Living an environmentally friendly lifestyle can be extremely easy to achieve with small and simple changes. To get started on a more sustainable life, here are 3 things you can do:
1. Recycle
Recycle as much as you can! If your neighborhood does not have recycling pickup, find a drop-off location or request a curbside service rather than throw the items in the trash. You can also use services like TerraCycle to mail in your eligible recyclable items.
Follow these EPA guidelines to make sure you are properly recycling items such as paper, plastic and glass.
2. Handle Your Clothes Responsibly
Rather than throwing away old clothing that you don’t want anymore, resell and donate those items! Extending the product life reduces the amount of damage that clothing waste does to the environment. You can find a local consignment store or donate to an organization, such as The Salvation Army.
If clothing cannot be worn anymore, recycle the fabric to eventually be made into a new item, such as a cute c.HAIR.i.TEE hair tie.
To reduce your carbon footprint and energy use, hang your clothes to dry in order to prevent the need for a dryer.
3. Go Plastic Free
Avoid buying single-use plastics. It can take up to 1,000 years for plastic to decompose. Every year, billions of pounds are found in our oceans and kill thousands of marine life due to ingestion or getting tangled in the plastic.
Plastic water bottles, containers, utensils, food wrap, straws, and shopping bags can all be replaced by a reusable version. Not only do these reusable items help prevent plastic waste, but they save you money! You can invest in these items from many different shops, such as Package Free.