The new year is almost here. But just like every other year, we will see the ever familiar sights of strewn garbage, leaking water pipes and torn plastic bags.
2018 can change this. All that is needed is a wee bit of dedication and the will to make small changes within your lifestyle as a conscious citizen of the world.
Here are a few simple steps to help you become eco-friendly this year and yes, these will cost you nothing!
Ditch Plastic, Carry Cloth Bags
The next time you head to your local kirana store or to the market to shop, carry cloth bags from home. Your cloth bags are a better alternative as you won’t be accumulating more plastic at home. This way, you can also encourage your local vendor to spread awareness about cloth bags to their other customers. Take the cloth bag initiative across to your neighbours in your society, and this one simple step could lead to ideas for bigger, greener initiatives.
Segregate Your Waste
Label two separate dustbins – one ‘wet’, the other ‘dry’. In the wet bin, you can throw in vegetable peels, egg shells, fruit skins, used tea and coffee grains as well as other substances that could be composted. In the dry bin, you can throw in plastic wrappers, packets, paper shreds and other dry items. Segregating your waste at home saves the time and effort of the sanitation worker collecting waste materials. The plastic and paper items can be recycled while the edible items can be sent in for composting. This way, lesser waste goes to the landfill.
More Use for Newspapers
Instead of piling up old newspapers, you can turn them into paper bags and distribute them among friends. You can use newspapers effectively for other purposes also. Line the inside of your dustbins with used papers. You can also wrap fruits in them to contain their freshness as well as wrap gifts in newspaper. Papers can also be used in other creative ways to make coasters and photo frames through paper quilling.
Dispose E-Waste Effectively
There are many effective ways to dispose your electronic waste items. These include headphones, chargers, old handsets, laptops, USBs, CDs, cassettes and other devices. Firstly, if any of these are in working condition and you still want to get rid of them, then consider donating them to a school. There are many e-waste collection centres such as SWaCH, Glean E-Waste Management and many more private agencies. You could start the year by organising an e-waste collection drive in your home or society!
Your Habits, Your Changes
Your current lifestyle habits could be the biggest reason behind a big carbon footprint. Check your daily routine and see how you can minimise producing waste. Decrease buying pre-packaged plastic water bottles, instead, carry your own glass or PET bottle of water with you wherever you go. If you go shopping to your local dairy or for groceries, carry your own containers. Invest in homemade solutions for cleaning your house instead of buying plastic bottles with harmful chemicals.
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#Together, we can make a difference – Issued in public interest by Pune365
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