The planet needs a little bit of TLC just like you do! The only difference is that it’s a lot easier and sometimes even cheaper to show Mother Earth some love. We’re here with 10 ways you can help protect the environment every day.
1. Properly disposing dead batteries
Depleted batteries, when thrown in the trash, land up at landfills, slowly leaking harmful chemicals into land and water resources, polluting them as a result. The better option? Return them to a store that either sells them or collects electronic waste. You can also simply pick products that are rechargeable and don’t need batteries altogether.
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2. Reduce your screen time
In today’s day and age it seems impossible to spend a long time without your phone, tablet or laptop. Yes, technology does keep you connected, entertained and informed but the more you use your gadgets, the more you will have to charge them, thus utilising more electricity, which more often than not comes from non-renewable resources, thus increasing your carbon footprint. Try to cut down on your screen time as much as you can. Pick up a book instead of binge-watching a series or limit your laptop time by fully utilising your working hours on it. This will go a long way not just for the environment but also personally.
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3. Avoid using utilities at 6 P.M.
Seems like an odd request? Hear us out! At peak energy consumption times like 6 p.m., the surge in energy consumption is often fulfilled by firing up peaker plants. These peaker plants are extremely CO2 intensive and use anywhere between two to three times as much resources than regular plants, not just increasing your carbon footprint but also electricity costs for you.
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4. Switch to LED lights
Still haven’t switched to LED lights in your home? Consider this a sign! LED lights consume 75 per cent less energy than conventional lights, immediately making them a lot more environmentally friendly. Additionally, they also don’t contain mercury, which means if they do end up in the trash, they won’t release toxins in the environment. However, you should always recycle them than throw them away!
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5. Recycle electronics
Want to throw that old phone in the trash? Think again! With the increase in demand for electronic products the demand for materials used to make them, like aluminium, steel, copper and gold, also increases. But if we recycle our electronic devices, the mining of these limited resources can be easily cut down, thus being a better alternative for the environment.
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6. Use plastic-free toothpaste and bath products
Switch to plastic-free toothpaste! And we’re not just talking about packaging. While plastic microbeads have been banned from all washable products in India since 2020, a lot of products may still contain microplastics even if they aren’t big enough for you to see. Give your ingredient list another look and beware of these: Polyethylene (PE), Polypropylene (PP), Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), Nylon (PA), Polyurethane, and Acrylates Copolymer. Microplastics, when ending up in water resources through drains end up seriously disrupting aquatic life and polluting them.
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7. Not fully using less sustainable products
It feels like such a relief to find the perfect sustainable alternatives to products you use. But do not make the mistake of throwing your previous products out immediately without utilising them fully. Being sustainable doesn’t just mean using sustainable products, it also means using what you already have for as long as you can, so as to create less waste. This means that throwing anything out without fully using it would be unsustainable, even if you already have a sustainably produced alternative in hand.
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8. Switch to cleansing balms to remove makeup
Using wet wipes and cotton pads to remove makeup may be the norm now but we don’t often realise its environmental impact. A lot of wet wipes are not biodegradable, not to mention the unnecessary and avoidable waste both wet wipes and cotton pads produce. A better alternative is a cleansing balm. It’s as simple as massaging the product in to remove all kinds of makeup, without any extra wastage. Try to opt for ones made of natural ingredients to be as eco-friendly as possible! An extra perk is that this switch will be a lot gentler on your skin than rubbing it with wet wipes or cotton pads when you remove your makeup.
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9. Switch to strainers fabric tea bags
Who doesn’t love a good cup of tea, especially when it’s as easy as dipping a tea bag in a cup of hot water. However, most tea bags are made of plastic contents that can’t completely decompose when thrown in the trash. Try opting for loose leaves with strainers or reusable cloth tea bags instead.
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10. Avoid throwing birth control pills down the drain
As birth control pills become one of the most convenient contraceptives out there, disposing of them also becomes something that one needs to be careful with. As per a few recent studies, including a doctoral thesis from Lund University in Sweden, show that hormones found in birth control pills, even in low doses, can affect the genetics, reproductive cycle and negatively impact behaviour in fish. They tend to reproduce less and find it difficult to find food as a result. This doesn’t mean you have to stop taking birth control pills, it simply means you can’t throw them down the drain or flush them in the toilet to dispose of them.
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