10 habits you need to give up for the sake of the environment

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

We do this automatically, but if we stop, we can significantly help the planet.

1. Take plastic bags at the store

According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), more than 80% of all debris in the ocean ends up there from the shore. Moreover, 70% of it is plastic. Not surprising, because every standard trip to the store is a few plastic bags with handles and many small cellophane bags, in which sellers tend to put each purchase. And this is not to mention the fact that most of the goods are already packed in plastic at the factory.

To reduce the harm that this brings to nature, ditch the bags in favor of canvas shopping bags or time-tested shopping bags (inexpensive mesh bags can be purchased on AliExpress).

Instead of thin sachets made of cellophane and cling film, get durable ziplocks that can be washed and reused (there are, for example, in IKEA). If you want to do away with kitchen plastic altogether, get reusable bags and special wax napkins, which consist of a cotton base and beeswax. They preserve the freshness of the products, and after the end of use they are disposed of without harm to the environment. You need to look for such napkins in eco-goods stores and on manufacturers' websites.

2. Use plastic toothbrushes and razors

These are some of the most consumable personal hygiene items. Therefore, it would be nice to replace them with analogs made from natural materials.

On the same AliExpress, a dozen bamboo toothbrushes cost the same as in concept stores or eco-goods stores - one. However, buying things in China also has its pitfalls from an environmental point of view, since transportation creates a significant carbon footprint. But you can team up with other people to collect collective orders.

When the time comes to discard such a brush, the most environmentally conscious can remove the plastic bristles and dispose of them separately (the wooden handle can simply be buried in the ground). There are also alternatives with natural bristles such as pig bristles.

As for the razors, a more environmentally friendly option is the classic T-shaped metal. She will have to buy sets of blades, but the machine itself will serve for years. Perhaps this is even kept somewhere in the mezzanine of older relatives.

3. Drive a car all the time

The use of a private car alone does not bring any benefits to the environment, and also greatly overloads the main streets of cities with a population of over one million. Sulfur dioxide, a substance that negatively affects the functioning of the lungs, gets into the air due to exhaust. In 2016, 91% of the world's population lived in areas where air pollution levels exceeded the values recommended by the World Health Organization.

If, for some reason, there is no way without a car, try to negotiate with colleagues who live in the neighborhood on regular car shifts and ride together. You will bring even more benefits to the environment and your own health if you switch to a bicycle. True, not all Russian cities are well suited for cyclists, and in the winter you will have to forget about such trips.

If you are going on a trip and want to get to places where public transport does not go, you cannot do without a car. However, you don't need to have your own car. You can use the services of a taxi, car-sharing service or team up with other travelers - at the same time you will make new acquaintances.

4. Waste water is irrational

A leaking tap is not only a reason for constant irritation due to the sound of falling drops, but also a senseless waste of water. At the same time, more than 40% of the world's population suffers from the shortage of clean water. While this figure is steadily growing, no one can guarantee that our immediate descendants will not be among those for whom the lack of water supply has become a problem. Therefore, it is important not only to repair the taps on time, but also to turn them off while you are brushing your teeth or soaping something. By the way, this will decrease the water bill.

In Soviet times, some people placed bricks in the toilet cistern to regulate the amount of flushed water. Sometimes the new is the well-forgotten old. Not so long ago, in America, they began to make rubber bricks that are safe for earthenware.

Another mistake, due to which you have to drain the most valuable natural resource down the drain, is the incomplete loading of the washing machine. Better to dig in some dirty clothes and save water. In addition, in some cases, laundry and clothes can be washed by hand, even if it seems that we have forgotten about this method. The same goes for the dishwasher. You do not need to turn it on if there are only a few plates inside, wait until the whole set moves there.

5. Use disposable intimate hygiene products

In the 2010s, Londoners discovered that the old Victorian sewer was not keeping up with new demands. So-called fatbergs (originally fatbergs) began to appear there - huge formations of cooking oil, wet wipes, women's pads and diapers that disturb the passability of tunnels. And the example of London clearly hints that there is no need to flush disposable hygiene products down the toilet.

