Buying boba at tea houses has got to be one of the biggest ways I use plastic. Between the cups and extra large straws it adds up quickly. Finally they had boba in bulk at my local Asian market after not having it for months. They’re still packaged in plastic but one bag is still less than the waste I’d make from buying it at the tea house. Now I can get back to making them at home in glass with a reusable straw using other ingredients I buy in bulk and plastic free!
I recently made some liquid soap for myself to refill my soap pumps! I used a soap bar I had been gifted for the holidays that wasn’t something I was interested for in the shower. I grated it on my box grater on one of the finer sides so the soap flakes would be smaller. The smaller ones seem to dissolve better when the hot water is added. I put the flakes in a bowl with a spout and added some boiling water. I mixed it until there wasn’t anymore discernable bits in the mixture. I then poured it into this growler I thrifted recently. Overnight it’ll set into a pourable liquid soap. This way I can refill any of my soap pumps as I need them. If you can’t get liquid refills that aren’t plastic free it’s a great option. You can make as much or little as you want. My favorite part is that you can use any bar soap to make any scent you’d like. This process also gives good perspective into how much water goes into liquid products. Being able to add the water yourself saves money as you are avoiding paying for all the water weight. Has anyone else tried this? I want to try it with a solid conditioner soon as I couldn’t get it to run through my hair effectively. Send me any tips y’all got!
What have you done to reduce your carbon footprint in the last 10 months?
I’ve reduced the amount of takeaway coffee cups I use (but with COVID some coffee shops stopped accepting keepcups so that was difficult).
I’ve stopped buying prepacked lunches from Tesco and make my own lunch to bring with me to work in a lunchbox.
I’ve left my job that involved a commute so I can walk/cycle to work easily, saving the planet and my bank account! Was spending easily €100 on transport a month…
I’ve been bringing my own bags to supermarkets to do my shopping. My housemates still buy bags but I’ll reuse them and give out to them haha
I don’t think I’ve bought a plastic water bottle in over two years now, I bring my reusable water bottle everywhere, even on holidays.
I can sit here all day and post little infographics on how best to reduce your waste, but I’m not practicing what I’m preaching if I’m not making serious changes to my diet.
Calling all veggies and vegans!
I need your help, gimme your tips and tricks, reblog this and get your friends to give me tips and tricks, educate more people!
It’s getting warmer again! Ice tea in a plastic bottle? Nah! ❌ Make your own using only: 1. Loose leaf ice tea 2. Organic and package-free lemons 3. Bulk sugar 4. A reusable glass jug! Easy peasy! What’s your favourite drink you make to enjoy the sun? ☀️ https://www.instagram.com/p/Bwuto6EHCEq/?igshid=1smyxf9bhepr4
There are several valid reasons why plastic bags should be banned, including the harm it causes to humans, wildlife and ecosystems. Yet, you may be wondering how to use them less and what alternatives are available. Here are five effective ways to cut plastic bags from your shopping.
by @environment__co #plasticfree #reducereuserecycle #ditchthedisposables #plasticbag #sustainabletips #sustainableliving #ecofriendly #bantheplasticbag
I’m hearing a lot about sustainability and going green and supporting local, but most of the information is USA/large agricultural country centric. as a very average singaporean i, i can’t think of any ways to do that
in terms of food…
99% of all our food is imported because the land area is too small to sustain an effective % of the population. local produce is simply too expensive to completely switch over unless the family earns a lot how do we reduce our carbon footprint like this?
recycling…
there are many blue bins for recycling but irresponsible people are always throwing their food waste and rubbish inside and it results in the entire bin being thrown away so it’s a waste of water and time. especially in residential areas.
i feel schools should do more for paper recycling since they’re probably the largest users of paper and not able to be fully digital yet. they could encourage recycling amongst students like P2/P4/P6/Sec 2/Sec 4/JC 2 after EOY/National Exams because honestly they don’t really need their materials anymore as they move up to the next year. I’m sure the mountains of used assessment books and worksheets could be diverted from the incinerator while textbooks in good condition should be passed down to those who can’t keep affording brand new ones. I understand that NTUC has a textbook initiative but hardly anyone would take serious note unless they were already interested. by converting this programme to the individual school level, it would be easier for students to hear about and take part in since the entire programme is within school premises anyways. if manpower is needed to sort/promote/quality check, an additional VIA project wouldn’t hurt interested students/student leaders anyway
plastic-free shopping…
our rubbish disposal system requires all rubbish to be neatly tied up in plastic bags. we NEED plastic bags to make the rubbish disposal process easier. wet food items like meat need to be kept fresh with plastic bags. wet market and hawker centre shop owners rarely stop for us to switch to reusable containers when there’s business. in supermarkets, fresh produce that doesn’t actually require bagging is still put in bags to buy as a bunch (e.g cabbage, apples, bananas). nowadays supermarkets make their plastic bags super thin to ‘reduce’ plastic waste but it means that the bags can serve their purpose at the bare minimum. it breaks so easily its ridiculous. that also means that cashiers double or triple bag, which defeats the original purpose anyways. requiring customers to pay for plastic bags hinders no one but lower income households, who aren’t the main problem anyway.
Just finished watching David Attenborough’s ‘A Life On Our Planet’ all the way through.
Everybody needs to see this documentary. It is a wake-up call that things need to change. And fast.
The thing that people need to realise is that it only takes small changes to make a big difference. On an individual level, we can all make changes that won’t disrupt our daily lives in huge ways - we can switch to using less plastic (even if it’s just replacing bottles of soap with soap bars), a few times a week we can choose to walk to places instead of using transport and we can cut down on meat and dairy in our diets. These are just a few examples, but any small contribution makes a huge difference if we all play our part.
