25 simple minimal effort changes we can make to help save the planet!!

 Are you one of those people who cringe at the thought of how much the way we live is destroying our earth, but are too overwhelmed by the extreme steps needing to be done to make a difference, that you end up putting it in the too hard basket? I am one of those people, but I have found little ways to slowly make changes that overall will make a big impact to this earth. If everyone took small steps to change, the result would be HUGE.

Plastic is one of our biggest problems (although not our only problem by far). DID YOU KNOW? – It takes around 400 years for plastic to break down (whilst leaving toxic chemicals in its wake). Plastic has only been around for roughly 150 years which means that practically every bit of plastic that has been created in the world has yet to break down… There are 5 garbage islands floating in the ocean, one being double the size of Texas L

1. You’re probably doing this already thanks to most councils being on board and giving us separate waste and recycling bins, but recycle glass, paper, cardboard, hard plastics and metal products. Find out what can and cannot be recycled and be mindful – some info here http://www.sustainability.vic.gov.au/You-and-Your-Home/Waste-and-recycling/Recycling/What-you-can-and-cant-recycle
2. Recycle soft plastics. These can be dropped off to recycling bins at Woolworths and can be used to make outdoor furniture and similar products through companies like REPLAS. http://www.replas.com.au/. (Scrunchable plastics like museli bar and chip packets, cling film etc) DID YOU KNOW? – 85% of Australia’s soft plastics end up in landfill. We can change this very easily!
3. Recycle old batteries. Aldi has recycling bins onsite for this. DID YOU KNOW? – 11,000 tonnes of batteries end up in landfill every year. Only 3% of Australians recycle their batteries when Switzerland recycles up to 70%!
4. You’re probably doing this already as well (I hope!). Don’t Litter! Ever! Hold on to your rubbish until you find a bin. This includes cigarette butts. Litter usually ends up in our oceans or in animal’s stomachs.
5. Use an electric toothbrush instead or a non-plastic (such as bamboo) toothbrush.
6. Avoid buying fruit and vegetables that are packaged in plastic. Most of this wrapping is totally unnecessary!
7. Avoid plastic straws. Ask for drinks without them or if you don’t want to go without buy a metal (or paper) one and keep in your hand bag. They’re easily bought online. DID YOU KNOW? – An estimated 3.5 billion straws are thrown out every year in Australia.
8. Avoid using takeaway coffee cups. Take your own reusable one and ask the cafes to use it. These are easily bought online. DID YOU KNOW? – 1 billion coffee cups are used in Australia every year and are not recyclable. This is enough to circumnavigate the world 2 and a half times! 50,000 cups are used every hour!
9. Get a glass or metal reusable water bottle instead of using plastic. Avoid using single use plastic bottles. DID YOU KNOW? –17 billion bottles and cans are used in Australia every year with over half not being recycled. Aprox 1500 plastic water bottles are put into landfill and the ocean every second. In one day we waste enough bottles and cans to stretch the whole way across Australia (4,000km).
10. Avoid using plastic cutlery. If you know you’re probably going to buy takeaway food while you’re out, I know it may seem weird, but take some of your cutlery with you from home! Taking you own water bottles and coffee cups are socially acceptable these days, so why not cutlery?!
11. Take your own cloth shopping bags to the supermarket. We’re already heading in the right direction here with the big chains getting rid of single use plastic bags. But even though we can reuse the replacement bags, they’re still plastic and will end up in landfill eventually. DID YOU KNOW – Australia uses 10 million plastic bags a day! This is causing havoc to our oceans as they take hundreds of years to break down. We can change this!
12. Recycle old phones that are broken or no longer needed. Most big phone companies have a recycling box in their retail stores. They have precious metals inside that are needed in the industry and they’re being wasted sitting discarded in your house for years on end! Clear the clutter. DID YOU KNOW? – A collection of 50,000 phones can contain up to 1kg of gold. Currently in Australia we only recycle 10% of our old phones. In the last decade we’ve hoarded 11 million mobile phones. There are more unused mobile phones in Australia than there is people.
