How Eco-friendly Are You?
How Eco-friendly Are You?
The idea that being environmentally friendly is just the latest lifestyle trend has been slowly fading away. More people are discovering how small changes in their habits can have a big impact on our planet.
This article will hopefully help you to shed some light on just how eco friendly you are, and if necessary make improvements.
The answer to that question, "how eco-friendly are you?" is not an easy one to answer. That's because it might be several degrees of separation between your standard eco-friendliness and the ultimate goal which is for brands, individuals, brands, developers, government, restaurants, communities to all come together in order to make this planet a better place.
The specific question I posed you might be asking yourself right now is "am I doing enough?" It's hard to say the answer outright because the simple fact of everything that's happening in this world right now means that there will never be enough - but it also could just mean that you're already closer than you think.
Nevertheless, you can always start altering your habits in ways that might help you go farther faster than you would be by sitting on the sidelines waiting for planetary change.
Do you recycle?
Take some time to think about whether or not you even recycle. Have you ever been to a recycling bin? Do you use any type of recycling container? Do you even know what happens when your recyclables go in the recycling bin?
If you don't recycle, you're missing a chance for a much bigger picture change.
First of all recycling is an important part of a complete approach to environmental responsibility. If you recycle then you help your local community, as well as the local recycling and recycling workers, to make a living.
Think of your relationship with recycling as you would your car.
It's a necessity, but it's also something you use to get you from point A to point B. There are many different ways that recycling can help.
But before we get into it let's just look at the first place that we recycle.
If you had 100 pounds of paper at your house, how much of it would you be able to turn back into the environment? 10 pounds? Less than that?
If you can recycle even a small amount of paper, don't be afraid to try out new ways of doing it. Look for ways to recycle things that you weren't expecting to recycle like cardboard, plastic, or glass.
This is the place where you can be much more effective as an environmental steward because you'll start to see what all of your own recyclables can go in and what will never be recycled.
That will go a long way toward helping you decide what you should be recycling.
Do you try to reduce your production of daily rubbish?
One of the easiest ways to go green, both literally and figuratively, is being aware of just how much garbage you're producing at home, in the office, on the street, and on a daily basis.
This is also the time in which you can start looking at the products that you use. Start trying to find ones that use less packaging, and also ones that use recyclable packaging.
This will lead you to the next question that's important.
How much packaging is produced at your home? How much packaging do people use to buy groceries?
In most cases there's a ton of it.
The good news is is that there's an easy way to do something about it.
The only trash that goes in your kitchen trash can or your household recycling is that which you have a choice of making from scratch.
If not, then you don't have any choice but to throw it out in the garbage or recycling bin.
You can begin this today by looking at what happens to your food when you buy groceries.
Do you turn out the lights when you leave the house?
This might sound simple, but there are literally more times at day and night when you're not home than in which you're home.
The idea that you "have no choice" when it comes to the amount of light that you use should remind you that it's possible to do everything you want while still reducing the amount of light you use.
The lighting you use at home and at the office, in the store, in your car, in your home, and on your outdoor living spaces can be controlled in ways that will leave you more eco-friendly.
There are a lot of lighting alternatives out there that, for the most part, will allow you to do that just by making smart choices.
Start there first.
What do you do with clothes that you don't want anymore?
Recycling is a big part of the equation for being an eco-friendly consumer.
We're not just talking about paper or plastics.
What about clothing?
Where should you put that clothing that you no longer want?
If you can recycle your clothing then you're really contributing toward a major effort for a greater cause.
You're also reducing the amount of goods and clothing that are put into landfills or incinerators.
You're also reducing the amount of landfill space if you put them into a recycling bin.
Do you turn off the tap while you brush your teeth, shave, etc?
Turning off the tap while you brush your teeth might not sound like an earth-shattering step, but what it really represents is a chance to save water and do a small favour for the environment as well.
Look at this as your chance to start thinking about becoming more thoughtful in your habits.
How often do you eat at fast food establishments?
Why fast food is bad for the environment.
Fast food restaurants use a lot of energy in the process of making those food products.
The waste of water, food, chemicals, and energy is huge.
Eating fast food is contributing to our environmental problems when you consider all of these things together.
If you're looking for a good alternative, you should look for some of the restaurants that do composting as a part of their operations. These are places which are helping to make the planet a better place.
WHY SO MANY PEOPLE DON'T RECYCLE?
Think about why people use convenience.
Why is the car so convenient and why is the car so widespread? What's the cost of convenience?
Many times people just use convenience as an excuse that they use for doing nothing.