Earth Day is just around the corner on April 22nd! But at St. Louis City Recycles, we celebrate the Earth all year long. By adopting sustainable lifestyle changes, you can too!
These five sustainable lifestyle changes are easy to make and can have a big impact on the environment. Just a few changes to your routine can help you become a more conscious and sustainable global citizen this Earth Day. You may even already be doing some of these!
5 Sustainable Lifestyle Changes
Sustainable lifestyle changes are small updates to your routine that shrink your overall footprint on the Earth.
1. Ditch paper towels and paper napkins.
Paper products come to us at the expense of trees, but many have reusable options that make a simple and easy swap. Instead of paper towels, use a dish cloth, hand towel or other absorbent cloth to clean up spills and kitchen messes. And, swap out your paper napkins for cloth napkins.
Once they’ve been used, you can wash them in the laundry and use them again and again. Imagine all of the trees (and money) you’ll save!
2. Use reusable bags.
You’ve probably heard that you should be taking reusable bags with you to the grocery store to save plastic bags. But do you actually bring them with you to the store? Try keeping them in your car so that you don’t forget! That way, you’ll have reusable bags with you wherever you shop—at the grocery store and elsewhere—to prevent needless waste from store bags.
And when it comes to grocery shopping, carrying reusable produce bags can save you from using the plastic produce bags that grocery stores provide.
You could even take this one step further and swap out your plastic food storage bags with reusable counterparts, like silicone bags or beeswax wraps.
3. Get bar soap and shampoo.
Bath products create a ton of plastic waste, but there are bar alternatives that can help you avoid that plastic packaging altogether. Swap out your plastic container of body wash for a bar of soap.
To go the extra mile, swap out your shampoo and conditioner for their bar alternatives, too. You’ll find you can get just as clean without the need for plastic.
4. Carry reusable water bottles and coffee cups.
Are you guilty of using plastic water bottles and disposable coffee cups? Both items create a ton of waste each year. But luckily, there are reusable options for both that can easily be stashed in your car, desk, or bag.
Carrying a reusable water bottle and coffee cup around will also save your wallet since it’s typically cheaper (or even free in the case of water) to refill a reusable cup.
5. Rethink your toilet paper brand.
Instead of your standard toilet paper, choose an option that’s made from recycled paper or that’s labeled “tree free.” A quick search for “environmentally friendly toilet paper” will give you lots of options to consider when you make the switch.
Adding a bidet attachment to your toilet can also help you use less toilet paper, while adding a little bit of luxury to your bathroom routine.
Those sustainable lifestyle changes don’t sound too difficult, do they? Even small changes in your daily routine can make a big impact on the environment, and Earth Day is the perfect opportunity to make those changes permanent.
Start small by preventing one plastic bottle from entering the landfill, one paper product created from trees, and then work your way up until plastic and paper are no longer so ingrained into your lifestyle. You can do it! And our team is here to help you with resources (and moral support!) as you make these sustainable lifestyle changes.