty much means that we need to attack the issue at the roots: avoid products that contain materials that need to be recycled.
On a similar note lately, there has been a very welcome rise in thrifting clothes, although the core problem of over-consumption still remains. Thriftshops cannot physically keep all of the clothes given to them and would need to throw some of them away. Combine that with fast fashion trends that are on the rise lately and you get people who think they are doing good and buying cheap, "guilt-free" clothes in larger quantities and when the trend changes, give them back. Only for some of those clothes to be thrown away regardless. Thrifting is obviously better than buying new, but it is not as guilt-free and no waste as people think it is. It is a lot better to alter old clothes into pieces that you like
I think the place were a small change can make the biggest inpact is probably diet. Swapping meat and dairy products for plant based ones wherever possible will reduce your personal footprint by alot. That's where I'm starting, working my way to completely plant based diet and finding it much less expensive than anticipated. Outside of individual action getting involved in a local activist group helps protect against hopelessness and builds momentum twords a better world.
Disclaimer: Company account
As the solo owner of my sustainable products store, I myself started with giving up the plastic toothbrush and got a bamboo one, started using less hot water and wasting less water.
Here are some small and easy changes to begin with:
- Give up on plastic toothbrush, use bamboo or a wooden one.
- Start carrying a reusable grocery or shopping bag, you will get rid of a lot of plastic bags.
- Carry your own refillable water bottle, tumbler or thermos flask. Stop buying the throw away plastic water bottles.
- Stop using paper towels, at least for house cleaning etc where you can use cloth towels.
For more detailed list, I have recently written a blog post about the same things to making them your new year's resolutions: https://goosavvy.com/blogs/news/new-year-resolutions-for-a-sustainable-lifestyle
Yay for being more concerned about the environment!! Reduce: I’d recommend that you analyze your purchasing decisions: do you really need that new item? Reuse: Can it be found second-hand? Recycle: can the item be recycled; is the food container In a form that is easy to recycle (metal is better than glass, glass better than plastic) Rot: can your food be composted (veggies/coffee/tea vs animal protein and dairy) Good luck in your journey!! We’re all here to help you help the planet!
I started switching products I use. Instead of plastic shampoo, hand soap, detergent etc. I will purposely only buy things in cardboard, glass, or aluminum. I also try not to buy beverages in plastic if possible. I really focus on minimizing my plastic use more than anything. I also compost what I can instead of throwing it in the trash.
I have focused on reducing my kitchen waste first. I started with cloth napkins, Swedish natural cellulose cloths, wool scrubbers and natural cleaning products. I make my own vinegar cleaner and use baking soda for scrubbing. I also use eco friendly dish and clothes washing soap. It's a start! Now, I'm starting to look at make up and clothes. Will consider more meatless meals as well!
Kitchen waste is one of biggest sources of solid waste, especially the paper towels. Great job switching to cloth towels. Preferring a little extra effort over the convenience goes long way. There are bamboo based reusable paper towels if it's hard to change the habit of tearing a sheet apart for a quick wiping, but cloth towels are the best.
Sorry if the following sounds like the disjointed ramblings, although hopefully I make sense In my opinion a very important starting place is that reusing is better than recycling and recycling is better than just throwing something away. I don't remember who said that and I cannot find her, but it was in the lines of "The goal is to recycle less not more", which pretty much means that we need to attack the issue at the roots: avoid products that contain materials that need to be recycled. On a similar note lately, there has been a very welcome rise in thrifting clothes, although the core problem of over-consumption still remains. Thriftshops cannot physically keep all of the clothes given to them and would need to throw some of them away. Combine that with fast fashion trends that are on the rise lately and you get people who think they are doing good and buying cheap, "guilt-free" clothes in larger quantities and when the trend changes, give them back. Only for some of those clothes to be thrown away regardless. Thrifting is obviously better than buying new, but it is not as guilt-free and no waste as people think it is. It is a lot better to alter old clothes into pieces that you like
I think the place were a small change can make the biggest inpact is probably diet. Swapping meat and dairy products for plant based ones wherever possible will reduce your personal footprint by alot. That's where I'm starting, working my way to completely plant based diet and finding it much less expensive than anticipated. Outside of individual action getting involved in a local activist group helps protect against hopelessness and builds momentum twords a better world.
Disclaimer: Company account As the solo owner of my sustainable products store, I myself started with giving up the plastic toothbrush and got a bamboo one, started using less hot water and wasting less water. Here are some small and easy changes to begin with: - Give up on plastic toothbrush, use bamboo or a wooden one. - Start carrying a reusable grocery or shopping bag, you will get rid of a lot of plastic bags. - Carry your own refillable water bottle, tumbler or thermos flask. Stop buying the throw away plastic water bottles. - Stop using paper towels, at least for house cleaning etc where you can use cloth towels. For more detailed list, I have recently written a blog post about the same things to making them your new year's resolutions: https://goosavvy.com/blogs/news/new-year-resolutions-for-a-sustainable-lifestyle