Quick Tips to a Zero-Waste Lifestyle
January 2019
January is zero-waste month, a time to buy less and waste less and to up-cycle the recyclable. This January, try kicking your trash down to nothing with these quick sustainability tips:
Learn to switch off
Rampant electricity use means wasted resources. Sometimes you don’t really need to have your air conditioner on, or to have your fan running all day, or your lights shining in the sunlight. Turn off the AC, pop open a window and learn to switch off as you go about your day.
Try commuting
Every car is another fossil-fuel burning factory, and every driver on the road means another polluting car. Try taking public transport – ride the jeep, take the train, hop on a bus if you have to. If you really must drive, try looking for the shortest route, but if it can be helped, go for the commute option. Share in your city travels and say no to pollutants.
Think before you buy
Before you buy anything, do your research. What goes into this product? Is it wrapped in plastic? Does this restaurant get rid of its waste properly? Is this purchase sustainably sound? Keep the environment in your mind before you buy anything.
Purchase only what you need
Much of the waste we produce comes from buying things we don’t need. Excess food, on-sale items, last-minute purchases – all these things are unnecessary and will likely find their way to a landfill. As Marie Kondo would have it – buy only the things that spark joy in your heart.
Be prepared
If you’re planning on being an ace recycler, it pays to be prepared. If plastic waste is unavoidable, have something on your person you can stick it in – maybe an eco-bag, or an empty bottle for eco-brick purposes.
Go paperless
Not only is it annoying to have mountains of paper cluttering up your work desk – every carton of paper means half a tree gone. Can you imagine the costs to our forests with all the paper we use? Get yourself off those physical mailing lists, start sending emails and, if you really must read, try an e-book instead.
Reuse, reuse, reuse
Let’s say you’ve done the KonMari method. Now you’ve got a mountain of waste to contend with. Instead of chucking it out the window, try finding some new use for it. Get creative and repurpose your old things. If you really can’t think of anything, try giving your old things to someone who might need them more. Someone else could use your old shirts, after all.
Tell a friend
So you’ve gone sustainable. You’ve dropped your waste, and your eco-footprint is looking mighty small. That’s great – but what about everybody else? Tell your friends what you’ve been up to. Share it on social media. Join a group and learn even more. Do what you can and let your excitement carry you forward as you spread the sustainability movement.
January is the time to say no to waste, and there’s a lot that you can do, from donating your waste to taking the train, saying no to plastics and telling your friends to do the same. So make like Marie Kondo and a put a little bit more thought and value in the things you do and the ways in which you spend and live your life.
For more tips on how to live sustainability, follow this link here: https://archive.wwf.org.ph/get-involved/live-sustainably/
For more information, please contact:
Communications & Media Manager Mr. Dan Ramirez (dramirez@wwf.org.ph)
