Its always better to start small but start now. When i was hanging out with all the cute stuffs that i could find in store, i never realized that i had enough of plastic pollution already at my own home! I had every fast fashion brand clothes, i used to carry plastics everywhere and all in all i used to create a lot of waste while buying street foods, buying stationery and go to coffee, mindlessly. I had a shift in my thoughts when we traveled to Taiwan two years ago. Taiwan was *sigh so beautiful and the people were generous and helpful. I mean hands down on their friendliness.
So, we had two of our Taiwanese friends who showed us around. We had a great time with Apollo and Su but most importantly they taught us how wasteful we actually were. Both of our friends were vegans and they were living a life of zero waste. While i was shopping uselessly, they carried their reusable grocery bags everywhere. While i bought food in way too many paper bags they tried to reduce their waste by carrying their own reusable glass and metal containers. It was then when i realized how i was creating unnecessary plastic and food waste everyday. After we came back home from the trip, i started my journey to become the Eco friendly person that i am today. Today i am going to share first five changes i made in my life to kick start my zero waste lifestyle :)
1) Carry reusable bags:
Grocery bags create an unnecessary plastic waste every time we go shopping. So, what i did was i started carrying a small reusable bag with me every time i go out. i had small bags in my every carry bag. So that even if i change my bag i had my reusable bag with me every time i step out of my home. You must have heard this probably a thousand times but this is really a first step towards being aware of your shopping habits.
2)Investing on a Reusable water bottle:
If you are like me who likes to hydrate every time and doesn't want to create waste , Invest in a good water bottle. This saved me a lot of money in a long run and also is very sustainable option to buying water bottle every day. I personally prefer copper ones since its healthier options to any other metals for water.
3)Be this "no straw please" person:
I never needed straws in my drinks. So, i started to ask for straw less drink every-time i had to go out. If you are the person who loves the privilege of straws you can always switch to bamboo or metal straws for your drinks. I saw a video where a turtle had his nose blocked because of the straw in the ocean and the veterinary doctor had removed it, i decided to never use straw for my drinks.
4)Be mindful with your Energy Consumption:
I started being mindful with my daily consumption of electricity and water. Using the electricity when i need and switching off whenever i am studying in another room or going out was also another step to being an Eco Friendly Person. I also started using minimal amount of water and started being conscious about my daily water use. While there are people in the world who do not have enough water to drink, i wanted to save as much resources as possible.
5)Reuse:
Last but not the least, Reuse what you have again and again. While most of us buy stuffs which already comes with a glass or plastic bottles or jars, its important to reuse the same jar for storing other things. For example last month i bought honey which came in a glass jar. I peeled the paper from the jar and stored some almonds in them. This way i didn't have to buy any new containers and i also reused what i had with me. The other example is that i have this beautiful perfectly working plastic portable glass. Instead of buying a new one while its working just perfectly is only creating another waste. So, i decided to use it until it is function less. This way i am not creating any money waste or plastic waste. This is the major change i made when i started being Eco friendly.
While we all are in different stages of our journey to becoming an Eco friendly person, please be the person who encourages and inspires others. If you see someone using plastic utensils and plastic stuffs inspire them with your actions. We should only be kind and understanding with the other persons journey and their preferences.
Good Luck on being the best version of yourself !!