How to Live an Eco-Friendly Lifestyle How to Live an Eco-Friendly Lifestyle by Wendy Wisner How to Live an Eco-Friendly Lifestyle How to Live an Eco-Friendly Lifestyle by Wendy Wisner It is increasingly clear that climate change is the defining issue of our time. Although scientists don’t agree on exactly how long it will take1, there is a consensus that the environment and possibly our very lives are in danger. Moreover, according to NASA2, there is a 95% probability that human activity is to blame for the rise in global temperature we’ve seen over the past few decades. Certainly changes need to be made on a societal level, but the onus is on every one of us to make conscious choices toward more eco-friendly lifestyles. It can feel overwhelming to consider what this might entail. Many of us feel stretched thin as it is — how can we possibly find the bandwidth to make substantial lifestyle changes? Plus, so many environmentally hazardous aspects of modern living feel out of our control. It’s not as though we can ditch our gas-guzzling cars on a whim, or stop purchasing any and all products made with non-sustainable materials. Change is hard, but you don’t have to do this all at once. Every effort you make toward a more eco-friendly lifestyle counts, and even a few small changes can really add up. It’s best to take a transformation like this gradually, which is why we’ve prepared a step-by-step guide. You can read each section in order…or completely out of order. Pick a few action items that feel doable, and go from there. 1 https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/long-reads/article/2182663/climate-change-how-long-do-we-really-have-save 2 https://climate.nasa.gov/evidence/ © Public Goods. All rights reserved. How to Live an Eco-Friendly Lifestyle Reducing Waste Almost all of us feel overwhelmed by the sheer amount of stuff that clutters our lives. Even if we make an effort to limit consumption, the very nature of our lifestyle makes it difficult to succeed. For example, if you are a busy working adult, you are going to find yourself grabbing your coffee or lunch on the go — and you don’t have much choice in how your convenience food is packaged. The same goes for so many needed purchases we make: from how our clothes, toiletries, and groceries are made and packaged, to how our electricity is delivered. Even the most conservative spender makes impulse purchases every now and then. When these items go unused, they get crammed into every nook and cranny of our homes, or else they get tossed in the trash, where they add to our landfills. If you look at the statistics, it’s pretty alarming how much unnecessary waste we consume. According to the most recent statistics The average American 3 from the EPA , the average American produces 4.48 pounds produces 4.48 pounds of trash per day. 3 With approximately 328 million people4 of trash per day living in the United States, that amounts to about 734,000 tons of trash — again, this is every single day. That’s enough to fill about 62,000 garbage trucks5! Some people have seen these stats and felt a pull to do everything in their power to reduce waste. Take Bea Johnson, author of Zero Waste Home6, who stumbled on the “zero waste” lifestyle in 2006 after needing to move her family of four into a rental apartment for a year and put 80% of their belongings in storage. Once Johnson saw how little “stuff” her family needed to thrive and be happy, she made some intentional lifestyle changes and was able to quite significantly reduce waste. 3 https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2018-07/documents/2015_smm_msw_factsheet_07242018_fnl_508_002.pdf 4 https://www.census.gov/popclock/ 5 https://scdhec.gov/environment/your-land/land-and-waste-landfills/how-landfills-work 6 https://zerowastehome.com/ © Public Goods. All rights reserved. How to Live an Eco-Friendly Lifestyle Here are Johnson’s 5 “R’s” for reducing waste7. Although not all of us are ready to go “zero waste,” these tips are simple, easy to follow, and a fantastic way to begin a journey toward waste reduction: Bea Johnson 1. Refuse: Start saying no to unnecessary things like promotional freebies, junk mail,plastic bags, and straws. 2. Reduce: Let go of anything you don’t actually use or need; declutter your home and donate/upcycle any items you are done with. 3. Reuse: Almost every disposable item we use can be replaced by something reusable (ex., use tote bags instead of plastic grocery bags, cloth instead of paper towels). 4. Recycle: Reduce or avoid using materials that are not recyclable. 