6 Ways To Live A More Environmentally Friendly Life

Avoid wasting food. Try to buy as much food as you possibly need, this is probably a little less than you estimated in the first place, since we tend to overestimate the amount of food we're going to eat. Also, when you see that the best before of a product is approaching, put it in the freezer to avoid the possibility of it going bad and then next time you're making lunch you can just heat it up and enjoy it as if it was fresh.

Cars are one of the worst air polluters, releasing carbon monoxide - the largest air pollutant in the US. What to do instead? Even picking up 4 of your friends and driving together to a destination is times better than using 5 different cars to get to the same place and if you could use an electric car, it would be even better. How about leaving the car home and instead taking a bus, train, riding a bike, renting an electric scooter or going by foot if the weather allows to do so? Nowadays, the options are endless, so you might as well try to replace your car with an electric scooter for one day!

Starting from the way clothes are produced and how the toxic dyes and bleachers may end up in local waters to the always changing fashion trends that cause many pieces to lose their value and be thrown away. You can start by preferring to buy second-hand clothing because second-hand doesn't necessarily mean "worn out", but rather "giving the clothing to someone who would use it more than I do". In an article, published by The Independent, it is stated that cotton, synthetics (polyester, nylon and acrylic) and animal-derived materials (wool, leather and fur) are the worst for the environment - so next time you decide to buy something new, consider avoiding these materials.

When going to the grocery store, take your own fabric shopping bags and smaller net bags for fruits and vegetables (or buy some from our alumni's business SISU kott: https://sisukott.voog.com/). Also keep in mind that you can use one bag for different fruits by weighing them separately and placing the price tag on the bag. When going to the café, drink coffee from the mug on the spot or take your own cup and metal/glass/bamboo/paper straw instead of a plastic straw.

Take your own water bottle with you wherever you go to avoid buying plastic bottles, in most places, in Estonia at least, the tap water is drinkable, so you can refill the bottle wherever you need. If the tap water is not drinkable, invest in a water filter (yes, there are even bottles with built-in filters!) and you'll make your life cheaper in the long run and, of course, more environmentally friendly.

Try to consume local goods and buy products that don't come from 10 000 km away. The less the product needs to "travel", the less damage it does to the environment. Several herbs & plants can be grown indoors or in our climate - what can be better than picking fresh mint from the windowsill and making a cup of tea.