However, everything is not so simple with disposal in trash heaps. Until the recycling of garbage around the world is put on stream, it is important to remember that every napkin and diaper takes several hundred years to decompose. Most disposable hygiene products use oil and cellulose derivatives. Wet wipes not only contain microplastics, but are also impregnated with substances that poison the soil and harm aquatic organisms.

Eco-friendly feminine hygiene products include silicone menstrual cups, fabric pads, and absorbent menstrual underwear. You can also look for biodegradable disposable pads in specialized stores. For babies, eco-shops offer reusable cloth diapers. After all, with a typewriter, diaper cleaning doesn't seem so unbearable (just don't forget about the maximum load).

6. Drink through plastic straws and clean your ears with plastic sticks

In 2018, the European Commission drafted legislation to ban the use of plastic cocktail straws and plastic-based ear sticks. Such a ban is already in force in some cities in the United States, for example in St. Petersburg (Florida). According to Greenpeace, Russians alone throw away about 16 tons of ear sticks a year. Such waste decomposes for hundreds of years.

You can replace plastic tubes with paper or metal ones. The latter are sold complete with long thin brushes to wash these tubes.

Also, for the environment, biodegradable sticks on a wooden base will be more useful than on a plastic one. By the way, otolaryngologists generally recommend not to put anything in your ears once again: the stick can push the sulfur further along the canal, which will lead to the formation of a plug. If you don’t feel confident without cleaning your ears, it’s safer to use baby sticks with restraints and not go far into the ear canal.

7. Buy bottled water

Plastic bottles float in all seas today. On WWF, you can watch one of them decompose in real time. Considering that it will take about 450 years, representatives of the foundation called their broadcast the longest in the world.

To cut down on your plastic consumption, buy a water bottle or flask and carry it in your bag. It can be made from recycled plastics or metal. A tight-fitting thermos or thermo mug is an option that will come in handy in the cold season, if instead of water you want to take tea (or even grog) with you.

8. Use cosmetics with microplastics

Plastic is not only large objects, but also tiny granules that are present in many scrubs and peels. With their help, the product removes dead skin particles, making it smoother. True, then all this goes to the sewers, which means to the world's oceans. Marine life suffers from this: microparticles of plastic have been found in the stomachs of seven species of sea turtles. In addition to fibers from clothing and cigarette filters, these were polyethylene and polypropylene balls.

Microplastic cleansers are best replaced with sugar and salt scrubs. Also, formulations with coconut flakes and other small particles of natural origin do well with exfoliation and smoothing. By the way, you can make such a scrub yourself. Home cosmetics cannot compete with laboratory formulas, but in the case of a mechanical exfoliation process, everything is much easier.

9. Throw everything in the trash

You cannot do without recycling the unnecessary. But before you start it, it is better to think about whether this thing can be reused, donated to charity or taken for recycling.

The best option is waste sorting, but in Russia it is not organized everywhere, so you have to make an effort. To find out where in your city there are collection points for recyclable materials (paper, plastic, glass, metal), use the map developed with the participation of Greenpeace.

When it comes to caring for the environment, you can start small: donate used clothes to charity points and competently dispose of potentially dangerous items, for example, take lithium batteries to special boxes that are available in some stores.

10. Go to the doctor in disposable shoe covers

Another way to reduce the amount of plastic that ends up in the trash almost immediately is to avoid disposable shoe covers. You just can't not wear them: it is a sanitary necessity in a polyclinic. But you can buy reusable shoe covers that are made of water-repellent fabric. After use, they must be put in a bag, taken home and washed.

By the way, such products come in a variety of colors and prints. Even if you have long passed the age when it is decent to demand toys in the doctor's office, bright shoe covers with pictures can cheer you up.

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