6 sustainable habits you can easily add to your week

Jun 21 2018, 2:45 am

You don’t have to be a vigilant eco-warrior to do good for the city you live in (but no judgement if you are — this is Vancouver after all). The thing is, there are plenty of easy ways that you can help the world by making a few simple adjustments in your life.

These are things you can still do if you’re working a hectic schedule, and once you make them a habit, you’ll wonder why you didn’t start sooner.

So if you want to do your part to make the world better every day (while also giving yourself a lowkey sense of superiority to coast off of), follow these seven steps.

Hit up your farmers market

Shopping at a local farmers market allows you to support local farmers, save on transportation, and lower your carbon footprint, all while getting fresh food directly from the producer, which also reduces greenhouse gas emissions. Don’t forget to bring your reusable shopping bags with you when you go!

Image: Keurig Canada

Make your own coffee

Grabbing a coffee en route to work or on your break every day means you’ve got to recycle cups and lids all the time. And what if you can’t find the correct public bins to do so? Making coffee at home or at work will also save you money. Plus, Keurig just launched recyclable K-Cup® pods so you can enjoy great-tasting coffee without waste.

The brand teamed up with Recycle BC to make sure all Keurig K-Cup® pods would be recycled properly, The transition in BC is almost complete, so you  can start recycling pods right away.

All you have to do is peel the lid, compost the coffee grounds, and recycle the pod in your recycling bin at home or work. And if you do end up visiting your local coffee house, make sure to bring your own reusable mug. Every little bit helps.

Be that one person who brings a straw to the movies

Turn a straw into a fashion statement by being the person who brings their own glass straw (or bendy metal straw, if you’re nasty) to any social situation. You’re not bougie; you’re prepared and responsible.

Buy vintage

The temptation to buy products in all-new and shiny stores can be hard to resist. Yet the reality is that you can find amazing, one-off pieces in vintage stores and online for a fraction of the price. Clothing, homewares, bikes, cars, you name it and you’ll find a second-hand version. You’ll be reducing waste when you buy vintage and you’ll probably end up with an awesome item that you’ll get a heap of compliments on.

Actually use your compost bin

Get over what the inside of your compost bin looks like after you throw leftovers in – it’s not meant to look pretty. By composting food scraps, your regular kitchen wastebasket won’t fill up as fast and it won’t smell, and your organic waste will feed the Earth instead of filling the landfill.

Let’s also do a little myth busting here: Contrary to popular belief, organic waste has a hard time biodegrading in a landfill. Oxygen is usually needed to break organic molecules apart, but reality is that most landfills are compacted so tightly, and thus do not let much air in.  #themoreyouknow

Lean towards minimalism

Take a look around your place. Do you need all of that stuff? If you’re living in a small apartment you don’t want to feel suffocated by your belongings. Doing a clearout, selling and recycling the things you don’t want anymore will help you shift towards a minimalist approach. Your desire for consuming will be reduced, you’ll save money, and you’ll help the environment at the same time.

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