Humans are the single most astronomical cause to the earths global warming. It is sad to think that we have done so poorly at taking care of our home.
Greener Ideal shows us some facts about recycling that will spark your attention, such as:
"Enough plastic bottles are tossed each year to circle the planet four times
It takes centuries for a disposable diaper to break down in landfill
Recycling aluminium cans saves 95% of the energy used to make new cans"
Please check out Greener Ideal to find out more facts and learn more about who to live eco-friendly.
You can also watch this video to learn more about global warming!
So, how can you make a change to these disasters? It’s simple! Just do your part and tell everyone about it. Then eventually, corporate mass productions of plastic will diminish for the purpose of succeeding in a market that prefers eco-friendly products.
Recycling
Almost everything can be recycled, and there is a lot of awareness of how to do it. However, what people don’t realise is that recycled objects need to be CLEAN. Turns out most of the objects put into recycling can’t actually be recycled because it isn’t clean, contaminating the surrounding materials.
So yes, aluminium and cardboard and things like that can be recycled but did you know that soft plastics can also be recycled? Soft plastics are described as plastic you can squish in your hand. Again, these plastics need to be washed and dried if they are dirty. You can recycle soft plastics with Redcycle, a program where you take your scrunchable plastics and drop them off in a Redcycle bin to be recycled. This program has teamed up with Coles/Woolworths and many other companies which allows convenient drop-off points, find one near you here.
Reusing
Now, minimise your plastic intake by reusing what you already have. Pasta sauce jar? Wash it and keep it. Honey jar? Wash it and keep it. Even your dishwashing liquid, wash it and keep it!! You can reusing so much of what you already have to help minimise plastic intake.
So what are you going to put in your reusables? Easy, go to your nearby WholeFood and Bulk stores and refill your jars with things you would otherwise by at your normal supermarket. An example is use is Camden’s Jallys, an eco-friendly store where you can top up on nuts, flour, sweets, honey and even dishwashing liquid. Find one near you and see how much you can grab! It’s amazing!
Composting
Composting can also be a great alternative for landfill. Let your waste become soil or grab some worms and let your scraps be food! Get into gardening and get passionate about growing your own herbs, fruits and veggies and save some money! More on this topic to come in the future.
Eco-Friendly Products
Get into eco-friendly products to replace your existing plastic products, some examples of these stores are Flora and Fauna and Seed and Sprout. These companies make eco-friendly products that you can use to replace other materials made of plastic! For example, bees wax as a replacement for glad wrap! Replace your current plastic materials with these eco-friendly alternatives.
We at Chàe Magazine implore you to recycle, reuse and grab some eco-friendly products. The more awareness these eco-friendly alternatives get will cause companies to appeal to the morals of its market and create products that are also eco-friendly.
Examples of these actions can be seen in Coles and Woolworths and other market places where plastic bags are ceased and reusable bags are promoted, in addition to a profit for themselves by selling reusable bags for people who don’t have any (or forget to bring them, always leave some in your car!). A more recent example is Colgate, rejecting its old plastic packaging for recyclable cardboard and selling bamboo toothbrushes instead!
You can make a difference, all it takes is a bit of time to wash your recycling and before you know it you’re SAVING not only money but the planet by reusing products.
Until next time,
Chelsea-Lee Bastable
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