13. Sell unwanted clothes or household items online or gift them to charities and organisations like the Salvation Army or Smith Family Warehouse. If you have excess children’s clothes, post online somewhere, like a parents facebook group page, that they are free to a good home and I’m sure there will be someone who is struggling to make ends meet that would be extremely grateful. Also, try fixing clothes and household items that are damaged instead of automatically throwing them out (or find someone else to fix them). DID YOU KNOW? – 6000kg of clothes are thrown out in Australia every 10 minutes (36,000kg every hour). This could fill the MCG 2.5 times every year. It takes 2700 litres of water to make one item of clothing. That’s enough drinking water for 3 years!
14. Minimise how many plastic toys we buy kids. There are many wooden toy options out there, but really, how many toys does a kid actually need anyway?! Every year after a birthday, do a big clear out of toys no longer used (get the kid involved if they are old enough) and donate it to families or organisations in need.
15. Instead of using cling film, use reusable containers or something like envirowraps that are reusable. (If you do use cling film, add it to your soft plastics rubbish to recycle.)
16. Try to avoid buying products that are packaged up in lunch sized snack portions. Buy in bulk and split it up into reusable containers yourself. (Things like dried nuts, seeds, fruit, popcorn, chips, crackers and cheese etc)
17. Try and avoid buying new appliances, furniture, technology products etc when the ones you have already works perfectly fine and there’s nothing wrong with them. I know upgrades and change can be nice, but be mindful, and find a decent home for whatever you are discarding instead of sending it to landfill.
18. Turn off lights and power points while not in use. (Electronics still use power if it’s switched on at the wall, even if the appliance isn’t actually in use.)
19. Make the change to non-toxic beauty and cleaning products. The environment and your own health will thank you for it. There is an incredibly wide range out there now to choose from and even the major supermarkets are getting on board. Websites like www.nourishedlife.com.au are fantastic for purchasing non-toxic products if you’re unsure what’s safe and what’s not. Taking it to the next step is using plastic free products where possible, such as using bars for soap, shampoo etc instead of bottles. Or finding products in cardboard or glass that break down quickly.
20. Go paper free with all bank statements and bills etc Get them emailed to you and keep them in a separate folder so you can find things easily and print if needed.
21. When printing things that are necessary, if possible use recycled paper and print on both sides of the page.
22. Let your clothes dry on a clotheshorse or washing line instead of using a dryer.
23. Use energy efficient light bulbs.
24. Walk, carpool, take public transport. If you must drive, try to group all of your errands together in one trip so that you’re minimising in-transit time for each errand.
25. I know this one seems like a lot of effort but this can make a huge difference to the environment - Try composting, bokashi or have a worm farm for your food scraps. There is a tonne of information about how to do this on the internet, and the councils even offer free information workshops. http://www.frankston.vic.gov.au/Environment_and_Waste/Waste_and_Recycling/Reduce_Waste#CompostingWormFarmingandBokashiBuckets  DID YOU KNOW? – 3.3 million tonnes of food waste is produced every year which could fill the MCG 6 times! (Upto 5.3 million tonnes when taking into account commercial and industrial sources as well.) When food rots in landfill it lets off methane, which is 25 times more potent than the C02 produced by cars. If 1% of the population composted, it would save 45 million kgs of C02!

 
A lot of this was inspired by the recent television show on ABC called War on Waste. Definitely watch it if you get a chance! Most of the facts listed in this blog are provided from this: https://www.samedayrubbishremoval.com.au/War-On-Waste-Statistics.php
 
Also, if you’re on a roll and willing to step up the effort required to make a difference, here’s a few other ideas:

• Use cloth nappies for your baby. You can even make you own baby wipes using paper towels, water and essential oils. http://www.doterraeveryday.com.au/diy-baby-wipes/
• Make your own sauces, dressings, museli bars and snacks to avoid packaging. Way better for your health too being completely natural and you can control the sugar and salt content.
• Make your own cleaning products & beauty products. You can use essential oils or things that may be in your pantry already! Some ideas - https://www.wikihow.com/Make-Your-Own-Beauty-Products​  https://www.stayathomemum.com.au/houseandhome/diy-cleaning-products/
• Get a Hybrid car!