It can be difficult to see how one person or a family can make any sort of difference to the damage that’s been done to the environment, but there are small steps we can all do to help, that don’t involve switching to an electric car, going vegan or living off the grid. See if you can implement these – you might just find it better for your wallet, too!
- Recycle
Are you guilty of throwing glass into the bin, or letting food go past its best? Make sure you’re recycling everything you can and that you understand what can and can’t be recycled in your area. You can order extra bins from your local council if you don’t have enough. Try your best to use up food before it goes out of date with recipes that make the most of surplus food, like making banana bread with overripe bananas, or apple crumble with soft apples.
- Carpool/liftshare
Do you and a colleague live near one another, but drive to work separately? Consider arranging a lift share where you alternate the driving. It’ll save the environment and your wallet, and gives you some company on the way to work. You don’t have to do it everyday, but the more you do, the more you’ll save! Try approaching colleagues that live in the same area as you and see if you can work something out.
- Use green companies where you can
More and more companies are showing concern for the environment, like companies that make recycled products. Others might be dedicated to upcycling or prevent food or fuel waste like OLIO or Shiply. Buying locally also reduces your carbon footprint and supports local businesses so try and do this when you can.
- Sell things online, don’t throw away
There are so many websites now where you can sell your unwanted things. If you’ve got the time, it’s a fantastic way to prevent needlessly throwing things away and also could earn you a nice profit. There are also many recycling sites that reimburse you for trading in mobile phones, CDs or DVDs like Music Magpie or Zapper.
- Say no to plastic carrier bags
We all know the 5p-a-bag situation at the supermarket now, but like me I’m sure you’ve been guilty of turning up many times without our reusable bags! It may be helpful to keep a stash of carrier bags in your cat boot so you know you can’t forget them. You can also often recycle carrier bags in store if you find yourself like me forgetting them so often and ending up with far too many!
Hope you enjoy making these changes. Let us know if you think of any more!
There are some good points here, when I was a child minder I recycled loads, ribbons from presents were kept for arts and crafts, any cardboard boxes were used for junk models and junk mail which is usually blank on the reverse was used as drawing paper