A FEW months ago, we were enjoying the privilege of having a peaceful and normal daily routine. People are minding their own business, eating in cafes or restaurants, until the pandemic started. Authorities began to implement safe social distancing regulations to prevent the spread of the virus. Since then, our lives have started to turn upside down. One moment ago, we were living our best lives, now we’re stuck at home and avoiding social interaction. It’s for the betterment of everybody and we got that right? However, as we do our duties and responsibilities to reduce the curve, this is also the right time to reassess our habits and start being friendly to Mother Nature.
We must all remember that being environmentally friendly means promoting ways or living habits that do not impose harm on the environment. Its sole purpose is to improve sustainability for both humans and animals. As guardians of this planet, we do not only live for ourselves, but we also have the responsibility to look after other living beings. Before the pandemic started, the European Union, for instance, has been implementing laws that ban the use of plastics to help limit marine litter, according to ecocenter.org. This has been successful since many companies would suggest their consumers to bring their food ware which led many people to begin using reusable bags whenever they are grocery shopping.
5 Ways to Go-Green During a Pandemic
This pandemic, more waste are thrown carelessly causing the ecosystem to get worse than it was before. But don’t worry. We can start changing our ways while we still can in these easy simple ways.
• Properly dispose face masks and gloves
Do not throw your used face masks or other PPE’s in the streets. Wastes workers are one of these people who are at risk. Instead, carefully place your used PPE’s inside a securely tight bag and put it in the trash for collection. This will help keep wastes workers and other people away from the risk of being affected by the virus.
• Start a DIY project
Look for old clothes that you don’t use anymore and you can turn them into tote bags or even make it look brand-new. You can also repurpose your plastic bottles into pen holders or plant pots. In this way, you are helping to reduce the items that are thrown as wastes in the environment while being creative.
• Bring reusable bags when going outside
Plastic is usually thrown away immediately at this time because the virus tends to live on the surface for 2 to 3 days. To avoid this, you can bring your reusable bags, since you can wash it many times.
• Organize your refrigerator
Make sure to check each of the foods’ expiration dates and throw the ones that have gone bad for some time. Put the newest food items in the back of your fridge and the old ones at the front to eat the foods that are nearing their expiration dates to avoid wastes. In this way, you reduce the wastes that you throw in the trash.
• Be energy efficient
Turn off your laptops and other electronic devices from time to time during the day. This will help conserve energy. Also, turn off appliances and lights whenever they are not in use to decrease your electric bill.