Every day we make choices in our lives that affect the environment, the climate and other species. From what we eat to how many children we decide to have. There’s a lot we can do to live a more sustainable lifestyle. Living sustainably is the only way if we want to keep living on this Planet. That is why we are giving you 5 ways to live a more sustainable lifestyle.
1. Minimise packaging
Look for loose fruit and vegetables, and take your own containers to shops and markets. “If you are buying packaged food,” says Miles, “look at where the product comes from and try to choose the more local option – oat milk from Scotland will have a lower carbon footprint than almond milk from California, even if they have the same packaging.” The most recyclable plastics are PET, found in drinks bottles and fruit punnets, and HDPE, in milk bottles and cereal box liners; so if you can’t avoid it, go for these, then reuse or recycle what you can
2. Recycle as much as you can
“Most major supermarkets provide plastic recycling. Collection points in store for stretchy plastic (such as frozen food bags, carrier bags and bread bags), which normally can’t be recycled from home,” says Helen Bird, plastics expert at the government waste advisory body Wrap.
TerraCycle rescues hard-to-recycle waste that is not processed by councils. It has free national recycling programmes and also sells zero-waste boxes. Which you can fill with most non-hazardous, non-recyclable and non-organic waste and return for recycling. Search its website for a scheme near you, or set one up. Nothing will help you live a sustainable lifestyle as much as recycling.
3. Buy vintage furniture
“Reusing furniture is the best thing to do if you want to live a sustainable lifestyle. And so much more fun than buying new,” says Nicola Harding, founder of interior design studio Harding and Read. “Secondhand items come with interesting stories. They force you to think creatively and give you something far more unique.” Start at your local auction houses and charity shops (the British Heart Foundation has dedicated home stores and a free collection service), followed by a targeted trawl through Freecycle and Facebook Marketplace. Buying vintage furniture is the best way to live a more sustainable lifestyle!
Sort your waste
4. Encourage bees
Honeybees visit only one type of flower on any foraging trip. Says Sarah Wyndham Lewis, author of Planting For Honeybees: The Grower’s Guide To Creating A Buzz. This is called ‘flower fidelity’ and is what makes them such effective pollinators. So plant large clumps or ‘drifts’ of single species and optimise each of the bees’ trips. Think swathes of catmint, field scabious and hyssop. “March to September are the key months for honeybees – they will fly whenever the temperature is above 10C. Even in winter, so early- and late-flowering plants are precious,” she says.
This article on Why borrowing tools, is sustainable? is part of Chisel’s blog articles.
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