Keen to do your bit for the environment? Here are some ideas to help get you started:
1. Reduce your single use plastics.
8 million pieces of plastic pollution find their way into our ocean daily. 79% of plastic waste is sent to landfills or the ocean, while only 9% is recycled, and 12% gets incinerated.
There is now 5.25 trillion macro and micro pieces of plastic in our ocean & 46,000 pieces in every square mile of ocean, weighing up to 269,000 tonnes.💡 Leave reusable bags in your car or bag so they are available when you need to carry things. 💡 Use sustainable cleaning product such as Dazz, Ethique, or ecostore to reduce your plastic use. 💡 Use beeswax wraps or silicon food covers to cover your food instead of gladwrap. 💡Consider shopping at refillery supermarkets such as GoodFor,Refill Nation, or Huckleberry.
2. Walk, run, or cycle to work.
A typical passenger vehicle emits about 4.6 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year.
Passenger cars are a major polluter, accounting for 61% of total CO2 emissions from EU road transport.
💡 Reduce your carbon emissions by replacing your vehicle with a carbon friendly alternative. Walking, running or cycling to work are great ways to fit a little exercise into your daily routine and has positive mental health benefits.
💡 Ecomatters Bike Hubs provides free access to tools and advice on basic bike maintenance.
3. Reduce your fashion footprint.
The equivalent of one garbage truck full of clothes is burned or dumped in a landfill every second (UNEP, 2018).
Approximately 60% of all materials used by the fashion industry are made from plastic.
The fashion industry is responsible for 8-10% of humanity’s carbon emissions – more than all international flights and maritime shipping combined.
💡 Try to shop at thrift and second hand stores where possible or organise clothes swaps with your friends & family.
💡 Donate any second hand clothing to charity stores/op shops.
4. Collect and dispose your e-waste.
E-waste is the most rapidly growing waste problem in the world. We generate around 40 million tons of electronic waste every year, worldwide. That's like throwing away 800 laptops every second. 💡 Collect dead batteries and retired or broken technology. Then use services such as Eco-matters or Computer Recycling to dispose of your e-waste.
5. Reduce your shower time.
The average 10-minute shower uses about 70 litres of water! Taking shorter, and colder showers saves both water and energy.
💡 Try and reduce your shower times to 4 minutes and when purchasing soaps, look for eco-friendly brands (such as Lush or Dr. Bronners). This will avoid harmful chemicals building up in the shower water that feeds rivers, lakes, and the ocean.
💡 Turn the shower off when you’re not actually rinsing yourself – get wet, stop the shower, soap/shampoo up and then turn it back on to rinse.
6. Use energy-saving light bulbs.
Energy saving light bulbs last up to 12 times as long as traditional bulbs, using less electricity to emit the same amount of light as a traditional bulb.
LED bulbs are the most energy efficient option plus they offer many other benefits including longevity, brightness, and lower electricity costs. LEDs require less power to produce a high level of brightness at a low operating temperature. Most LED bulbs will last an average of 25,000 hours.
💡 Reduce the carbon footprint of your home by using LED light bulbs.
7. Reduce food waste.
Globally an estimated one third of all the food we produce is lost or wasted between farm and fork each year. That's 1.3 billion tonnes of food that is never eaten.
💡 Love Food Hate Waste provides helpful tips on different ways to reduce food waster including how to plan, portion, store, fridge, freeze, preserve, and how to make the most out of your left overs.
💡 Composting your food is also a great way to positively dispose of food scraps and waste.
8. Use a micro fiber washing machine filter.
Every time we wash our clothes hundreds of thousands of microscopic plastic fibers are released into the wastewater. Because washing machines don't have filters to catch them, all these small plastic particles end up in wastewater and travel down the drain. They pollute the environment, harm ecosystems, and end up in our food and drinking water.
💡Use a micro fiber washing machine filter such as PlanetCare to catch micro plastics before they enter our ocean.
