Interested in saving the planet but not sure how to get started? Struggling to see how your efforts will really help? The problem is that too few people are willing to join the environmental movement because of these exact reasons.
Unfortunately, without effort the effects of pollution and climate change will only continue to grow worse and worse, destroying our planet. If that’s concerning to you, the good news is that there is something you can do about it. A few small changes in your daily life, when multiplied by millions of us, can have a huge impact.
If you want to make your daily routine eco-friendlier, then start today. You can have a positive impact on the planet with just six small changes.
Pay Attention to Your Water Usage
Water makes the world go round. We need it to live, and millions of people around the world don’t have access to the water you need. Going green in this area is actually easier than you think. Did you know that there is less that 1-2% of the fresh drinking water in the world? It's true, so we need to action to ensure we conserve as much water as possible. Just a few little things can make a difference.
For example, when brushing your teeth make sure to turn off the water after wetting your bristles. If you have a leaky toilet, get it fixed immediately. A small leak can waste up to 200 gallons of water a day.
Leave Your Car At Home
Your car is terrible for the environment unless it’s fully battery-operated. The truth of the matter is that most cars add as much as 1,590 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions to the environment every year (EPA)! This means that, whenever you can, leave your car at home. Instead walk, ride your bike, or use public transport to get where you need to go. A little change can make a big difference.
Use Less Plastic
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, which we have to say is a very environmentally friendly way to live, you know that plastic is terrible. There are 500 times more pieces of microplastic in the sea than there are stars in our galaxy, and that’s a HUGE problem. So, the less plastic you can use the better.
Still trying to understand what a microplastic really is? Straight from the NOAA, microplastics are "small plastic pieces less than five millimeters long which can be harmful to our ocean and aquatic life."
One easy way to join the environmental movement and use less plastic is to avoid single-use plastic items such as water bottles, straws, plastic silverware, and more. The good news is that not using plastic water bottles is easy! Just buy a Manna water bottle and use that instead. Not only will you avoid plastic, but you’ll love how your water tastes—no plastic flavoring!
Recycle
If you throw everything into the trash at home, you might be surprised about how much pollution you’re contributing to the world. If you want to join the environmental movement, then you need to recycle as much as possible. This means going out of your way to throw soda cans in the recycle bin and collecting boxes for recycling instead of trash.
Another way to recycle is to choose recycled products. For example, if you’re at the store and you have a choice between two products, choose the one with the least packaging and one that’s made of recycled products, when possible.
Reduce Food Waste
Americans throw away about 40 percent of our food every year! That’s billions of pounds in food waste thrown into landfills. In fact, more than enough food is wasted globally each year to feed the 1 billion hungry people in the world! Reducing your food waste is a great way to join the environmental movement.
The first step is to make a plan and start small. Only buy what you need at the supermarket, which means avoiding shopping when you’re hungry. Also, start keeping track of how much food you throw out every week, so you know what you need to buy less of. And, if you have too much food at the end of the week, start donating to a local food bank—you can find a list of locations here.
Use Less Packaging
Have you ever purchased something on Amazon and had it come in the mail with a giant box, lots of stuffing, and a tiny product? That’s a serious waste of material and hard on the environment. This means a lot of waste ends up in landfills. The good news is that you can help cut back on packaging in a few simple steps.
When purchasing online, make a bulk order so that multiple items are shipped together, cutting back on unnecessary boxes and stuffing. You can also purchase products in the store that use less packaging or use things such as edible wrappers to reduce waste. Another simple way to reduce packaging is to use your own reusable bags when shopping.