Leading an eco-friendly life is good for you and your environment. We are all responsible for our actions and how those actions affect the world around us. Landfills continue to grow and waste becomes so unmanageable that it ends up in oceans, beaches and rivers. The pollution that we continue to produce destroys natural ecosystems and contaminates our drinking water and air. We should always be aware of our impact on our environment and try as hard as we can to reduce our carbon footprint. There are three simple guidelines that you can follow to begin your journey towards a zero waste lifestyle.
· REDUCE
· REUSE
· RECYCLE
Reduce.
The first step you can take towards being eco-friendly is to reduce the amount of plastic and non-biodegradables you consume. When you go to the supermarket for instance, buy only what you need, and include mostly eco-friendly, biodegradable and sustainably sourced products. By purchasing and consuming only what you need, you will also reduce the amount that you throw away. Reducing the amount of your waste is just as important as buying less plastic and non-biodegradable items. Most of your waste will end up in Landfills which is terrible for the environment. You should always be aware of what you purchase and use and what you throw away. For instance, if you can throw out a bag of garbage everyday that’s 365 bags of garbage a year. If you can reduce what you buy, reuse what you have or recycle more, you may be able to decrease your garbage waste to only 3 bags a week, or 156 bags of garbage a year. Which means by reducing your waste you can reduce your impact on the natural environment, which would hopefully reduce the amount of garbage that ends up in our rivers and oceans.
Reuse.
A good habit that we can all learn, in order to reduce the amount of our waste, is to reuse what we have. Reusing items will not only help the environment but might help you save some money too. There are certain items that may not be reused, however there are many that can. For instance, instead of throwing out glass jars from the pasta sauce you used, clean them out and use them for storage. Glass jars are great to use in the fridge to store leftovers, or as vases around your home, or even as planters for herbs. Glass is an amazing container that you can use and is much healthier than plastic. However even your plastic containers can be reused for storage. Instead of going out and buying new plastic containers for your bits and bobs use old margarine tubs, it won’t look as pretty but as it saves a few cents and it's one less item you threw out. Or cut up an old t-shirt to use as cleaning cloths. Reuse old rusted cans and rain boots as planters. A simple online search or even apps such as Pinterest are filled with ideas on how to creatively refurbish or up-cycle everyday items that have a longer lifespan. The options are endless and instead of throwing out those items they may be turned into useful household objects.
Recycle.
According to the EPA: “Recycling is the process of collecting and processing materials that would otherwise be thrown away as trash and turning them into new products.”
The main benefit of recycling is the huge impact it would have on our environment if everyone chose to do it. By recycling your waste instead of throwing it out, new products can be created from what would have been waste. By recycling, less waste is sent to landfills and less pollution ends up in our oceans, rivers and natural environments. The most common items that we use everyday that can be recycled are plastics, paper, glass, aluminum and clothing. However, it’s just as important to recycle or properly dispose of electronics and batteries. Most cities and suburbs or buildings have recycling centers and bins. Some waste management services will also collect recycling items separately. Its important to find out where these are in your city and the best way to recycle where you live. Most governments understand the importance of recycling and try to make it as easy as possible on its citizens. This responsibility is on every single person. Start with what you know like newspapers, cardboard and other papers are usually the easiest to recycle. However, it is important to try to recycle as much plastic as you can as these have a very long lifespan as they are non-biodradable and are causing the biggest pollution problems to our environments. According to National Geographic : 91% of plastic is not recycled. If you are not sure if an item can be recycled look for the recycle logo. (See example below) This logo is the universal recycle symbol meaning the item can be recycled.
If we all made some changes to our lives and purchased more eco-friendly and biodegradable products, recycled as much as we could and reduce our waste, we could help make a difference. There is an entire movement towards Zero Waste, which shows that there are active communities trying to make a difference. All it takes is to be aware of your impact on the world around you and to reduce your carbon footprint as much as possible. It is up to all of us to make positive changes now for our future generations.
Little changes today. Big impact tomorrow.
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