1. Replace your plastic toothbrush with a biodegradable bamboo toothbrush
Billions of toothbrushes end up in landfills every year. Cut that down by replacing your plastic toothbrush with a bamboo toothbrush.
2. Walk to work or car share
Try switching your daily drive to work by walking. If that’s not possible then try car sharing and reduce car emissions. Emissions from your car’s exhaust are a significant source of air pollution which include CO2, Carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides. So help reduce pollution and walk or share a car to work.⠀
3. Take your own cup into a coffee shop
Why not take your own cup when you get your usual fill of coffee. Better yet, switch to a bamboo coffee cup to further help the environment.⠀
4. Turn off electrical items when you’re not using them
Switching off your electrical items helps the conservation of energy and is one of the most important steps to combatting your carbon footprint. Not only will it help with energy conservation but also with cutting down your electricity bills!⠀
5. Bring your own reusable bottle
Plastic bottles are a huge problem, they leak harmful chemicals into the soil and sea. An estimated 1 million bottles are bought worldwide each minute. You can imagine the effect on the environment with this many bottles being thrown away. So switch today to a reusable bottle.
6. Don’t waste your food
7.3 million tonnes of food is thrown away in the UK every year. Not only is it a waste of food and money, but it also adds to the amount of CO2 being created in landfills.
7. Switch to a shampoo/soap bar
Start buying shampoo bars or soap bars. It’s a great way to cut out plastic as these bars generally come in recyclable material.⠀⠀
8. Eat less meat
Meat production is one of the leading causes of greenhouse gas emissions. Contributing more pollution to the environment than any other human activity. So try cutting down your consumption of meat or if you can, go for a fully vegan diet.
9. Bring your own shopping bag
Plastic bags have gained a lot of attention in the past few years and rightly so. These plastic bags cause much harm to the environment and animals around us. And there is such an easy solution, bring your own bags when you go shopping.
10. Switch to eco-friendly floss
Floss is made from nylon and usually comes in a plastic box. Both plastic and nylon are not biodegradable materials. There are many eco friendly alternatives that use silk which sometimes comes coated in beeswax. So make your switch today and feel good about flossing again.
11. Take a large glass jar or other reusable containers to the store
Use jars in the store whenever items need to be weighed. The employee can tare the jar on the scale before filling with whatever oat, grain, cheese, olives, fish, sandwich meat, or deli products you want.⠀
12. Purchase an eco-friendly bulb
Next time one of your light bulbs stop working, replace it with a more eco friendly bulb. If you can replace your bulbs with LED eco friendly solutions or at least a try a compact fluurescent light (CFL), they can last more than 5 times longer than normal light bulbs. They also use much less electricity.⠀⠀⠀
13. Take shorter showers
Not only does a shorter shower save water, but also saves on the energy used to heat that water. A typical non-conserving showerhead will spray over five gallons per minute (GPM), so you’ll save 25 gallons of water if you cut your shower down from 8 minutes to 3. Though the best solution would be to use a low flow showerhead, which would save you even more water and energy.⠀
14. Wear clothes made from recycled plastic
Find a company that uses the most environmentally sustainable manufacturing methods possible for making clothes. It’s important to find clothes that eliminate the use of dyes and minimize chemical, water, and energy use.
15. Compost your left over food
If your food has gone past its ‘best by’ date then you need to make sure you compost it rather than throw it in the bin. Not only will this help create a natural fertiliser for your garden to help it stay green, it’ll also reduce the amount of waste going to the landfill – and as it won’t break down anaerobically, there will be no build up of methane gas.⠀
16. Use recycled toilet tissue
It may sound a little strange to use recycle toilet tissue but the effects would be significant. Changing to recycled tissue paper would go a an enormous way in scaling back deforestation.⠀
17. Have your food shopping delivered
Instead of having around 20 cars make their way to the supermarket – one van can drive around delivering to everyone in the area, this cuts down on car pollution.
18. Use compostable cutlery
Plastic cutlery is usually used once and thrown away. Either at parties, BBQs, or takeaway lunches. This all adds up to a lot of plastic cutlery waste. Reduce or eliminate this waste by using compostable forks, spoons, knives and tasters.
19. Grow your own vegetables
Growing your own vegetables is a great way to cut down your carbon footprint and be more eco-friendly. If you don’t have any space, you can use windowsill boxes which would not only give a nicer view for you but also filter the air coming into your home and offer plenty of space for herbs and small vegetable patches.
20. Use a rechargeable torch
Using a rechargeable torch means you won’t have to keep throwing away batteries. This can be applied to many portable electronic devices. Using more rechargeable batteries or devices will lower the greenhouse emissions of manufacturing disposable batteries.⠀⠀
21. Plant your own trees
Start planting trees to replace those that have been felled to make room for developments. If you’re a homeowner try to plant one and if you’re a business owner try to plant more. This will help towards ecological sustainability.
22. Use compostable plates
Just like cutlery, party plates are usually only used once and thrown away. Switch to compostable plates for more eco-friendly parties and BBQs.
23. Make your own cleaning supplies
Start making your own cleaning supplies to cut down on waste and to live a more chemical free life.⠀
24. Use biodegradable bags
If you have a dog or go through a lot of waste then switching to a biodegradable bin bag will help you be more eco-friendly.
25. Use reusable sandwich wraps
Wrapping your packed lunch or your child’s pack lunch in plastic adds up over time, now multiply that by the number of children you have in a school and you have an enormous amount of plastic being used. So switch to re-usable wraps.
26. Ditch plastic straws
Plastic straws are terrible for the ocean. They are consumed by the marine life and cause all kinds of health problems. Switch to bamboo or metal straws to eradicated this seemingly harmless object from our oceans.
27. Choose an electric car when buying your next car
This is a big one and may be unrealistic for some. However when the time comes to buy a new car, consider buying electric first. This will half the amount of pollution that gets put out into the environment.⠀
28. Hang your clothes out to dry
During the summer you can simply leave your clothes outside to dry and save yourself using electricity. However, you can also do this in the winter, put your clothes out on sunny days and though it might take longer to dry, you will be helping the environment.⠀
29. Use natural laundry detergent
If you no longer want to add chemicals to the water supply or your skin, you might look for an alternative laundry detergent. Look for a detergent that is made from natural plant-based ingredients. And one that also has a recyclable bottle.
30. Start using an e-reader
To cut down on the production cycle of books that uses enormous amounts of paper and transportation, switch to an e-reader.
31. Choose cotton shoes next time
Cotton takes a considerably less amount of energy to produce than synthetic or leather, it is also less harmful to the environment when it’s thrown away. So invest in a pair of cotton shoes when it’s time to find a new pair.
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