But we cannot just tackle climate change on an individual level - governments and global corporations need to recognise the damage they are doing and they need to operate more sustainably. This is has been proven to be possible, for example, Switzerland operates on a tariff scheme which means electricity is generated by primarily renewable means and hydroelectric powerplants produce 60% of the country’s electricity.
With the loss of species, wildfires, violent storms and the coronavirus pandemic, there is no excuse for governments to ignore the devastating effects that humans are having on the environment. Powerful world leaders cannot sit in their chairs, pout and simply say “I don’t think science knows” when they’re presented with evidence for climate change. They also cannot continue to label protest groups such as Extinction Rebellion “terrorists” when they are ultimately fighting for a more peaceful world.
I know that after watching 'A Life On Our Planet’ I will make changes to try and help as much as possible. I will be careful not to purchase products which contain palm oil, I will try to use less plastic and although I have never eaten meat I will be reducing my dairy intake. I will also vote only for political parties that have sustainable environmental policies.
I hope we can all learn from David Attenborough and put his advice into action. Although there’s a chance we can still save our world, that window of opportunity is closing fast and we can only keep it open if we work together.
this last period I’ve tried out reusable tampons. I like the idea because teaching yoga means tight yoga pants so feeling bulky never feels cute, but these didn’t work too well for me. they weren’t super absorbent so I had to wear my period undies with them but in saying that I bought the regular size and not heavy. changing them was fine at home because I could rinse out straight away, but when I had a full day at the studio and pulled it out I was like uhh what do I do because I didn’t have anything to place it in. also, is it too much in a public restroom to wash or empty out reusable sanitary items? I’m not comfortable with it personally but I would understand if a woman chose to do it ❣️
fabric softener always seems like a luxury but it makes your clothes smell and feel so good. this diy recipe is from low tox life
yummy-smelling fabric softener: ingredients ↠ 20-30 drops essential oil of your choice ↠ 2 cups epsom salts ↠½ cup bicarbonate of soda
method ↠ simply mix the essential oil into the epsom salts, then mix in the bicarbonate of soda. keep in a jar. ↠ about halfway through wash (or from the beginning) add ⅓ cup of your mixture
let’s talk period undies. there are more eco choices like organic cotton when it comes to pads and tampons but there’s still that issue of waste. when I first heard about period undies I thought they were going to be real daggy and bulky looking, but the designs are actually super cute. I got a pack from modibodi which came with two undies and a menstrual cup. I felt comfortable all day and didn’t feel like I was swimming in blood (I’d like to point out that I am super lucky with light periods that last like 3 days) but they’ve got five different absorbencies so you should be able to find a pair that suit you. I was a bit worried about smell too but just chuck them in the wash on a gentle cycle and they’re good to go and if there is a bit of smell add some vinegar ❤️
Have you ever noticed that sustainable practices often overlap with a healthy lifestyle? I’ve come to realise that being ‘green’ has far wider implications than just the environment.
When you reduce single-use packaging, you are forced instead to buy fresh vegetables and wholesome foods. Fatty, salty or nutrient poor foods are typically excluded.
When you decide to drive less, you inadvertently choose to walk or cycle more. Our carbon footprint is never lower that when we are doing the most basal forms of exercise.
This interesting duality also seems to work in the other direction. I was tempted by the health benefits of veganism for years, but I only really committed when I learned about the environmental impact of the meat industry. In the end my excuses were simply broadsided by two highly consequential endpoints stemming from the same damn life choice.
You may find that you have to avoid the ‘convenient’, but in doing so you rediscover simple pleasures in life. I find there are few endeavours more rewarding than the art and therapy of cooking, it reminds me that the pursuit of happiness was never about convenience. Life is about richness, the more you put in, the more you get out.
It appears that which pollutes the natural world also pollutes the inner world and I’ve begun to wonder why. What if they represent two halves of the same message? A message that only makes sense when read as a whole.
Charles Darwin coined the term ‘survival of the fittest’, which means only those adapted to their environment will pass their genetics to the next generation. It stands to reason that the ‘fittest’ are not only the healthiest, but also those that live in balance with the environment. An environment that their progeny will inherit.
The connection may simply point to our ‘natural being’ or a lifestyle that sits closer to the way we have evolved.
Modern society is a departure from our ancestral environment which explains why this lifestyle has become obscure, but the answer to modern problems could be to reconnect with the past.
The health of our bodies, our minds and the planet seem to suffer with every step of human progress. Is this not a dire warning? An obvious sign that we are ploughing on in the wrong direction.
Perhaps its time for a shift in thinking. Perhaps for a healthier, ‘fitter’ future we should embrace new ideals. Ideals that use natural indicators to formulate better trajectories.
When we combine the values of health and sustainability we find a way of life that promotes balance, harmony and wellbeing on a multidimensional front.
Personal wellbeing is often plagued with unrealistic or misguided goals. Likewise, being environmentally friendly can lack the ‘what’s in it for me’ factor.
Where there is overlap, there is complementation.
A healthy lifestyle could be guided by deeply held values pertaining to planetary health. Likewise, behaviours that save the planet becomes deeply rewarding when it maintains physical and mental health.
The two offer a synergy, where the sum of the whole is much greater than the sum of the constituent parts.
Why have separate values that divide your time, motivation and headspace. Look instead for a single, manageable focus that benefits from combined motivational forces.
Consider the new ideals of ‘Health-sustainability’.
