- Stop buying microbeads. Microbeads are those little dots that come in your face scrubs, hand sanitizers, and so much more. At first glance they seem cute and pretty practical. But they are also destroying the environment. Learn more about these toxic little beads and why there is a whole movement to stop the production of them.
- Paper or plastic? Neither. I’m sure you’re aware that more and more people have sworn off plastic garbage bags, and you can go one step further by bringing your own bags to the store. Keep a few in the back of your car so you don’t forget. Some cute but practical bags can be found here or here. And worst case scenario: if you end up with some plastic grocery bags on your hands, at least reuse them.
- Get a reusable water bottle. I am still shocked every time I see someone drinking from a plastic disposable water bottle. If you’re someone who’s still drinking from these awful things, it doesn’t matter what excuse you have for using them - please stop. U.S. landfills are currently overflowing with more than 2 million tons of discarded water bottles. It also costs a lot of money and valuable resources to keep up with the demand of bottled water; for instance, 3 liters of water are used to produce a 1-litre water bottle. Personally, I noticed I drink nearly 4x as much water when I carry a reusable water bottle than I did prior to having one. Some of my favorite reusable water bottles are Klean Kanteens and Hydro Flask. If you’re on a budget, Nalgenes are perfect too because they tend to be cheaper and the company has been known to replace water bottles for free in the event that they break or don’t function properly.
- Try Meatless Mondays. As a full-time vegetarian, I can promise you that this is not as difficult or painful as it sounds. Even if you love meat, going meatless one day per week won’t hurt you. In fact, it’ll do the exact opposite. But you may be wondering what this has to do with the environment. As it turns out, manufacturing meat is really bad for the planet. Consuming less meat would result in minimizing water usage, reduction of greenhouse gases, and decreased fuel dependence. If everyone were to go meatless for just one day per week, the U.S. would save 100 billions of gallons of water (yes, billions…with a B), 70 million gallons of gas, and 3 million acres of land. Learn more here. Plus, I think animals are too cute to eat. But that's a story for another time.
- Never run the dishwasher unless it’s completely full. Starting your dishwasher when it’s not completely full is a total waste of water. Get as much use as you can out of your dishwasher. Also, try scraping the residue off of your dishes instead of rinsing; you’ll save on water that way.
- ...Or the washing machine.
- And wash on cold. In short, washing with warm water is very wasteful and takes a lot more energy. To find out more, click here.
- Take 3 paper napkins instead of 4. If everyone in the U.S. took just one less paper napkin per day, we should save more than a billion pounds of napkins from ending up in landfills.
- Turn off the water while you shave in the shower. Or, at the very least, turn the faucet down to a mere trickle if you absolutely MUST leave the water running. If this doesn’t apply to you, my apologies for wasting the 10 seconds it took you to read these two sentences.
- Don’t take baths. Baths can require almost twice as much water as showers.
- Stop using K-Cups. I thought these small coffee pods were an amazing invention when I first started using them…but alas, they’re slowly killing the planet. In 2013, Keurig Green Mountain produced 8.3 billion K-Cups—which is enough to circle the Earth 10.5 times. That number increased to 9.8 billion in 2014. In total, more than 60 billion K-Cups have gone to landfills so far. That’s all thanks to the fact that these little pods are not recyclable. Even John Sylvan, the original inventor of K-Cups, said “I feel bad sometimes that I ever did it.” Yikes. But fear not! You can still keep your single-serve coffee machine. Just purchase a reusable K-Cup, like this one.
- Don’t ever waste food. I think we all get a little overly ambitious when we see food that looks really good, but the best way to avoid wasting food is to only take a little bit and then take more if you’re still hungry after you eat your first serving. If you’re at a restaurant, opt for the lunch-sized portions instead of dinner; often times the dinner portions are 3-4x larger than one serving size anyway. And never hesitate to ask for a take-home box.
- Shut the water off when you brush your teeth. This is probably the easiest step ever, because there is ABSOLUTELY NO REASON why you need to leave the water running while you’re brushing your teeth. Turn it on to wet the toothbrush. Turn it off. Turn it on to clean the toothbrush and rinse out the sink. Turn it off. It’s pretty simple, people.
- Invest in a solar charger. I just ordered my first portable solar charger. I was hesitant at first because it sounds like some sort of futuristic machine that only works in the middle of the Sahara. But from ratings online and word of mouth, I’ve gathered that these little chargers are a great way to save on your electricity bill and power your phone using the power of the sun at the same time. You can find one that looks pretty cool here.
- Shop for a cause. There are tons of philanthropic companies out there that produce cute and sustainable products. Some of my personal favorites are Puravida Bracelets (more about that here) and the new Adidas running shoe.
- Buy stuff used. Whether it’s from a thrift shop or off of Craigslist, buying things used is not as sketchy or dirty as some people make it out to be. In fact, I buy most of my clothes used from online used clothing sites, like Poshmark. It’s a lot cheaper and by buying used you’re avoiding production processes that use a lot of water and energy.
- Air-dry your hair. Not only is blow-drying your hair really bad for it (think: split ends galore), but it’s an energy sucker. So just don’t do it.
- Never use Styrofoam. Disposing of Styrofoam is harmful to wildlife and it pollutes water. It’s the primary source of urban litter, and it’s also known to contain carcinogens. Avoid it at all costs for both environmental and health reasons.
- Unplug your chargers when you’re not using them.
- And always remember… “If you think you’re too small to have an impact, try going to bed with a mosquito.” –Anita Roddick
Politics and ActivismJul 20, 2015
20 Ways To Be More Environmentally Friendly This Year
You Owe It To The Earth To Start Thinking Green
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