No matter what age, little steps go a long way and there’s nothing more convincing than when the little tips come from our kids!
So, this #plasticfreejuly we are handing over the mic to our #gaiafighters Philip, 9, Sienna, 7 and Chris, 3, who will give you a daily useful tip to how you can use alternatives to plastics and reduce waste in general. Find their videos HERE on YOUTUBE, on our Facebook and Instagram pages and get the tips here:
Week 1 will be tips for when on the go AWAY from home,
Week 2 in your HOME,
Week 3 when on HOLIDAYS and
Week 4 when PLAYING.
We hope this will inspire you and your family to make the #smallchanges in your lives. Take the challenge to refuse single-use plastics on @plasticfreejuly and use our tips to help you on the journey.
#8 C O V E R S
You can end up using a lot of cling film and foil in your HOME if you’re sensible enough to keep your leftovers and keep them wrapped up. But, you really don’t need to. Sienna showed us the beauty of reusable #6.on instagram and Face book takeaway containers the other day – today she teaches Chris how to use alternative covers!
Benefits of using a reusable cover?
- Cling film is lovely and see through, but also in the sea – guess who suffers?!
- Tip: If beeswax wraps isn’t your thing, try lined draw string covers, silicone lids or just use your Tupperware to keep your food covered!
#9 L E F T O V E R S
Do you save your leftovers from your home cooked meals or takeaway food? If not, we’re sure these benefits could change your mind.
Benefits of saving leftovers?
- Benefits of saving leftover food?
- Not having to buy new produce, use electricity and time cooking.
- All the above will get a nod from Mother Earth
- Tip: Ever thought of composting the food waste that isn’t edible? Yes composting is possible despite living in a flat – see our articles online.
#10 E L E C T R I C A L
Might be the first eco advice we’ve had as kids, but still as important to pass on!
Benefits of saving on electricity?
- Saving money, of course.
- You will protect the air and prevent climate change. To generate electricity, most power plants burn coal, crude oil or other fossil fuels.
- Tip: “Stand-by” also uses electricity – turn off all switches before going to bed.
#11 W A S H I N G
There are lots of ways to save our environment when washing our clothes!
Benefits of eco-washing?
- Less electricity – save those pennies
- Less washing means less micro plastics from your clothes in the oceans and using the right powders will also makes a difference to what goes inside those drains!
- Tip: For starters, try to wash less often, no doubt you can wear that piece one extra time!
#13 T R A S H
Trash is inevitable, but how much we accumulate and where it ends up is very much up to us.
Benefits of sorting your trash?
- If the sorting facilities are efficient, natural resources and certain plastics will get a second life.
- You will get a better idea of how much and what you waste. This is bound to make you more aware, buy less packaged goods and throw less.
- Tip: Do some research into how recycling is done in your country, so your efforts come to good use and you make the right choices.
#13. W A T E R
It’s an easy one to do aaand an easy one to forget! Long showers and tap running unnecessarily when brushing teeth or doing dishes are common habits, but some we can quickly change!
Benefits of saving water?
- Saving water will lead to saving energy and reduce your carbon footprint.
- We should use appliances that are most water and energy efficient.
- Water is becoming increasingly expensive – there’s a lot of pennies to be saved with little effort.
- Tip: Take a day and write down every time you use water and see if at any of those times you could have used less water. This could be the start to better habits.
#14. C U P B O A R D S
All our cupboards can do with a clean-out once in a while, and an easy place to start is your wardrobe.
Benefits of reducing your wardrobe?
- Buying less means less to do for fast fashion brands who are way too busy polluting our rivers and oceans with colours and plastic from new clothes…. And don’t get us started on how much textile waste from both factories and consumers is destroying our precious planet.
- It’s liberating to declutter and find the good quality items that matter to you.
- There’s a lot of money to be saved when you clean out your cupboards and start reducing, reusing and upcycling.
- Tip: Declutter one room at a time and don’t leave more than 1-2 days for breaks for one room as you’ll lose momentum. Half sorted is worse than not sorted.
Stay tuned for #plasticfreejuly tips next week where we look at how we can reduce waste and save energy on HOLIDAYS.
