Your Steps and Resolutions Towards the 4 Rs Principle of Green Living and plastic-free life

By Jade Piper

Tuning into news reports and media coverage can contribute to a lingering sense of dread and unease about our environment. The challenges of reducing carbon emissions, cleaning up our polluted oceans and turning the tables on reliance upon fossil fuels can seem overwhelming and outside of our control. Yet, the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. When it comes to caring for our planet, small, simple steps are a practical way towards environmental sustainability. That’s exactly what the 4 R’s of Green Living aims to do – to provide a framework that makes it straightforward to take simple steps towards eco-friendly living. Simple steps soon build momentum. In this blog, we look at how you can embed the 4R’s of Green Living into your daily life in ways that are manageable and stress-free.

The 4 Rs of Green Living

The 4 R’s? You are likely to be familiar with at least one of these R’s – recycling. Hopefully you’re already committed, at least in principle, to conserving our earth’s resources by recycling. Recycling prevents items heading to landfill quite as quickly and means that less virgin raw materials are needed. Most cities and towns have offered curbside and organized recycling schemes for some time. In fact, one of the first curbside recycling schemes in the world began in Paris in 1884 – some 3 years before the construction of the Eiffel Tower began - when Eugène Poubelle introduced an integrated curbside recycling system, requiring residents to separate their waste into perishable items, paper and cloth, and crockery and shells.

Yet, Recycling is just one of the 4R’s. We now recognize that are a series of ethical and environmental steps that can be taken to reduce waste and the consumption of precious resources. In fact, recycling is the least preferrable of the 4 options, in that the process of recycling requires energy and consumes resources. In this way, whilst recycling is always to be preferred over and above sending waste to landfill, there are other choices that are preferable to recycling. Let’s take a look at the 4R’s:

· Refuse

· Reduce

· Reuse

· Recycle

Refuse

Taking the simple step of refusing to purchase items that are single use, or which are wasteful, is the first ethical step to take when it comes to reducing our reliance on fossil fuels and protecting our oceans. Many companies, despite growing awareness, continue to use excessive packaging, or rely on plastic wrapping of goods. Adopting the 4 R’s means taking clear and consistent steps to refuse to purchase products or support businesses that are not taking environmental considerations seriously. In this way, consumer pressure can encourage businesses to act.

It can take a small amount of preparation and forethought to get into the Refuse habit – but once you do, you’ll be sidestepping wasteful products and practices like a pro, sending a clear message to business that the environment matters at the same time.

Refuse by:

· Carrying cloth shopping bags with you whenever you visit stores. Refuse any form of single use or plastic bag that the store offers you. Around 1.000 billion plastic bags are thrown away every year. It’s single use palstic we need to stop using. Biodegradable plastic bags have now the same price to produce than plastic ones.

· Even better, use your spending power to refuse to shop in stores where plastic bags are regularly offered to customers.

· Using the disposable straw at the bar. Refuse the single serving sugar, milk or sauce sachet at cafes and restaurants – in fact, take your business to establishments that have found ways to avoid any single sachet items. Ask for washable plates, cups and cutlery and refuse to support businesses that are taking the easy option of using disposable cups. And, if it’s a Take-Away coffee you are after, refuse to patronize any outlet that doesn’t offer the option of using your own reusable travel mug. 50% of the plastic produced is throw after its first usage.

· Using free pen, free coaster, free plastic keyring. Do you really need branded merchandise that advertises any company that pays so little head to the environment?

· Buying fruits and vegetables that are not in-season.

· Buying chewing-gum, it’s plastic made and if you throw it way, birds or fish could swallow with a tragic ending for them.

· Not buying disposable razors, buy metal one instead.

· Not buying plastic bottles, it’s a single use and you surely know how to replace them. 500 billion of plastic bottles are used every year in the world. Drink packaging represents 14 of worldwide waste and even more if we count plugs and labels.

· Not buying fruits and vegetables in plastic packaging: buy them in bulk

· Not buying inflatable balloons, likely they will end up in oceans.

· Not buying plastic cotton buds, buy wooden or carton ones instead. Plastic cotton ear buds are the 6th sea waste most commonly found of European beaches.

· Not using exfoliating cosmetics containing micro plastic beads, as they will end in rivers and oceans too.

· Not wearing clothes that are not made of synthetic materials or choose those made of bio-based nylon

· Not using plastic bottled soap, or toothpaste in plastic tubes, use solid ones instead.

Reduce

The second of the 4 R’s of Green Living, Reduce asks us to consider making cutbacks to our consumption of resources and use of fossil fuels. Using less means less waste produced to deal with. With some practice, adopting the principle of reduction in your life soon becomes second nature. Aiming to reduce waste at home does not mean living without enjoyment or pleasure. In fact, many people who adopt a principle of reduction in their approach to consumption find that living that bit simpler can cultivate an attitude of gratitude and appreciation for things, rather than a mindless and wasteful mindset.

Reduce by:

· Considering portion sizes of food for both adults and children when planning meals. And, if you do find you have any leftovers – use these for lunches the next day.

· Reduce your reliance on processed foods, which are likely to have clocked up more food miles and carbon emissions than natural alternatives.

· Turn lights off when you leave a room. Turn monitors and TV’s off, rather than leaving on stand-by to reduce energy usage.

· Reduce commuter miles and emissions by working from home when possible.

· Print on both sides of the paper. Even better, reduce reliance on paper by making use of paperless tech options whenever possible.

· Ask for donations to a charity of your choosing as an alternative birthday present.

· Reduce reliance on multiple cleaning products by making use of green-cleaning homemade recipes that rely on vinegar, lemon juice and bicarbonate of soda.

· When you travel, there is no need to buy small quantities of toiletries: fill small empty containers.

Reuse

The third of the 4 R’s taps into creativity and thinking outside the box. Instead of placing waste into the recycling bin, consider if you can repurpose or reuse the item in any way? This is not a new way of thinking – in the past, our Grandparents were adept of finding new uses for objects, and adopted the motto, “waste not, want not”.

Reuse by:

· Reuse cardboard inner tubes as simple containers for compost and seedlings. These can then be planted direct in the soil when big enough, as the cardboard will simply decompose.

· Use old T-Shirts cut into squares to create washable cleaning and polishing clothes.

· Donate usable items to thrift or charity stores.

· Consider investing in reusable items for things you use regularly.

· Consider reusable food wraps, travel cups and – of course – reusable shopping bags.

· Reuse food scraps and garden cuttings by composting.

Recycle

As we’ve seen, recycling is the least eco-friendly of the 4 R’s, in that the collection and processing of waste materials for recycling consumes resources. That said, recycling is an important part of an overall approach that includes and prioritizes refuse, reduce and reuse strategies. As well as recycling anything that can’t be reused, consider contacting your local council or Member of Parliament to campaign for increased recycling capacity for your area.

Your Steps and Resolutions Towards the 4 Rs Principles of Green Living and plastic-free life