what's the point some would ask......
Imagine a World where every single use plastic item that you have ever used could still be found on our Earth, well you don't have to look or even think hard because this is already the reality.
With 80% of our producers relying on plastic packaging it has become more and more difficult to avoid the use of any single use plastics items all together but the individual responsibility not only as a consumer but as an individual lies with everyone of us.
We want to take You through the four important steps that can help you make a difference, one that is environmentally conscious, sustainable and contagious:
Step 1:
Educate yourself-
Before we can even begin to ask ourselves " what can I do to change" we must first understand the problem and understand how we contribute to the problem. Spend sometime reading up on reliable sourced articles, understand what are the current policies and laws in place regarding the issue and lastly look at a zoomed scale of information ( Your community, your Town and your Country) and compare that to a larger scale of information ( Globally).
Step 2:
Start to Understand-
If it important to now understand and calculate your individual carbon footprint.
A carbon footprint is a standard that is used to quantify the impact we have on the environment. Your carbon footprint is the direct effect your actions and lifestyle have on the environment in terms of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Contributing largely to the size of your footprint are your travel needs, and your electricity usage at home. But even your diet and the clothes you wear have an impact. The bigger our carbon footprints – the more we accelerate global warming and climate change.
This gives you an overall view on your interaction with the environment because in order to make any kind of change you have to have a clear indication of your greater contribution.
The Nelson Mandela University has developed a calculator that is user friendly, see link below:
Step 3:
Create your "domino effect"-
When you change your mindset, you begin to change your behavior which eventually leads to a change in lifestyle.
Do an internal assessment and identify what changes you want to make, whether it be to only use reusable shopping bags, to refusing single use plastics straws to even changing your toothbrush and earbuds to 100% bamboo.
They key to this step is choosing things that are realistic and it does not have to be the biggest change you make You can start small and work through it gradually.
Step 4:
Make the change-
You at the stage where you would now look into what alternatives are available and also start looking into where can these alternatives be purchased, we all love a good deal so shop around and find the best price.
Once you have sourced your alternatives that when your journey gets exciting.
Remember at this point its not about doing it perfectly , more so about doing it imperfectly but always trying again.
Step 5:
Be a Eco Warrior-
at this final step you have started your own journey and discovered the ups and downs of living more sustainable so its time to join the movement and get the message out there.
Here you have two options:
- Support eco actions such as cleanups to show your support an help on a much greater scale.
- Be that person that shares your journey with everyone you know and convince them to start the journey too.
And at this point you would have made a small change that contributes towards the greater impact of lessening the impacts of single use plastics and making an impactful difference by helping us achieve the Constitutional Human Rights to a clean and safe environment for All.
remember
" If You change, nothing, nothing will change"
