Fortunately, more and more people understand that we are “emptying” the earth. We use up the once inexhaustible raw materials, but the group of people who give something back is still too small. As mentioned, this group is growing, but it is happening in fits and starts. So it makes sense to occasionally ask yourself the question to what extent you are working sustainably.
Sustainable or more sustainable
“Sustainable development means meeting the needs of the present without endangering the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. This is what the UN Brundtland Commission indicated in 1987.
This means that, for example, we reuse substances, giving them a second life in the same condition or in a different one. This can again be for humans, but can also be for animals or even the tree and plant world. The more we do this, the more we protect the earth and everything and everyone who lives on it for the future.
Of course there are discussions about the hole in the ozone layer and who or what is responsible for it, but apart from human pollution, the world reprograms itself, so to speak, every once in a while. The second aspect should not be a license to pollute the world. Sustainability starts with each individual and as long as it is not in people’s DNA, attention will have to continue to be paid to this.
Source: Zon – Annastaal
How sustainable are you?
The basis of sustainability is the direct waste in our waste bin. It is easy to separate:
- “Green” waste, such as dead plants and flowers, potato or egg peels or old bread. The municipality collects this.
- Glass, all types of glass and in most glass containers can also be separated by color. When it comes to glass, think of all types of glass, from bottles to jars of vegetables, baby food or old vases. The municipality is happy to accept it.
- Paper, in addition to all those newspapers that you receive in the letterbox, also the postal envelopes, packaging of purchased items or read magazines. The latter can sometimes go to other people first to read… even more sustainable. Or the association can earn something from it, otherwise the municipality will take it.
- Batteries, we are amazed at how many we still use and rechargeable ones may be slightly more durable (these also need to be replaced over time). At the supermarket or electronics store, batteries are collected in various places.
- Electronics, the toaster that is broken, the electric toothbrush or the television that has broken down. The electronics store collects these.
- Medicines, oversized packaging or expired, there are all kinds of reasons why medicines have to be thrown away. You can deposit them at the pharmacist.
Of course you can go further, but these are the usual ones and the question is to what extent you can and want to cooperate.
A step further
Clothing
One step further is the now immensely popular second-hand clothing store. For example, clothing requires an enormous amount of water to produce and throwing away clothing therefore involves much more than the direct costs of the garment in question.
Offering quality clothing to a second-hand clothing store not only gives the garment a second life, it also earns you money or you can exchange it for another item of clothing in this store. Overall, the shoppers in these stores (in terms of clothing sales) are about 28% to 33% and growing.
Fair trade clothing is another story. This clothing is made from alternative channels. Including a normal wage for the makers, this clothing is proportionally more expensive and still too expensive for a significant group. Just under 25% come to such a store every now and then to buy something.
Source: Waterval France – Annastaal
Water
We have already talked about water in the production of clothing, but we also have to deal with our own shower, watering our plants and cleaning our environment.
We take long showers, while we can clean ourselves and our hair in just 5 minutes. There are timers on the market that can tell you the time in the shower. Furthermore, make sure that you do not have leaking taps and if you want to take a bath, limit it and only use it during a moment of rest, for example. You also have water-saving shower heads, which you will not notice anything negative about.
Collect water from heaven for your plants and top it up with tap water if desired. But if you can arrange a large collection container, you will have enough for the average city garden.
If you want to keep the room clean, try to use natural products as much as possible. They burden the environment much less. There are alternatives for so many products that you really don’t have to use the traditional one. The health food store, for example, has more than enough.
Energy
Being economical with energy, we all know it. Turn the heat down a few degrees an hour or so before you go to bed. But closing the curtains in winter and not hanging them in front of the heating also helps.
But the charger that can be removed from the socket when the device is charged is also a small effort. But also leave the dryer alone when the sun is shining. The laundry dries in no time and smells nice too.
Body care products
All those products that we get in the drugstore or the supermarket are often in plastic bottles. All those bottles go empty into the container and new ones are made. How much energy does that take?! Why not refillable glass bottles. If you wish, you can still rinse a glass bottle, but you will save a lot and often also in costs. Of course, you also have to look at the content at some point and there are more and more natural products where the list of chemical additives is significantly smaller. Organic, non-toxic or natural on the packaging usually means that you actually have natural products. By the way, there are also quite a few differences and gradations within this natural cosmetics world. Do not assume that all products are completely organic and/or not tested on animals by default.
Source: Hansbenn, Pixabay
Nutrition
Nutrition should not be missing from this list. All those toxins, even though a number of them have now been banned, are actually ingested with normal vegetables (bad for humans and bad for the environment). Organic vegetables use natural defenses. Moreover, and this is not unimportant when it comes to nutrition, the taste is usually much better and gives a better feeling of satiety, which results in eating less. On the other hand, it is slightly more expensive, but if more can be produced, the price will also drop.
In addition, the traditional meat and dairy industry is very polluting. People are increasingly choosing to choose “honest” products. We then work partly in a different way and in an animal-friendly way. Veganism is the next step in this.
Finally
The question remains how sustainable you are and where you can still improve. Taking into account a group of people who will never concern themselves with this, some compensation must also be given. But if the group that is already working on sustainability or that is delving into it and increasingly realizing that we are not doing it for nothing, we will always take one step further with a sustainable life.
