Here are just a few easy ways that you can be more environmentally sustainable!
Carry a reusable bag with you. Seriously do it!
I cannot stress enough how horrible plastic bags are for the environment and the more you acquire them shopping the more they make them. These leads to billions and billions of plastic bags sitting in landfills and unfortunately the ocean. Be mindful when checking out at a store. If you can carry everything and you don’t need a bag, don’t let the cashier bag it up. It’s as simple as that. This is such a small and easy way to hugely impact the planet. If you take anything away from this article is that plastic bags are the worst! If you know you will be buying a lot, then bring some reusable bags with you into the store.
Use a reusable water bottle daily. Duh!
This one might sound like a no brainer to the vsco/hydroflask girl that you are, but surprisingly, a lot of people still buy plastic water bottles daily. Not only is having a reusable water bottle good for the environment but it will also save you money and maybe you’ll even get a little fancy and put some stickers on it.
Avoid microbead exfoliants at all costs.
If you don’t know what a microbead is, it’s essentially microplastic which is plastic that is one millimeter in size. Microbeads are commonly found in products such as face scrubs, body washes, sanitizers, etc. What’s harmful about microbeads is that they don’t dissolve in water and are too small to be filtered out at water waste treatment plants. Therefore they end up directly entering water sources polluting them with plastic. Since the microbeads attract and absorb toxic chemicals, this makes them highly toxic to wildlife and to humans that consume fish that had consumed microbeads. This is a huge issue since American households wash 808 trillion microbeads down the drain each day, according to a study published in Environmental Science and Technology by the American Chemical Society. Now that you’re aware of this issue, stop buying products with microbeads in them and instead replace those products with natural exfoliants like sugar or coffee scrubs. Honestly, your skin will thank you and the environment will thank you for making the switch.
Glitter litter
I know, I know, glitter is pretty and so fun to decorate with but like microbeads, it’s super harmful to the environment. But there are many glitters out there that are biodegradable so just be mindful if you are going to purchase glitter.
Opt-out of paper receipts when shopping. Please!
Increasingly more stores are giving you a choice between a paper copy receipt or emailed receipt. It’s always a good idea to opt-out of the paper receipt because not only are you saving paper which is sustainable but chances are if you do want to return your purchase you’ll be able to find the email copy a lot faster. We all know those mile-long CVS receipts are just going to end up in the trash.
Buy less packaged produce.
Nowadays, there is so much unnecessary plastic packaging on fruits and vegetables and other produce. So instead of buying the pre-cut and sliced carrots or pineapple that’s sold in the mini plastic containers just buy the whole food that isn’t packaged with so much plastic. It might be less convenient but knowing that you didn’t give in to buying the packaged produce will make it well worth it.
These are just a few small changes you can make in your daily life that have hopefully made you more mindful and will help reduce the overwhelming amount of plastic and other harmful waste on the planet. There’s a ton of more ways you can help the planet and be a better human! I hope we can all implement these changes and many others to help make the world a cleaner, healthier and happier place! :)