Time and again there is the talk of environmental pollution and what devastating effects it has on our habitat earth if we do not do anything about it: Everyday mountains of garbage land in the seas and endanger the animals living there. The earth’s resources are still being used up too much and the air is still too heavily polluted. Here are ten simple tips on how we can better protect the environment.
1. Create less waste
To protect the environment, it is very important to drastically reduce the amount of waste produced every day. This can be implemented in very different ways.
You should be careful when shopping to buy a few products that are packed in plastic and rather resort to alternatives in glass containers. Pack your groceries – food, clothing or whatever – preferably in a recyclable cloth bag or backpack instead of grabbing the plastic bag. Avoid using packaging such as to-go cups for coffee, which ends up in the trash immediately after use.
What’s also very important: Throw your garbage in the trash and do not just leave it on the street or in a meadow. Distributing the waste in nature not only looks ugly but is also very harmful to plants and animals, especially since plastic can not biodegrade.
2. Reuse things and materials
Generally uses containers that can be reused and materials that can be recycled. So there are companies that ensure that substances can be reused. There, products such as used advertising banners, flags or flags, which are robust in terms of material, are transformed into new products by means of high-quality craftsmanship and thus reused. Tissues of disused textiles or waste can also be recycled and turned into sustainable products.
But you too can reuse some things instead of throwing them away. So less waste for packaging, fruit bowls, and other leftovers as well as old textiles and you have to say goodbye to some of your favorite pieces yet.
Used T-shirts and undershirts are still good to use for work on the house, on the car or in the garden as a rag. The sleeves of old pullovers are suitable as cuffs that warm your wrists in winter.
To collect the plastic waste in the apartment, plastic shopping bags are well suited, which can be used again and again after emptying.
Paper that has been printed incorrectly does not necessarily end up in the garbage, but can serve as a sticky note or be reprinted on the still-white page for printing. The same applies to one-sided printed texts that you no longer need.
3. Consume less
In our company, we have everything available at all times, whether it is food and care products, furnishings or even clothing. This luxury entices you to buy more than you need. And especially the annual trends in furnishings and clothing are very tempting for many.
As these goods must also be transported and produced, CO2 emissions and waste accumulate accordingly. To counter this, you should limit yourself to the things that you really need and use. Wear your clothes longer instead of exchanging them for new ones every year.
4. Sustainable food
When it comes to food, you can easily do something to protect the environment by eliminating fish and seafood from your diet whenever possible. This is useful in two ways: First, it helps to ensure the survival of marine life.
Most of the fish stocks are already overfished or at least threatened by overfishing. On the other hand, there are fewer ways to transport food from the oceans into our fields, which in turn means less fuel consumption of heavy vehicles.
In general, you should keep an eye on where the products come from, which end up in your shopping baskets every week. Prefers to regional food, which has not already been driven several miles and made for enormous fuel consumption, until they finally arrive at the supermarket.
5. Throw away less food
In the supermarket, you can also pay attention to how much you buy and whether it must always be a large supply of everything. This reduces the risk of having to dispose of a lot of food in the garbage later because it has expired.
Because this is what happens daily in many German households and can be avoided by buying only what is actually needed.
6. Save water
Many run the water when they soap or shower their teeth while showering. This unnecessarily consumes a lot of fresh water, which can be avoided. Just turn off the water if you do not need it anyway.
Basically, bathing consumes more water than showering. That’s why full baths should be the exception as far as possible, then you are all the more looking forward to it. Using less water not only protects the environment but also your wallet.
7. Drive less
In order to pollute the environment less and to protect the climate, it helps enormously to leave the car now and then. For paths that you can easily walk or cycle, you should definitely do without the car. This saves the air, in the long run, a lot of exhaust gases and saves fuel. Besides, exercise does well and keeps you healthy.
Another way to save the environment is driving ahead. To get off the accelerator early when approaching a traffic light or speed limit also saves a lot of fuel. This effect also occurs when you slow down instead of going full throttle.
Alternatively to the car, you can also use public transport and get you sometimes brought by bus and train to work. Carpooling and car sharing are also good ways to protect the environment and reduce fuel consumption.
8. Save electricity
Take care to use only lamps with LED technology or energy-saving lamps. This significantly reduces the cost of electricity bills and is good for the environment. But there is more. Because electronic devices like the TV, which are turned off, still consume power in standby mode.
You can counteract this by attaching such devices and lamps to multiple sockets with a central switch. If this switch is off, no electricity flows into the devices. This helps you to save a bit of electricity every day.
9. Save heating energy
If you ventilate properly, you can save a lot of heating energy and thus protect the environment. Rip open the windows and balcony doors for a few minutes several times a day instead of letting the windows tilt all day long.
Because the forced ventilation consumes much less energy and prevents mold from forming on the walls of the room because the air humidity can escape better from the rooms.
In order to noticeably reduce heating costs and the environmental impact of CO2, it is enough to turn down the room temperature in the home by just one degree Celsius.
10. Use the fridge properly
In order to use the refrigerator, which is one of the largest power guzzlers, energy-efficient, it should be in the coolest possible place. The refrigerator door should only be opened as long as necessary and food should be allowed to cool to room temperature before you put it in the refrigerator. As a result, he needs less energy to cool things down.
If you go on holiday for a long time and you are not at home, you should switch off the fridge completely to reduce power consumption. For this reason, it is also advisable to defrost the refrigerator when icing has formed.
