17/12/2020
10 tips on how to be green (Easy Edition)
By Hotel Neptuno & Apartments,
Is there any better way to start a new year than joining the 'green revolution'?. Below are some tips on how joining the revolution that is gathering pace as we speak.
1. FOOD – NO WASTE, LESS OR NO MEAT AND REGIONAL OR SEASONAL
Western societies and their food suppliers in particular waste an astonishing amount of perfectly good food (up to a third!). Try to minimise food waste at home and do not fall prey to "best before" rip-offs, which are aggressively promoted by the food industry to increase sales and profits. Also, reduce your meat intake drastically or go vegetarian for a few days a week (or completely). There’s a host of reasons why – health, climate change, carbon footprint, world hunger, compassion for animals, etc. Or go entirely plant-based (vegan) – with a few precautions, this can be even healthier, more compassionate for animals and better for the planet. Finally, eating regional and seasonal food is healthy, kind to your budget and kinder to the planet through reducing supply chains and carbon footprint. It’s a no-brainer.
2. SAVE ENERGY
There are many ways to do this, most of them are easy and much of this is about creating new habits that are kinder to the planet (and your budget).
3. SAVE WATER
Just like saving energy, this is about changing habits and there are hundreds of tips available online.
4. USE ECO-FRIENDLY CLEANING PRODUCTS IN YOUR HOUSE
Many cleaning products contain chemicals that are extremely harmful to the environment and its inhabitants, including humans. Eco-Friendly cleaning products are an easy alternative and solution.
5. USE ECO-FRIENDLY PERSONAL HYGIENE PRODUCTS
The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics has created Skin Deep, a searchable online database of cosmetics and personal care products where you can check your sunscreen, shampoo, deodorant, shaving cream and more for toxic ingredients.
6. SAY NO TO BOTTLED WATER
The Independent (a UK broadsheet newspaper) has called bottled water one of the “biggest scams of the century". Just don’t do it in regions where tap water is a perfectly safe alternative. Buy a non-plastic refillable container instead
7. DON’T USE DISPOSABLE TEA/COFFEE CUPS
The billions of disposable coffee cups thrown away each year are a waste of resources and harm forests in particular. Say no to the throwaway culture and switch to reusable coffee cups instead.
8. REDUCE THE AMOUNT YOU PRINT
The environmental impact of paper is significant. At the same time it’s easy to reduce paper use.
9. RECYCLE MORE – CHECK TDOMESTIC RECYCLING SYSTEM THAT YOU CAN USE AND USE IT WELL
Your local area administration will have details on its recycling scheme. Use it and make doubly sure you don’t just throw away toxic household waste such as batteries, paints, oils, etc., but dispose of them properly.
10. CREATE BIODIVERSE GARDENS
Biodiversity is under threat like never before, populations of insects, birds and other species are collapsing at unprecedented rates, a UN report from May 2019 talks of unprecedented decline with species extinctions increasing. There is no doubt that our planet is now in the midst of its - the sixth wave of extinction in the past half-billion years. It may all sound like doom and gloom, and it is serious, but there are things you can do in your backyard to stem the tide and create a garden for native biodiversity.
Leave lawns uncut and allow native plants to populate areas of your garden – weeds are only a matter of definition! Give them and other native plants a home and allow your garden to go wild. Nature conservation really does begin in your backyard!