Sustainable items you need for 2021
Psssst. Can we let you in on a little secret? Having a more sustainable household doesn’t have to be hard, doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice quality and doesn’t mean spending a fortune. But what it will do is make a priceless impact on the environment and the world.
Did you know that according to the WWF (World Wildlife Fund):
– Less than 10% of plastics in the world are recycled
– An estimated 90% of seabirds have plastic fragments in their stomach
– Every plastic toothbrush you’ve ever owned still exists
– Australia uses (on average) 130kg of plastic per person, per year
It’s estimated that in the next 30 years, there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish.
And even plastics that we think we’re recycling sometimes end up contaminated and wind up as landfill after all.
That’s why each and every person reducing the overall amount of single-use plastic that we use is so important. And the best place to start is right here at home.
Kitchen
The kitchen is probably the area of the home where you can make the most difference.
Consumables: compostable ‘throwaways’ like cling wrap and snack bags are becoming easier and easier to find these days, delivering the convenience we’re used to and protecting the environment at the same time.
Re-usable: reusable containers, reusable cutlery, reusable straws, keep cups and beeswax wraps all fall into this category. Whether you choose metal, bamboo, glass, or quality BPA-free reusable plastics, anything that you can wash and reuse is going to make a massive difference on your environmental impact.
Vejibags: it’s one thing to reduce plastic at the grocery store by using re-usable mesh bags when buying your fruit and veg, but what do you do to reduce food waste? Vejibags might be the answer: organic cotton and designed to keep your fruit and veg fresher for longer.
Reusable coffee pods: of course plastics aren’t the only risk to the environment. Coffee pod machines have become insanely popular, but have you ever stopped to think about what happens to all those used pods? Generally, they end up as a landfill – the thought of which is probably likely to make your coffee taste bad. Fortunately, refillable coffee pods are now a thing, which means you can enjoy the convenience of your coffee machine, and feel good about using it too! If you don’t use a pod machine, but prefer drip, filter, or Aeropress, you can get reusable filters for these appliances as well.
Even healthier hydration: Have you heard of copper water bottles? A copper water bottle not only helps you stay hydrated and stop you from needing single-use plastic bottles, they also deliver Ayurvedic health benefits. Copper positively charges the water in the bottle and drinking it can help to balance the Doshas: Vata, Kapha, and Pita.
Bathroom
The smallest room of the house probably has the second biggest impact when it comes to plastic waste. The great news is that there are a huge number of sustainable options to choose from to replace traditionally plastic items in the bathroom, such as:
– Bamboo toothbrushes use sustainably grown bamboo to replace plastic – Refillable razors – rather than buying disposable plastic razors, why not get a good quality handle that allows you to just swap out the blades- Reusable cotton cleansing wipes – we all know that you should you’re your face before bed (especially if you wear makeup) but disposable cleansing wipes and cotton rounds are not doing the environment any good. Replace them with these instead- Reusable ear buds/ cotton tips – it’s possible to go through a LOT of cotton buds, over the course of your life, but this one promises to be the last you’ll ever need.- Eco-friendly floss – did you know that a lot of dental floss is plastic coated? If you’re flossing as much as you should, that’s a lot of floss getting thrown away each year, so why not try this eco-friendly floss instead?
Office/School
Whether you’re working from home, heading to school or purchasing for an entire organization, there are loads of environmentally sustainable options to choose from now.
– Go green when you need to write in black with these pens that are made from recycled water bottles. Recycled paper pens: if plastic isn’t your thing, these pens made from recycled plastic are just awesome. –Recycled paper pencils: even the kids can get in on the act with these pencils made from recycled paper.
While we tend to think about water bottles when we talk about single-use plastics, family-size soft drink bottles are also a major environmental villain in this area. If your family enjoys a lot of soft drinks, soda water or other carbonated beverages, have a think about getting a soda maker, such as a Soda Stream. One carbon canister can make up to 60lt of bubbles, which is a huge number of single-use bottles that you’ll be replacing.- Recycled paper: printer paper, note paper, exercise books, sketch paper … virtually every kind of paper product you need comes in a recycled option and these days, the quality of the is so good you can hardly tell it’s recycled.
So, what do you think? Are there any things on this list that you could easily swap out to make your home life just that little bit more sustainable?
