If you really want to be good for the earth, and by extension your wallet, STOP BUYING SHIT YOU DON'T NEED. I understand that us human beings have desires and cravings, but look around you. How much stuff do you own that really sparks joy?
An average person in the UK generates 409 kilos of waste per year and only 45% of that gets recycled. Almost 100 kilos of this goes into landfills.
The UK does not have enough capabilites to deal with this amount of waste and sends most of our binned plastic off to Malaysia, Turkey and even the Netherlands 'helps' incinerating our plastic waste.
We need to drastically change the way we live, so please look at these simple steps before you shop again:
1. Rethink: Don't spend money you don't have and don't impulse buy. We've all seen that circumstances can drastically change and you might need this money to pay your rent, food or toilet paper.
2. Refuse: You don't need that plastic bag and receipt, and don't let sales trap you into buying more than you need.
3. Reduce: Just stop buying shit you don't need, and especially don't buy crap for other people. Ask your friend or family member what they need or want for their birthday to avoid giving them something they'll never use. You don't need sixteen pairs of shoes, just get a couple of really good ones you can use for multiple occasions!
4. Reuse: Buy second hand, and use your products until they are no more.
5. Repair: I know it's easy to just buy something new, and it's cheap as well. But you don't need a new phone every other year or chuck out your trousers when they have a couple of holes in them...
6. Recycle: When it has had a good life and you have taken everything out of it you could get, make sure to dispose of it properly.
Sources:
- Unfuckyourfinances
- Konmari
- Shityoudontneed
- BBC