5. Rotting: Begin composting any eligible waste. Action Item: Pick one of the 5 R’s that feels most feasible to you. Write down three things you can do in the next week to address it, and go from there. 7 http://blog.publicgoods.com/zero-waste-an-interview-with-bea-johnson/ © Public Goods. All rights reserved. How to Live an Eco-Friendly Lifestyle Food Storage You’ve just cooked a fab dinner, happily stuffed yourself to the max… and now comes the least appealing part of the cooking process: cleaning up and putting away those leftovers. Most of us choose the path of least resistance when it comes to packing and storing our food. We reach for whatever clean Tupperware we can find. Or we put the leftovers away in Saran wrap, aluminum foil, or one of those roomy plastic freezer bags. Unfortunately, all of the above are pretty awful for the environment. Take plastic, for example, which is what the majority of commercially available food storage containers are made of. According to research published in Science Advances, humans consumed 6.3 billion metric tons of plastic in 2015, but only 9% was recycled. Roughly 12% was incinerated, and the rest — a whopping 79% — collected in landfills or in the natural environment8. There are also serious health concerns about plastic packaging leaching toxins into our foods. And this issue goes beyond BPA, which most of us already know is harmful. Phthalates, perfluoroalkyl chemicals [PFCs], and perchlorates — all found in food packaging — are also of concern. So what are the other possibilities here? The good news is that finding and using alternative food packaging isn’t rocket science, and there are a lot of options out there for you to consider. Here are eight simple ideas to get you started: 1. Repurposed Glass Containers: Clean out that spaghetti sauce jar, pickle jar, or jam jar and reuse it to store your food. 2. Glass Food Storage Containers: There are a ton of affordable glass jar products on the market. They are more durable than plastic and easier to clean. 3. Stainless Steel Food Containers: These are more lightweight than glass. Many come with dividers, a great option for packing lunches. products on the market. They are more durable than plastic and easier to clean. 8 http:/advances.sciencemag.org/content/3/7/e1700782 © Public Goods. All rights reserved. How to Live an Eco-Friendly Lifestyle 4. Mesh Bags: Breathable mesh bags are a great way to store your fruits and veggies. 5. Reusable Food Bags: Ziploc bags are super convenient, but there are many cloth alternatives out there — some have fab designs and are fun to use. Planet Wise9 makes some really cute snack and sandwich bags. And if you are looking for more durable food storage bags, check out the leak-proof silicone bags from Dwelling With Pride10. 5. Biodegradable Wax Paper: Saran wrap isn’t your only option. Swap it out for wax paper (soy-based ones are biodegradable). 6. Paper Bags: The classic brown paper bag can be used to store all kinds of stuff, including leftover bread, snacks, and even dried beans and pasta. 7. Fabric Bowl Covers: Use the bowls you already own and turn them into storage containers by popping a fitted fabric bowl cover over them and storing them in the fridge. Easy peasy. There are several fabric bowl covers on the market, including some festive ones from Earth Bunny11. Or, if you’re feeling crafty, you can make them yourself — try a DIY tutorial online, like the one from Hearth and Vine12. 8. Beeswax Paper: Beeswax paper is an exciting new-ish food storage alternative. Use it to wrap up a sandwich, a half-used avocado, fruits, veggies, or a block of cheese. The best part is that beeswax paper is washable, reusable, and compostable. Action Item: Pick one food storage alternative from the list and give it a go for a week. If that goes well, try a different one for a week, and so on. 9 https://www.planetwiseinc.com/planet-wise-bag-your-snack-stuff.html 10 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07JDXB62H/ref=psdc_3744031_t2_B07DK41XBT 11 https://www.amazon.com/Earth-Bunny-Fabric-Bowl-Covers/dp/B015F41T0U 12 https://hearthandvine.com/fabric-bowl-covers/ © Public Goods. All rights reserved. How to Live an Eco-Friendly Lifestyle Food Shopping Think for a second about what a typical trip to the grocery store looks like. Unless you walk, ride your bike or take public transportation, most grocery store jaunts involve driving a few miles to get there. Then you spend an hour or so tossing produce into plastic bags, filling your cart with pre-packaged foods, loading plastic grocery bags with your stuff, packing everything in the car, and heading home.