HOW TO GET GREEN
Not everyone can have an off-grid home and an electric car, but we can all adopt a few small habits to make daily life kinder to the environment. Try these suggestions, writes Katie Newton.
❚ Refuse a straw. Of all the single use plastics, straws are one of the most insidious - small and lightweight they can easily miss the recycling bin and end up in the waterways. If you must have a straw for your smoothie, choose a reusable alternative made from stainless steel or glass.
❚ Switch to bar soap. It’s cheaper and has minimal packaging compared to liquid soap. New Zealand brand Ethique takes it one step further and offers bar shampoo and conditioner. It even offers frizz-taming and volumising varieties.
❚ Drink loose tea instead of tea bags. Humans have been drinking tea for 3000 years and it’s only been in the last 50 that waste producing teabags have become commonplace. If you must have a bag for that convenient single cuppa, go for one without a string, stapled tag and un-recyclable plastic wrapper. Unbleached bags have less of a chemical load too.
❚ Avoid plastic-wrapped corn. Nature gave corn it’s own handy biodegradable wrapper, it doesn’t need plastic. Same goes for avocados, oranges and bananas.
❚ While you’re at it, ditch plastic wrap for good. Have a stock of reusable containers for storing food or try reusable wraps made from beeswax. These can be used again and again and then thrown on the compost heap at the end of their life.
❚ Don’t forget your reusable bags when you go to the shops. And not just for trips to the supermarket either, they should accompany you on any trip to the mall. Keep them in your car boot and office drawer. Have one that squashes down into practically nothing in the bottom of your handbag.
❚ Take reusable produce bags too. Made out of lightweight mesh or net, they expand to to fit a good haul of fruit or veges. If you’re caught short at the supermarket, put your produce in the recyclable paper mushroom bags instead of plastic.
❚ Dust and polish with a feather duster or microfibre cloth. This avoids chemical cleaning products that end up in waterways, and saves on paper towels.
❚ Choose eco friendly cleaning products for areas that need extra sanitisation. Extra points if you make your own - a mixture of white vinegar and dishwashing detergent cleans the shower brilliantly. Spray it on for 30 minutes and wipe off.
❚ Line your bins with degradable liners. Many people reuse their plastic shopping bags to line the bin, but using old newspaper, or degradable bags from somewhere like ecobags.co.nz is a less wasteful option.
❚ Choose biodegradable cotton buds. Some UK supermarkets have already promised to ban those with plastic stems which end up in water ways. Bamboo or paper is a biodegradable alternative.
❚ Get a biodegradable bamboo toothbrush. Bamboo crops don’t need pesticides or chemical fertiliser, and absorb more carbon dioxide and emit more oxygen than the equivalent area planted in trees. Plus, you can shave the bristles and throw it on your compost when it’s worn out. Check out gobamboo.co.nz.
❚ Ban yoghurt in plastic pottles. Make your own with an EasiYo or using a DIY coconut yoghurt recipe and dish them out for the kids in small bowls.
❚ Compost. If you don’t want a traditional compost bin down the end of the garden, a Bokashi system is a fuss-free option that can be kept inside. Food waste is layered with a mixture that causes it to ferment and the liquid to drain out, decreasing its volume. Once the bucket is full, the fermented food waste is dug into soil to complete the composting process. The diluted juice can be used as a free, natural fertiliser.
❚ Buy yourself a keep cup - and use it! Some cafes will also offer you a discount on your takeaway caffeine fix. Buy them for your friends, families and coffee-addicted workmates.
❚ Have your bills emailed. It saves on paper and transport emissions, and sometimes gets you a little discount on the price. ❚ If your kids are little, join a toy library. They have heaps of great toys to choose from and it gives you the incentive to buy less. Get friends and family to pitch in for a membership for a birthday. ❚ Switch to organic wine. It’s a growing sector of the local industry and a quality drop is widely available. ‘‘The soil quality is higher, there are more beneficial insects, the earth itself is healthier,’’ says Rebecca Reider of Organic Winegrowers NZ. Workers benefit from less chemical exposure and some people even find it gives them less of a hangover the next day.