What do you mean by eco-friendly?

What do you mean by eco-friendly?

 

Being eco-friendly means living or doing things in a way that has little or no damaging effects on the environment. Eco-friendly products, events, and services don’t cost the Earth. So how can we all be a little more eco-friendly?

 

Preventing waste-

Reducing waste in our everyday lives can have such a positive impact on so many things. Saving waste helps reduce pollutants entering our environment, reduces waste entering landfill, helps sustain the availability of materials, and also saves money and energy.

So what are some easy was to get started with reducing the waste you produce?

 

Recycle-

regularly recycling is a great start to reducing the waste that you produce! Recycling waste made out of materials such as plastics, glass, paper or cardboard helps reduce the waste sent to landfill and also give the potential for that waste to be reused and turned into something new.

 

 

Reuse-

using reusable products such as reusable water bottles, metal straws, reusable carrier bags and food bags/ containers etc. help reduce a lot of waste we produce on a daily basis. A simple change like buying a refillable water bottle will reduce the number of plastic water bottles that get thrown away daily. There are many reusable product option available, especially online.

 

 

Upcycle-

instead of just throwing something away, why not try and reuse it or mend it? For example if a piece of clothing has a hole or rip in it, are you able to mend it instead of throwing it away? If the piece of clothing no longer fits, are you able to use that fabric for something else? In my family, we always use old vests or t-shirts as dusters for cleaning the house so the fabric gets reused for a new purpose and doesn’t just get thrown away!

 

 

Use ecofriendly products-

non-ecofriendly products contain non-biodegradable materials and toxic chemicals that can pollute streams, rivers and oceans. these products take along time to degrade and may also end up entering food chains. Most products you use on a daily basis will have an ecofriendly alternative. For example toiletry products, there are many reusable or environmentally friendly product options out there that you can make a simple switch to.

 

 

Save energy-

saving energy is also a way of reducing waste. Billions of pound worth of energy is wasted each year in the UK alone. A lot of this is through burning fossil fuels, whether that be a cars engine or home ovens. A lot of this energy is lost as it become useless waste heat. There are many ways to save energy like making sure to turn off lights when leaving a room, walking, cycling or using public transport where you can, and also reducing the consumption of mass made products such as fast fashion and the use of online shopping. So much energy is used in all of these things so cutting out and finding alternatives where possible can have such a positive impact on the environment.

 

These are just a few small changes that you can make to help you start living an ecofriendly lifestyle. Even just making one of these changes is a step forward in the right direction. Make the change and make a difference!

 

If you enjoyed this blog, why not check out our others for all things sustainable! Blog – Calluna Upcycling – Ecofriendly Gifts (calluna-upcycling.co.uk)