5 ways to live more sustainably

A sustainable life is far more than just bringing a keep cup to your local cafe or doing the right thing and putting your rubbish in the bin. Sustainability is about minimising consumption and living cyclically. And it requires intention and effort. 

Here are five things you can do right now to minimise your environmental footprint.

1. Pickling   You know that sad looking carrot in the bottom of the crisper, and the cucumber too? If you’ve got vinegar in the house and an old jar that once held pasta sauce, you’ve probably got everything you need to preserve them.  One third of all food produced is wasted (around 1.3 billion TONNES). Wasting food is worse than total emissions from flying (1.9%), plastic production (3.8%) and oil extraction (3.8%). It’s a massive issue in the climate conversation that is often neglected.   So why not make your own pickles and minimise food waste while you’re at it?

 

2. Don’t put your veggies in those single-use plastic bags   Why do we put the four granny smith apples into the plastic bag at the supermarket? Why can’t they just sit in our shopping basket until we’re home? Some people say that the basket is dirty, but so is the apple! How many people have fondled them as they’ve walked by? Let them softly roll around and wash them when you’re home. Or, if you reeeally want to put them in something (green beans for example), nab one of the mushroom paper bags.

 

3. Always say no to the plastic straw   And if they give you one without asking, hand it back! Businesses change their behaviours when they feel pressure from consumers, and if a business notices that most people are handing back their straw, they’ll reconsider adding them to their next order.

 

4. Switch to an ethical superfund It takes about 5 minutes to switch your Super account over to something that doesn’t invest in fossil fuels. We’re not financial advisors, so definitely research which one best suits you. We’ve got Future Super and Australian Super in HQ.

 

5. Get your shoes resoled I find the power of having something to look forward to really motivating. Bonus points if it’s a camping trip.