During the worldwide lockdown of 2020, we were not using our cars as most of us had nowhere to go apart from the supermarket. The air got cleaner and the wildlife bolder as I personally witnessed when a deer crossed the road in Ashford town centre.
We all need the clean air, water and food provided by our relationship with nature and I am dismayed at the amount of damage we are inflicting on our planet.
It is easy to wrap up all the world’s problems into a neat package with a single bogeyman to blame – but every single person bears a responsibility to Mother Earth.
The challenge is vast, and our rate of consumption is a major problem. Everything is easy, available, single-use and disposable.
Be under no illusions, we PAY for this convenience. So, if the welfare of the planet does not resonate with you then concern yourself with exercising efficiency and savings.
Use less and pay for less.
Making a tiny start in reducing your everyday consumption & waste of “stuff” will ease the strain on our environment and your wallet.
First inspired by a talk at WWF years ago, I started embracing a few ideas which developed into more. Here are a few of the simplest ones:
- Reuse the blank back of paper (old correspondence, screwed up printouts etc). If 1000 people used both sides of 1 sheet of paper in one day, then 2 reams need not be produced and purchased that day for single side use.
- Make an efficient “to-do” list with that repurposed paper and plan single car journeys that run these errands together. You will travel fewer miles, use less fuel, and spend less money.
- Could you walk to do everyday tasks? If just 10 people were to walk or cycle one journey a week instead of driving it would equal 520 fewer car journeys in a year.
- Upcycled old towels make great washable, reusable rags to replace some of your kitchen roll usage. Be posh and use cloth napkins.
- Secret Santa this Christmas? Ditch the throwaway gift and donate to a charity or cause in the recipient’s name, or literally ask them to throw your gift of wildflower seedballs away! https://www.beebombs.com/shop; https://seedball.co.uk/shop; https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/features/how-to-make-wildflower-seed-balls (other brands available – including corporate giveaways!)
- Take your litter home with you if the bins are full. Putting the roast NEXT to the oven is a useless way to prepare Sunday lunch. (thank you for that analogy Michael McIntyre)
Read: https://www.community-life.co.uk/tackling-the-litter-problem/
- If you need to wear disposable face coverings cut the straps of your disposable masks to prevent wild animals getting tangled up. https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/rscpa-gull-trapped-covid19-face-mask-a4504101.html
- If you can – plant some flowers or build a bee hotel for our pollinators. https://jimmysfarm.com/jimmy-save-the-bees/
- Wrinkled old veg is brilliant! The seeds & scraps can grow several more plants, and used containers make great pots for your free seedlings – they are not fussy!
- A reused water bottle will keep you hydrated and most petrol stations will refill it for you at no cost. Read: “Five amazing things we learnt from War On Plastic’s first episode“
- Invest in a good coffee/tea flask: it will save you money at most coffee shops. My personal recommendation is totally sealed and keeps my coffee hot for hours.
- Boil only the amount of water you need
- Switch off unused lights and shut down your computers and TV.
- Download instead of streaming.
There is a great Facebook group called the Lazy Environmentalists: real people, real budgets and real lives sharing great advice. Someone submits a question and the community answers from their own experience.
This is a big deal to me, but I am not helpless.
Neither are you.
If YOU have great and super simple ideas – share them!
Ingrid Weel 