You may not realize it, but your everyday habits have a huge impact on the environment.
The little ways that you choose to live your life will lead us to global sustainability or destruction. What you choose to eat, the products you buy, and even what kind of car you drive all play a role in our environment’s health.
It doesn’t take much to make changes in our lives to be more eco-friendly. Here are ways to be more eco friendly in your day to day life:
Recycle
You probably already recycle the occasional aluminum can. But you could do a lot more to be eco-friendly.
Make it a habit to go through your trash and remove any recyclable items before taking it out for pickup.
Plastic bottles, glass jars, cardboard boxes, and paper bags all have ways that they can be reused or recycled. So, don’t throw them away until you’re sure there is no other option.
Recycling is such an easy way to be eco-friendly because it doesn’t just help the environment but also saves you money.
Used paper can be recycled into new paper products, and cardboard boxes can become building materials or animal feed. You will get a great return on your recycling efforts by reusing items instead of throwing them away.
Organic Food
Did you know that organic food helps the environment? Well, if you’re still not sure why this is true or how to find ways to buy it, then keep reading!
Organic foods are made without any chemicals. Since they aren’t treated with these harsh products, they don’t have as many bad effects on our bodies and ecosystem.
Plus, organic farming practices help improve soil quality, which in turn reduces erosion while conserving water resources.
Organic food can be found in more ways than you might realize.
You may have already seen the little “USDA Organic” symbol displayed on some of your favorite products like yogurt, snacks, and even drinks.
If not, then look for it next time! This is a great way to quickly find organic items without reading all labels or doing any extra research.
Another option for buying organic foods is through community-supported agriculture (CSA). CSA programs allow communities to buy local produce directly from farmers who use sustainable farming methods.
Simple Ways to Be More Eco Friendly: Ride a Bike
Next time you need to run errands or do some shopping, consider using your bike instead of driving.
Riding a bike is an eco-friendly way to get around because it doesn’t emit greenhouse gases as cars and trucks do.
Instead of adding more vehicles on the road that contribute pollutants into our air, you to take up riding a bicycle as one way to be greener!
It’s easy to get started too.
All you need is a bike and the willingness to give it a try. Once you get used to riding a bike, it may even become easier than driving your car.
Plus, if you have kids, then they can come along too! You could turn going shopping into a family outing by biking there together.
Avoid Plastic Bags
This is one of the easiest ways to be more eco-friendly.
Nearly 500 billion plastic bags are used worldwide every year.
This number may seem high to you, but that’s because our ways of living have become so reliant on disposable products like plastic grocery bags.
The truth is we can all make small changes in how we live our lives to reduce how much unnecessary waste and pollution is created.
One simple change you can make today is by saying no to one-time use items whenever possible —such as those pesky plastic shopping bags. This will help keep plastics out of landfills, where they take up space for hundreds of years without decomposing fully.
Instead, choose reusable options wherever possible, such as canvas totes, glass jars, and cloth napkins.
These ways of being more eco-friendly will have a huge impact on the planet, so you can feel good about your small deeds.
Bring a Reusable Water Bottle
This is one of the best ways to be more eco-friendly.
You can make it a habit to use reusable water bottles as an alternative to buying plastic bottled water.
This is such a simple change but one that makes all the difference over time.
In fact, if every American brought their own reusable bottle, we could save around 60 million plastic bottles from ending up in landfills each day.
Just fill your refillable water bottle with tap water and bring it along whenever you’re going. Plus, this way will help reduce how much money you spend on beverages throughout the day, which is a bonus.
Plant a Tree
Did you know that planting trees is one of the easiest ways to be more eco-friendly? It’s true!
Planting even one tree will help restore our environment by adding oxygen back into the air and absorbing carbon dioxide. Trees are nature’s way of purifying our atmosphere, so they can make an amazing difference in how clean it is.
Plus, planting trees has many other benefits such as reducing soil erosion, providing shade, supporting wildlife habitats, etc… The list goes on.
When thinking about planting trees, consider using your yard or finding ways within your community. You could contact local landscape companies to find ways to donate or plant trees in your area.
The options are endless, but the benefits of reforesting our planet through tree planting make it one choice that is easy enough for everyone to take advantage of.
Small Ways to Be More Eco Friendly: Use Energy-Efficient Light Bulbs
One of the ways you can be more eco-friendly is by using energy-efficient light bulbs in your home. This small change makes a big difference over time because it reduces how much electricity we use and our reliance on fossil fuels.
When thinking about ways to switch out your lights, then consider LED lighting. These bulbs last longer than traditional incandescent light bulbs while still providing similar levels of brightness.
For more ideas on ways to be more eco-friendly at home, check out this home upgrades guide.
Ways to Be More Eco-Friendly
There are plenty of ways to make small changes in your day-to-day life to help the environment, and these are good examples.
Make it a goal today to find ways you can begin living greener so you can be part of the solution instead of contributing to further pollution.
We hope this guide has shown you ways to be more eco friendly, so you feel inspired to make positive changes. For more interesting content, keep reading our articles.
