Tips and Tricks

Transport

Don’t drive – if you can make the journey by foot, bike, public transport or car pool then do it. Driving can really add to your carbon footprint. If you have to use your vehicles ensure that your tyres are properly inflated and that the engine is running smoothly.

Plastic Items

Say bye bye to plastic, hello BYO – ditch single-use plastics to save marine life and future generation’s lives. 13 million metric tons of plastic is thrown into our oceans each year, this is equivalent to 5 bags filled with plastic for every foot of coastline in the world. Marine life mistakes this plastic as food and as a result, they starve to death, 1 million marine animals are killed each year due to the plastic soup that has become our oceans. This plastic is also passed up the food chain as ends up in our bellies too. Choose BYO to bring your own coffee cup, re-useable bag, cutlery including straw and drink bottle.

Create a reusable kit that you carry everywhere to reduce the amount of plastic that you use. Items may include coffee cup, shopping bag, cutlery, reusable straw, small mesh produce bags and a container for take away food. Just think about the waste you can eliminate by using simply alternatives!

Food

Reduce the amount of meat that you eat can have a significant impact on reducing your carbon footprint. Be aware of what you are consuming, meat production is pollution through fossil fuel usage, animal methane, effluent waste, and water and land consumption. There is so many yummy recipes out there!

Don’t waste food, Australians throw out $8 billion worth of edible food each year. Food creates methane gas when it is sent to landfill, methane is 84 times more potent than carbon dioxide this means that it contributes overwhelmingly to climate change. Make sure when you go shopping to shop smart and only buy the things you need. Also make sure to buy products not packeted in plastic and grown locally, this means less carbon is created with their transportation and you are supporting local farmers.

Home

Reduce your energy bills and save the planet too! Turn it off and conserve energy to reduce your carbon footprint. Turn the switch off on electrical items as it uses energy that is unnecessary. By reducing your carbon footprint, you are not contributing to releasing greenhouse emissions into the atmosphere which contribute to climate change.

Invest in a compost bin – this is a great way to help create natural fertiliser and keep your garden green, while also reducing the amount of waste going to landfill. A compost bin is low maintenance and very simple to use.

Of course, we can’t recycle out of this rubbish problem but we must reduce, reuse, repurpose, refuse and recycle. You can recycle almost everything, from batteries to paper to cars. Before you throw something away take a minute to find out if you can recycle it instead.

Eco-friendly cleaning products – many cleaning products have harmful chemicals in them that aren’t environmentally friend to create or dispose of. These harmful chemicals can even affect your health as well as the environment. There are many alternatives such as making your own or green cleaning products that use natural and organic methods of cleaning.

Beauty

When using personal hygiene products be aware that they produce damaging micro-beads which end up in the ocean ultimately ending up in the food chain. Make sure your body and face wash, toothpaste and other products don’t contain these micro-beads. Avoid chemicals and opt for natural cleansing products – ‘Lush’ has a great range of products.