Welcome Curious minds! Pardon me for the late post. Why should there be there a day to talk about the environment? Shouldn’t we be concerned every day about the environment around us? For a young adult such as myself, there are many thoughts that cross my mind during a day, from responsibilities to taking time out for myself. However, worrying about the environment and reducing pollution from day to day activities has become a norm in my life.
It has come to a point of no return to most of the world’s ecosystems from the constant increase in pollution from human activities. Instead of writing about the many ways that we pollute the environment every day, I thought we should look at some alternative options that could reduce this daily pollution.
Single-use plastics are the pinnacle of plastic pollution; these are the plastic bags you take from the supermarket or any other store, the straws you request with every drink, plastic and non-biodegradable containers for your takeaway meals and of course the daily plastic water bottle or other beverages. The complete stop to using just these few items will immensely reduce the amount of plastic being produced and discarded.
There are alternatives to all of the above mentioned single-use plastic, I would like to name some of the popular alternatives to our daily plastic usage.
Plastic shopping bag: Now this is the easiest to start with when reducing your plastic footprint. If you don’t already own a reusable shopping bag, buy one as its much cheaper compared to the other items you buy on a daily basis. It is also more convenient to carry, can store a large number of items and almost supermarkets now sell their own reusable bags to be purchased just one time. This is cheaper than paying for plastic bags in some countries and definitely great news for the environment.
Straws: There weren’t any alternatives for this till recent years but now there are numerous alternatives. I personally do not take straws if I can drink it like a regular cup but for those that would like that convenience, I would suggest steel straws as they are reusable and available to purchase in most countries. Another option is the bamboo straw which is also a great choice. There are paper straws as well, which is not as a great an alternative as the previous two but still better than plastic.
Plastic containers/takeaway boxes: We have always had the alternatives in our homes but choose to give in to convenience and ignore the cost to the environment. I’m sure everyone would have either reusable plastic or metal containers at home, so I suggest when you leave the house, try to take a container with you or keep a spare container in your bag when you are going out. Accordingly, support shops that provide sustainable/biodegradable packaging and boycott stores that are not eco-friendly until they adapt to sustainable ways.
Plastic water bottle: Would you rather pay to drink water out of a cancerous packaging (plastic) or buy your own aluminum or glass bottle and use it forever? It is healthier for you and better for the environment. It is very easy to find alternatives to plastic bottles. If you are someone who drinks a lot of water in a day, have a few reusable bottles filled with water in your vehicle or bag.
Also, another great tip for when you buy coffee or tea from a cafe, without using their disposable cups, take your own mug, many cafes understand and support this way of life and some even provide discounts.
Finally, I would like to emphasise that recycling is not the priority right now, we have enough waste to recycle for 100s of years to come. What we need to do as a conscious species is to reduce and reuse non-degradable products as much as possible to win the war on pollution!
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