Simple Ways to Become More Sustainable

Small Things That Compound to Be More Sustainable

During our routine life, a lot of our activities are not eco-friendly. But we can make efforts to become eco-friendlier by choosing more sustainable options available. It will require only slight changes in our habits. By practicing the following things, we can be a lot better for Mother Earth.

Eat Less Meat

The meat and dairy industry is the main culprit behind the emission of most greenhouse gases. These products emit greenhouse gases from the production process till serving. The most dangerous greenhouse gases include Methane and Nitrous Oxide. These gases are the main cause of global warming damaging our ecosystem.

The one way to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases is to minimize meat and dairy products consumption. This way, we can make the planet safe and less polluted. We can also conserve water by reducing these products. For example, one kg of meat requires 21820 liters of water than 228 liters for one kg of wheat. By opting for other options, we can save a huge amount of water for the years to come.

Zero waste of your food shopping

Zero waste means there should be no waste unless you cannot recycle it. For this purpose, shops can make their shopping bags by using sustainable materials. Another idea is to bring your bag for the shopping. We can also encourage the use of tin cans or paper bags instead of plastic packaging.

According to a report submitted by the UN, nearly 50 percent of plastic waste was from shopping bags in 2015. It means if we start using recyclable shopping bags, we can reduce pollution by 50 percent. 50% is a big number; therefore, we can reduce pollution by a great margin in only ten years.

Stop Using Single-Use Plastic Straws

Another major source of pollution is single-use straw. The UK and few other countries have announced a ban on single-use plastic straws as part of their 25 Year Environment plan. It is a good example for other countries to follow.

There are more than 8.3 billion tons of plastic on the planet. And we are unable to recycle most of it. Plastic straws can take up to 200 years to decompose. By opting for other alternatives, we can secure marine life and the environment as a whole. We can use sustainable materials like metals or bamboo for making straws. It can reduce the pollution caused by plastic in the coming years in a significant way.

Use Recyclable Gift Paper

We need to cut down the tree to make paper for different purposes. We use wood for making toilet paper, writing paper, and gift paper. In 2017 alone, 419.69 million metric tons of paper and cardboard is produced. You can imagine how many trees require to produce this large amount of paper and cardboard.

That is why we should look for an alternative. Recyclable paper is the best available option. By producing recyclable paper, we can save many trees that will help us reduce global warming in the future. By going sustainable, we can reduce pollution on a large scale.

Use a Recyclable Eco-Friendly Water Bottle

We daily purchase water and soft drinks bottles with disposable packaging. Almost 90 percent of these bottles end up in the ocean without recycling. It causes a huge amount of pollution, especially in the water and the ecosystem.

We can use a reusable bottle in place of a plastic bottle. It is also feasible from a financial point of view. For example, by using reusable plastic bottles, you don’t need to purchase more plastic bottles. It is a win-win situation for us and our ecosystem. This way, we can preserve the marine life of our planet for generations to come.

Replace Diesel and Petrol Cars with Environmentally Friendly Cars

Vehicles running on diesel and petrol are a great source of greenhouse gases and global warming. These vehicles emit a lot of CO2 that is the major source of earth warming. To get rid of this problem, we need to use more sustainable alternatives like electric cars.

Electric and hybrid cars are trendy these days because they minimize the emission of CO2. These cars do not use a combusting fuel source such as petrol or diesel. Electric cars run on batteries, and hybrid cars use batteries and a small combusting fuel source. By opting for these alternatives, we can minimize the pollution and the use of combusting fuel sources.

Making Your House More Sustainable

Our houses may not spread that much pollution compared to the factories, but there are certain things we can do to make our homes more sustainable. It is good to make changes wherever we can. For these changes, you do not have to invest much. For example:

Invest in Renewable Energy for Electricity

We can use renewable energy resources in our homes in place of conventional energy resources. Conventional energy resources are non-sustainable sources such as coal, gas, and furnace oil. We can use sustainable resources such as solar energy. By doing this, we are not only making our ecosystem clean but also saving a huge amount of money overall. To deal with global warming, we need to minimize the usage of combusting fuel sources.

Switch Heating Source

Another thing to consider is the heating system in your home. We normally use four types of fuels for heating the water. These are gas, oil, electricity, and biomass. You can use heat pumps as an alternative that is a sustainable option. Another option is the solar thermal panel. You can use the sun's heat to boil the water, which is not only sustainable but also an economical option.

Use Sustainable Toilet Paper

For a ton of toilet paper rolls, we require 17 trees and almost 91,000 liters of water. That is a big loss to the ecosystem. We can use toilet paper that is made up of some sustainable material. One of the best options is toilet paper made up of bamboo. As we know, bamboo plants grow very quickly. We can save a lot of trees by opting for this option. Trees are a major source of oxygen, and we need to stop cutting trees to minimize the global warming effects in the future.

Use Environmentally Friendly Shampoo

As we know, detergents we use for cleaning purposes contain harmful elements. Some shampoos and hair conditioners also use the same elements. These elements contain poisonous chemicals that can cause water pollution and may endanger marine life. Shampoo bottles are also part of the same problem.

As an alternative, we can choose a shampoo or hair conditioner made up of less harmful chemicals. Similarly, always choose a soap that has no or minimum harmful ingredients and more sustainable materials.

Use Sustainable Products to Clean the House

The products we use for cleaning purposes are generally not good for the environment. The products that are affecting the most are detergents, preservatives, or foaming agents. We can opt for those products which contain no synthetic ingredients for the greater good of the ecosystem.

The Final Words

These are a few small things that compound over the year to be more sustainable and environmentally friendly. Even if you can't follow all of these steps, try to adopt as many steps as possible for our generations to come.