Every day we make choices in our life to affect the environment, the climate and other species who are sharing the planet with us. What we eat, how we eat, what we shop, how we live, and there is a lot more to this never ending list which somehow or the other is changing the structure of the natural resources.
Sustainable Development is the idea that human societies must live and meet their needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
There are the 5 common habits which we can easily alternate with those which we often end up doing the most.
1. Skip single use items
We encounter a lot of single-use items in our day to day life like plastic grocery bags, plastic cutlery , water bottles, plastic straws etc. are a big curse on our environment. According to Plastic Oceans, we are producing almost 300 million tons of plastic every year, and half of it is single use, and it’s a huge number for us to believe how threatening it is for the ocean life and the environment.
We can easily alternate these things with the use of metal straws, reusable water bottles, always carrying your own cloth bags during shopping even by having a set of cutlery in your bag can make a lot of difference.
2. Practice Minimalism
Minimalism doesn’t mean living without anything, it means that you are making sure that everything you own and use is put to its maximum purpose. This means waste materials as well. With a minimalist lifestyle, you will recycle more, and will only buy the things which will be needed.
The ecological pillar of sustainability would state that everyone should reduce the number of consumer goods all together in an effort to reduce the consumption of natural resources as a whole.
3. Consume Responsibly: Zero Hunger
Extreme hunger and malnutrition remains a barrier to sustainable development and creates a trap from which people cannot easily escape. Worldwide, nearly 800 million people suffer from hunger, the majority of whom are in developing countries. With an expected 2 billion hungry people on the planet by 2050. Addressing the needs for food security is paramount, as it is important to build a more sustainable future for everyone.
4. Avoid unnecessary printing
Paper is part of our everyday lives and we should use it wisely. We may not always consider that paper production, distribution, use, and disposal require a large amount of energy and raw materials and comes with a lot of other miscellaneous costs of storage, printers, ink etc. Also we need trees to pull the CO2 out of the air, which means we need to stop cutting trees as the amount of paper one uses in their lifespan is huge.
And in this modern times there are many alternatives for that like Streamlining systems through efficient tools like online platforms or usage of applications for storage purposes, or using of recycled paper and supporting the companies who does that, even shifting to e- tickets wherever possible can contribute a lot.
5. Donate
According to the World Bank, more than 735 million people around the globe live in extreme poverty, which equates to about $1.90 a day or less. Donating your old belongings is another way to recycle, helping to keep landfills from overflowing and plastics from entering the world’s water supply also
for e.g. If you have books you’ve finished reading, give them to a local library or if you upgrade appliances at home, send the previous ones to a cause which accepts them. Also if you have some party at home then donate the leftovers to a local food bank it’ll also cut down on waste and it can go a long way to feeding the most vulnerable among us.
These are practices which are not possible to acquire in one day. But we can make small changes here and there to help reduce the waste we create and to be more responsible in dealing with the waste we do have.
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