There’s never a bad time to make eco-friendly lifestyle changes. The New Year is an especially good moment, when many are ready to make new commitments. Most changes only need to be small, but they can become habits that help you be more sustainable over the long term.
Grab your reusable items
With a little forethought and a few trusty items, you can easily reduce plastic consumption. Fabric shopping and produce bags make an entirely plastic-free shop a reality and saves paper vegetable bags from ending up in landfill.
Reusable coffee cups and water bottles have also become a welcome trend in recent years, helping to cut personal waste. While compostable cups help, correctly disposing of biodegradable products can be difficult, leading to them becoming ordinary waste.
You could try adorning personal bottles and cups with a handy reusable bamboo straw. Having your own reusable items prepares you for any situation, instead of relying on retailers to have sustainable options.
Try Veganuary or a vegetarian diet
Even if going meatless permanently isn’t appealing, reducing your weekly meat intake helps. The meat industry emits greenhouse gases in animal rearing and processing. Deforestation to clear space for growing animal feed or grazing pastures is also an issue.
Fruit and vegetables are often sold with less packaging if you shop smart or away from supermarkets. Some local butchers may package meat in containers you bring from home, if asked.
Responsible energy consumption
Use appliances in ways that avoid wasting resources. Ensure washing machines and dishwashers are full before using them and consider hanging washing to air dry instead of using a tumble dryer.
Unplug devices that remain ‘ready to start’ or on standby when not in use. As the UK gradually switches to more sustainable energy sources, any reduction in demand can help avoid the need to resort to fossil fuel supplementation.
Zero-plastic lifestyle swaps
Zero-plastic toiletries are more readily available, from bar soap versions of shampoo, conditioner, and body wash to cardboard-wrapped natural deodorants and moisturisers. Most non-plastic toiletries have more natural ingredients too, which are better for your body and the environment.
Many chemical detergents damage marine life, some irreparably. Zero-plastic cleaning products are a great way to reduce household waste and mitigate against harm to aquatic flora and fauna. Refill containers at refilling stations, if bar or powder products don’t suit you.
Try to avoid single-use plastics entirely. When it comes to eating out, keep a set of compostable birchwood cutlery with you for times when only plastic disposables are available. Natural wheat straws can also maintain convenience, without the ecological threat posed by plastic straws.
Make your future events sustainable
Sustainable catering for events reduces waste and provides an opportunity to educate guests on the alternatives to plastic disposables for their own entertaining. Compostable tableware also means no washing up – plates and bowls can instead become compost for the garden.
Reuse, upcycle and donate
Instead of discarding items at the first sign of damage, repair them or find another use. This could be as simple as repurposing socks as reusable cleaning cloths or repainting old furniture for a new lease of life.
Good-quality clothes or other items you don’t need can be donated to charities and second-hand shops or regifted to people who will use them. Even old blankets that are not good enough for homeless shelters can go to dog shelters instead.
Choose to drive or fly less
Where safe and practical to do so, cycle, walk or use public transport instead of driving. Mass transit takes vehicles off the road, helping to ease congestion and reduce emissions.
For long-distance travel, consider trains over flying. Aviation contributes 2.5% of global CO2 emissions and is an unsustainable form of transport.
Opting for the train reduces your carbon footprint. Lowering demand could help to reduce the number of scheduled flights, reducing emissions overall. Train travel also supports local public transport infrastructure, crucial to green travel investment.
Get your garden growing
Growing your own vegetables is the best way to reduce packaging and food mileage. It also encourages seasonal eating, which is better for the environment. Growing within plants’ natural growing seasons will also mean less need for chemical fertilisers or copious watering.
Set up a composter to make use of the food waste generated by even the most ethical kitchens. Compost can turn peelings and unused parts of vegetables into nutritious natural fertiliser for your garden and reduce your output to landfill.
Make a New Year’s resolution that is attainable, durable, and benefits the environment: switch to compostable tableware and help reduce the ecological impact that regular catering and food purchasing can have.
To begin your renewed commitment to the environment for the coming year, browse our selection of biodegradable tableware and utensils today.