While you’re at home for the holidays, you can show your family some easy ways of being environmentally friendly around the house.
Land and water pollution is largely fed by the consumerist culture we live in, which has people throwing out billions of tons of packaging, clothing, and products.
These tips will help you and your family to improve your environmental footprint!
1. Start a compost pile
Stop buying fertiliser for your garden and wasting food in landfill. Landfill pollutes soil, air, biodiversity and entire ecosystems.
Instead, start a compost pile from which will become fertiliser for your garden and lawn.
Natural compost has been proven to be healthier for gardens, as well as improve the growth and health of plants.
What can you put in a compost pile?
Any food scraps, except for meat and dairy products.
Paper and cardboard can also be put in, if it is torn into little pieces. And make sure to regularly water your compost pile too.
2. Packaging in stores
One of the greatest contributors to waste and landfill is of course, all the packaging from our food and products like cardboard, chip packets and plastic bottles.
We do have Woolworth’s recycling collection centres for bottles but a lot of people do not use them and make for a small percentage of the waste regardless.
The trick is to reuse something for another purpose or avoid using it at all.
For example:
Turn your coke bottle into a sprinkler for your lawn this summer instead of buying a new sprinkler. Simply poke some holes in the plastic, stick your hose in and tape it securely.
Alternatively, turn it into a pen/toothbrush holder, shower bottle holder or pots for plants. Some organic shops, like Wagga’s ‘The Source,’ has the option for customers to bring their own packaging for products.
3. Broken furniture
My mum turns old furniture into new furniture. Reuse whatever you can.
Chairs can be turned into window boxes; cupboards into children’s desks; or a child’s table and the blade protection grids on fans can be turned into kitchen strainers/colanders.
Always try to buy from second-hand furniture stores or Vinnies, not only do you save money but you save the planet too!
4. Pet food
Canned or bagged food for your pets claim to be full of protein and have all these health benefits, however they are also full of chemicals and additives that the bodies of dogs weren’t built to process.
A much healthier option for your animals is to buy extra meat and vegetables during your weekly shop.
Chop them up and cook them for your pets – a far more natural, healthier and environmentally friendly way to feed your pup!
Don’t forget that butchers are better to buy from then the meat section in supermarkets.
They cut their meat fresh, use far less packaging, transport and pay good prices to the meat suppliers.
