What Is Sustainable Living? And, How Can We Practise It In 2021? 🌏

Sustainable Living In 2021 🌏: In spite of the recent events that transpired, we still have plenty of things to look forward to. 2 weeks from now, we will celebrate the 51st Earth Day this April. Last year, Waster talked about 2020’s Earth Day, which meant to implicate the importance of sustainable living with the aim to, of course, save the Earth. This annual environmental movement is meant to raise awareness of our planet’s status. Pollution, natural resource depletion, and the like are its usual agenda. And, the said event always encourages us to live a sustainable living.

What does it even mean to live sustainably? And, how can we implement it in our lifestyles? Today, that is what I am going to talk about. Read on to learn more.

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A bit about Waster

Before I discuss sustainable living, let me share with you more information about Waster.

We here at Waster provide you with innovative solutions for your and your business’s waste management and recycling needs. Furthermore, we provide flexible, 30-day contracts instead of the typical lock-in contracts, which proves to be better.

Click on the blue button to learn more.

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READ: Are Tissues Recyclable? 🧻

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What is sustainable living?

When you open up your laptop or your hand-held device and surf the web, you may find environmentally-friendly sites coining the term “sustainability” and the like. Additionally, you also see them advocating movements like “Only use reusable cups! Do not use the takeaway ones;” or, “Buy energy-efficient items,” as stated by environmentalists. Obviously, what they are promoting is called “sustainable living”. I will define it along the lines of Wikipedia’s definition:

“Sustainable living means a lifestyle attempting to reduce an individual or society’s use of the Earth’s natural resources and personal resources. Practitioners of this kind of living often attempt to reduce their carbon footprint by altering their methods of transportation, energy consumption, and diet. Its proponents aim to conduct their lives in ways that are consistent with sustainability, in natural balance and respectful of humanity’s symbiotic relationship with the Earth’s natural ecology and cycles. The practice and general philosophy of ecological living are highly interrelated with the overall principles of sustainable development.”

Basically, this means that you, as an environmentally aware person, practise reducing – or even removing on some occasions – the use of natural resources. Furthermore, it is a way of living that meets both “current economic and ecological needs without compromising the needs of future generations,” as described by gbtimes.

And, one of the most important benefit it provides us is it reduces our carbon footprint. After all, Australia has one of the highest per capita emissions of carbon dioxide worldwide. In a 2015 report, a quarterly update stated that the country has already produced 535.7 million tonnes of carbon dioxide. As a result, adopting a sustainable lifestyle may help reduce this.

This means sacrificing

As the meaning suggests, you have to give up some daily practises you self-implemented on your lifestyle for you to achieve a sustainable living. In other words, you have to sacrifice to live sustainably. Additionally, it also takes a lifelong commitment to practice such a hard, yet very rewarding lifestyle. And, it does not stop once you learn it; there is something to learn every day. You should always explore and experiment with more sustainable practices.

So, in the next section, I will enumerate some ways on how you can live more sustainably.

How can you live sustainably?

As I have already mentioned above, change – sometimes, even drastic – is required in our lifestyle. First, before thinking about influencing others to do the same, you must think about implementing them on your lifestyle beforehand.

This involves moving away from our consumer mindset and focusing more on sustainable activities such as:

1. Something as simple as riding a bicycle

Or, it can even be something as simple as walking, instead. This means not using a car when going to work, or just going into someplace like a mall, school, or park. Cycling and walking help the community greatly in a number of ways. First, it reduces air pollution. Cars belch out smoke when used. And, when a huge amount of cars expel smoke at the same time… you guessed it; air pollution becomes more rampant.

Additionally, it also clears out the traffic – which is becoming a big problem worldwide. Furthermore, biking and walking also keep us healthy. Walking or biking to work gives us the exercise we need in our bodies to keep it strong and fit.

But, what if your workplace – or anyplace you want to go – is too far to walk or cycle? Then, the best option you can do is to carpool. Carpooling means people sharing a single car to prevent other people from driving themselves. This practice is highly encouraged by the authorities because it reduces air pollution significantly.

The gist of this section is, as much as possible, you should avoid driving vehicles as much as possible. Not only does it reduce air pollution, but it also saves up natural resources like fossil fuel.

2. Implement the “reduce, reuse, and recycle” lifestyle

Is it really sustainable living if you do not practise the 3 Rs? Basically, what this means is you should reduce using new products as soon as possible; buy only those you need. Additionally, you can opt to buy recycled products instead of purchasing products made from virgin materials.

You should reuse everything that is reusable. Do not hastily throw away items that you have already used. For example, do not throw used dish soap; you can use dish soap water to clean your car. And, finally, you should recycle everything that can be recycled. Always contact your local council if you are not sure if an item is recyclable or not.

3. Save energy

My last tip for living sustainably is to save energy as much as you can. You can also do this as easily as the first two that I mentioned. Do not leave appliances open and running if you are not using them; unplug every unused device.

For example, in Waster’s blog on light bulb recycling, I shared something that can save you lots of energy: purchasing and using CFL light bulbs. This is an environmentally friendly option, as well as a better one overall because it also has a longer lifespan than incandescent ones. Moreover, you can also opt for LED lights if you want to minimise your electricity usage.

Sustainable living: conclusion

Remember, taking small steps to sustainable living is acceptable. You do not have to change your lifestyle drastically; you can do so slowly, but surely, after all. By doing so, you not only help discipline yourself but also help sustain the Earth.

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Waster: things you need to know

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