My best friend began sending me articles and video links about plastic waste and the benefits of a plant-based diet during the week of Earth Day. While I consider myself interested in environmentalism, she really inspired this spurt of research I began doing. The following are some awesome ways to do your part in saving the earth before it’s too late. We are the problem and we must be the solution.
- Change Your Search Engine to Ecosia
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Ecosia is an amazing search engine that plants a tree for every search that you complete. It’s very easy to make it your default home page on your computer or phone. There’s also an app that you can use that is really simple to get downloaded. What’s even more fun is there’s little tree icon in the corner of the screen telling you how many trees you’ve planted. Ecosia’s profits go towards planting trees and removing carbon dioxide out of the air. What do you have to lose?
- Purchase Reusable Items
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There are several ways you can start easily doing this. For some commonly known methods, you can purchase reusable utensils (wood or stainless steel) and straws to take everywhere with you. Also recycle or return you plastic grocery bags stockpiled in your home and substitute them for resuable grocery bags. Lastly, you take glass mason jars to coffee shops and request that your drink be put in there! Once you get rid of your non-reusable products, you can recycle them through many companies such as Terra Cycle.
- Reduce Waste During Your Period
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This one goes out to all of my ladies who get periods. Our periods can create 60,000-70,000lbs of waste in our lifetime considering the estimated amount of about 38-45 years of menstruation. Not only do pads and tampons create a lot of waste, but so do the applicators, the wrappers, and the boxes. The absolute best way to elimate all this waste is to try using menstrual cups. I personally use the Diva Cup and find it to be very comfortable and effective. It definitely has a learning curve but once you figure it out, it is a very useful product! If menstrual cups aren’t for you, consider using carboard applicator tampons and looking for pads that are wrapped in cotton. Amazon has a plethora of products to suit your environmental needs! There are also a such thing as reusable, washable pads if your interested in that as well:)
- Never Throw Away Clothes
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I’m not sure if anyone truly just throws out old clothes these days but there are many great ways and reasons you should not let your clothes go to waste. Textiles make up a large percentage of waste put in landfills every year. H&M has an awesome program where you can bring in used clothes and receive a 15% coupon. These clothes are reused and recycled into new clothes. You can also sell your clothes to consignment shops too. However, if you’re not interested in making a profit or benefitting, you can always donate clothes to different organizations or those less fortunate around you.
- Eat Plant-Based
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The animal agriculture industry is one of the leading causes of environmental destruction in our world. In order to grow the grain that animals feed off of, it takes more land and water than it would to grow actual crops. The waste of the animals as well as all of the factories emit insane amounts of greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide, and ammonia into our atmosphere. To learn more about the overall impact of animal products to our earth and our bodies, you can watche these documentaries: What the Health, Cowspiracy, Earthlings, and Forks Over Knives. Our nation is already leaning towards consuming less meat considering read meat is a carcinogen (yeah, like cigarettes) and heart disease continues to kill. As the demand for vegan and vegetarian options rise, companies begin to meet those demands. Take advantage! Even small changes really add up. As you can see from the image, going vegan for a day here and there is still more effective than doing nothing at all.
- Shop Sustainably
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This may take a little effort but research the products you are purchasing. Many companies are beginning to have plastic free products and moving towards more sustainable, environmentally-friendly practices. Give your money to the places you see effort! One of the greatest places to shop is Package Free Shop. This website is full of reusable, package free, vegan, and environmentally-safe products that you can swap out with what you already have.
- Fill Your Home With Plants
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Gardening indoor and outdoors is a great way to contribute. Not only does it oxygenate the air, but it also cleanses the space. There are several plants that are specifically beneficial for cleaning indoor areas and bringing good vibes. This is a great way to help the planet in a small but win-win type of way!
Never doubt your ability to have an impact. The fate of our home is in our hands so we must start giving love back to the earth rather than stealing it’s resources and turning it into a wasteland.