Wherever you go, there are people telling you that we need to do more to reverse the effects of climate change, that we need to do more for the planet and that we need to be kinder to our environment. Those people would be absolutely right. From children to the elderly, if we all do our bit we can do better for the world that is keeping us alive.
You have probably seen the news about Greta Thunberg and everything that she is doing to raise awareness for the environment. And you will definitely have heard David Attenborough talk about what our actions are doing to the planet. You may not have heard, though, about how petroleum and other materials are affected by our usage. You may also not know that even the slightest change from you could change the world. With that in mind, let’s look at six ways that you can help the environment with just a few changes:
- Choose to reuse your shopping bags where you can. Keep reusable options in the car and in your usual day bag and you’ll always have them with you. Whether you are food or clothes shopping, reusable bags can do the job and not be sent to landfill to rot.
- Where possible, turn down receipts and print as little as you can. Even if you are a student in school, do as much work digitally as can be allowed. Ask teachers if you can email in your papers and when you are in the office, try and send things electronically rather than print swathes of paper. It’s just not necessary!
- Recycling is important, and you need to do what you can to separate your recyclables from your regular waste. When you do this, you give back and you stop all the plastics being added to the landfill piles.
- Reusable lunch boxes and drinks bottles aren’t just for kids. Stop buying plastics where you can, especially single use plastics, and reuse everything. You can find free water wherever you go, and you can benefit from that when you refill the bottles that you do have.
- Don’t throw any paperwork away before you scan it to a computer. Documents can be done electronically now and you can benefit from shredding anything that does need to be put in the trash and send it to the right companies for proper recycling.
- Save as much electricity as possible by switching off the lights and appliances that you’re not using. Turn your computer off every day and don’t leave things on standby. All of the energy that you use when you do this can be detrimental to the environment around you and it’s not good for your carbon footprint. You need to see the impact you are having and you can then do better for the world around you.
Your environment is everyone’s environment, so take care of it and everyone benefits.
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