10 top tips to reduce carbon footprint & be kind to Earth
AS plastic-free July continues, Dublin group “Veghuns” & Friends Of The Earth urge us to take part to save the planet.
Here’s the top 10 ways you can do your bit from home with environmentalist Sabrina Joyce-kemper.
By making small changes we can all do our bit.
1. SWITCH TO ECO-FRIENDLY TABS
Do it in a gradual way and move onto the next item, start looking for eco-friendly products for anything that goes down your sink.
So for dishwashers or washing machines, you can get tabs or powder, you can get great stuff on earthmother.ie.
2. DON’T USE PESTICIDES IN
THE GARDEN
The reason why you don’t use pesticides is because they wash off the plants during watering and destroy the biodiversity of the soil. It also can go into the ground water and wash into the sewers.
Irish Water said it found a high level of pesticides in drinking water in Mayo a few months ago and have pleaded with people to stop using them in their gardens.
It also ends up in our seas from stormwater.
You can order ladybugs, who will devour greenfly, from Mr Middleton in Dublin City.
You could also put copper wire around your vegetables and where your leafy greens are bedded.
Try to leave some of your garden a bit wild so snails, slugs and insects can go to town on iti. Anyone can have cheap ponds and it’s great for the insects to drink.
3. DON’T FLUSH WIPES
Even if they say the wipes are flushable, no wipes should ever be
flushed as they don’t break down in time to prevent sewers from blocking.
You could even block pipes on your own ground and causing overflow onto your own property, which you will have to pay for yourself, which can be quite nasty.
Don’t flush anything other than toilet roll in the toilet, just put them
5. TAMPONS, SANITARY PADS AND CONDOMS DON’T
BIODEGRADE SO PUTTING THEM IN THE LOO IS A NO-NO
Condoms contain latex and birds and sea mammals can choke on them so take responsibility for your waste.
6. REUSABLE WATER BOTTLES
It saves so much money to begin with – €2 or €3 a day would save you more than €1,000 a year. Plus you’re reducing the amount of microplastics you’re consuming yourself, which is a massive thing.
Microplastics release chemicals which can impact on our own hormone levels.
It’s better for your own health, but it means all these plastic bottles don’t need to be recycled. The biggest thing we find when we’re cleaning up the beach are plastic bottles.
7. LEAVE NO TRACE BEHIND
INCLUDING CIGARETTES
If you can carry it down, you can carry it back empty, it’s a simple rule. It’s OK if you leave it beside the overflowing bin, you’re making an effort.
It’s people leaving things on the beach to be washed into the sea, that’s so avoidable and also with dog poo, clean that up too as that’s E.coli going into the sea.
And tossing cigarette butts in the street, it’s a no-no, they end up in the sewers and they can be
8. SUPPORT ONE
OCEAN CHARITY
Support a local charity or a seal charity or groups that might do beach cleaning.
Pick one to help with the oceans, if you don’t have money, give your time.
If you help out in one of those groups, you’re putting your voice out and saying you care.
These groups are usually small individuals, day after day down on the beach fighting for a cause can be exhausting.
So when fresh blood and fresh support comes in, either from donations or volunteering, it really does help.
consumed by the fish. People forget we rely on birds
to pollinate, they eat fruit and poop it out on the ground, that’s how some fruit and flowers pollinate.
If you’re poisoning them and reducing populations, we’re hurting ourselves.
9. CYCLE OR TAKE PUBLIC TRANSPORT
TO REDUCE OIL RIGS IN THE SEA
If you use your car there will be a demand for petrol. Start by doing one journey a week by bike or walking.
The trip to the shops or the trip to the school, just by reducing that fuel intake, will reduce the buying power.
70% of our world is sea, so most oil rigs are off shore.
The less oil rigs there are, the less spills and fracking will happen, so everything you can do to reduce fossil fuel use, is always a good thing.
10. ROOF GARDENS
We’re going to see water restrictions coming in.
If you have your water butt that takes water from your roof down a drain pipe, you can have a supply for your plants, grass and flowers. It’s common sense.
You’ll have water to wash your car and it’s not going down the sewer during heavy rainfall.
I’d like to see every house in the country given a water butt, it’s something I’m intensely passionate about.
If Irish Water could give a grant to every house in the country to go get one and put it on their roof, it would be a game changer.
Just imagine 80 to 120 litres each household, it would mean millions of litres not going down the sewer.