Everyday Eco-Friendly Habits

Problem: Many restaurants, bakeries, caterers and individual homes waste food. This has a huge impact on our environment. Food waste is considered to contribute to one-quarter of  greenhouse gas emissions.

Solution: Don’t waste food. Shop according to need, even if it means weekly grocery shopping trips (use public transport for travelling to minimize carbon print). If you fear the food is going to rot, donate it to a shelter, give it to stray animals, birds.  Just don’t throw it away.

Problem: Air pollution contributes to millions of deaths worldwide. Carbon prints from vehicles, big domestic use electronic appliances (refrigerators and air-conditioners), all adversely affect the air quality index. 

Solution: Minimise use of private cars, use public transport when possible, or carpool. Try to cut down usage of refrigerators (switch off when needed, especially in winters), try to set a limit to your AC’s use. Like, try to survive the heat up until a certain degree of temperature. 

Problem: Overconsumption of beauty products, cosmetics, skin care masks create lots of waste.

Solution: Try to buy from companies that are working for eco-friendly solutions. People who earn a living through this advertisement (beauty influencers), try to minimize overloading.  Give the extras away, keep what you need. Acknowledge the harm of overconsumption and work toward solutions.

 Problem: Fast fashion creates a lot of textile waste.

Solution: Fashion influencers and people who can afford to over-indulge in shopping tend to keep huge piles of clothing. The best way to minimize this is through donation. Donate those which are in perfect conditions, those which have to be completely discarded, reuse or recycle them. Small cloths can become wash cloths and dusters, bigger ones can be used to sew other things, for eg. table cloths.

Problem: Paper waste leads to deforestation.

Solution: Although electronics have reduced paper waste we can further reduce it. Students can use second hand books, and recycled paper for rough practice. Encourage students to not waste paper, use recycled paper for work.

Problem: Not reusing (glass and plastic) bottles and jars creates enormous waste.

Solution: Repurpose your jars from store bought food. Jars of peanut butter, chocolate spreads etc. can be used to store other food materials, such as sugar, salt and more. Re-fill empty bottles with water for home use or travelling. Glass jars can also be used to grow small, indoor plants (like; cacti, spider plant, pothos and more.