Keen to do your bit for the environment? Here are some ideas to help get you started:
1. Reduce your single use plastics.
8 million pieces of plastic pollution find their way into our ocean daily. 79% of plastic waste is sent to landfills or the ocean, while only 9% is recycled, and 12% gets incinerated.
There is now 5.25 trillion macro and micro pieces of plastic in our ocean & 46,000 pieces in every square mile of ocean, weighing up to 269,000 tonnes.💡 Leave reusable bags in your car or bag so they are available when you need to carry things. 💡 Use sustainable cleaning product such as Dazz, Ethique, or ecostore to reduce your plastic use. 💡 Use beeswax wraps or silicon food covers to cover your food instead of gladwrap. 💡Consider shopping at refillery supermarkets such as GoodFor,Refill Nation, or Huckleberry.
2. Walk, run, or cycle to work.
A typical passenger vehicle emits about 4.6 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year.
Passenger cars are a major polluter, accounting for 61% of total CO2 emissions from EU road transport.
💡 Reduce your carbon emissions by replacing your vehicle with a carbon friendly alternative. Walking, running or cycling to work are great ways to fit a little exercise into your daily routine and has positive mental health benefits.
💡 Ecomatters Bike Hubs provides free access to tools and advice on basic bike maintenance.
3. Reduce your fashion footprint.
The equivalent of one garbage truck full of clothes is burned or dumped in a landfill every second (UNEP, 2018).
Approximately 60% of all materials used by the fashion industry are made from plastic.
The fashion industry is responsible for 8-10% of humanity’s carbon emissions – more than all international flights and maritime shipping combined.
💡 Try to shop at thrift and second hand stores where possible or organise clothes swaps with your friends & family.
💡 Donate any second hand clothing to charity stores/op shops.
4. Collect and dispose your e-waste.
E-waste is the most rapidly growing waste problem in the world. We generate around 40 million tons of electronic waste every year, worldwide. That's like throwing away 800 laptops every second. 💡 Collect dead batteries and retired or broken technology. Then use services such as Eco-matters or Computer Recycling to dispose of your e-waste.
5. Reduce your shower time.
The average 10-minute shower uses about 70 litres of water! Taking shorter, and colder showers saves both water and energy.
💡 Try and reduce your shower times to 4 minutes and when purchasing soaps, look for eco-friendly brands (such as Lush or Dr. Bronners). This will avoid harmful chemicals building up in the shower water that feeds rivers, lakes, and the ocean.
💡 Turn the shower off when you’re not actually rinsing yourself – get wet, stop the shower, soap/shampoo up and then turn it back on to rinse.
6. Use energy-saving light bulbs.
Energy saving light bulbs last up to 12 times as long as traditional bulbs, using less electricity to emit the same amount of light as a traditional bulb.
LED bulbs are the most energy efficient option plus they offer many other benefits including longevity, brightness, and lower electricity costs. LEDs require less power to produce a high level of brightness at a low operating temperature. Most LED bulbs will last an average of 25,000 hours.
💡 Reduce the carbon footprint of your home by using LED light bulbs.
7. Reduce food waste.
Globally an estimated one third of all the food we produce is lost or wasted between farm and fork each year. That's 1.3 billion tonnes of food that is never eaten.
💡 Love Food Hate Waste provides helpful tips on different ways to reduce food waster including how to plan, portion, store, fridge, freeze, preserve, and how to make the most out of your left overs.
💡 Composting your food is also a great way to positively dispose of food scraps and waste.
8. Use a micro fiber washing machine filter.
Every time we wash our clothes hundreds of thousands of microscopic plastic fibers are released into the wastewater. Because washing machines don't have filters to catch them, all these small plastic particles end up in wastewater and travel down the drain. They pollute the environment, harm ecosystems, and end up in our food and drinking water.
💡Use a micro fiber washing machine filter such as PlanetCare to catch micro plastics before they enter our ocean.
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