4 In Lifestyle/ Zero Waste

6 Sustainable Actions That Don’t Involve Recycling

5 Sustainable Actions That Don't Involve Recycling | Eat Yourself Green

With news and constant reminders that our planet is slowly warming and changing forever, many of us tend to get discouraged or simply in denial of the situation. Acting is hard and sometimes overwhelming but we must do something to change our future, if we want to have a positive future at all.

Alright, that was a little discouraging perhaps? Truth is, we are too deep into this whole situation and not enough is being done. So you may say ‘I already recycle, so what can I do?’ and I say SO MUCH MORE!

Recycling as much as reducing our consumption is just one of the first steps we need to take in order to make a change. But we can do a lot more to give our planet a chance to recover and we can start now. So let’s get down to it.

6 Sustainable Actions That Don’t Involve Recycling

  1. Write to your local council
    We all heard that we can vote with our dollars, but we also vote for our local representative, so it’s their responsibility to listen to our concerns and act on making meaningful changes in your community. Email, write a letter or call your council (or responsible body) to request changes and support in making your community better.
  2. Support BIPOC (Black, Indigenous & People of Colour) businesses, organisations and voices
    To do sustainable work you don’t necessarily need to go out glueing yourself to the ground. But what’s really needed, is support to minorities. BIPOC are on the receiving end of the environmental and system racism and if you are a privileged folk (like myself) it’s necessary that we support and speak out about the systems that continuously endanger their livelihoods and maintain a white supremacist system. Think that’s hard work? Try living like a BIPOC and facing those issues daily. The least we can do, is to support them. It’s uncomfortable work that ~must~ be done. So start reading and educating yourself on how you can help.
  3. Sign a petition
    Support petitions that affect your area and can make real change. Sometimes it’s hard to see the results but many projects and improvements are made by starting a simple petition. If you can’t find a petition about a topic or project that interests you, create one yourself! You can start the change.
  4. Contact your favourite brands
    Love a brand that comes in lots of plastic? Love their food but they don’t have sustainable practices? Well, get in touch with them! The more people ask and push for better, improved and more sustainable options, the more the companies will work to attend to that demand. Just be careful with some clear signs of greenwashing.
  5. Get involved in community work
    Getting involved with your community to work for local change is one of the best things you can do to help. Mingle with like-minded people, talk about the challenges, create action and awareness and make a real difference right where you live. There’s nothing better than getting down to work to create a change around you.
    5 Sustainable Actions That Don't Involve Recycling | Eat Yourself Green
  6. Donate to charities that fight for climate change
    Can’t do any of the above? Then perhaps donate to a local charity or a serious NGO that fights against climate change. Many organisations need money and man power to take action, so your money can fund activities like beach clean ups, legal actions and more. Your support will be welcomed and put to good use.

So what could you do today to start helping? If you can’t make some personal changes like buying less packaged food (for whatever reason) that’s plenty more available that you can do to start creating ripples in your community.

Most importantly, spread the message with enthusiasm and kindness. We need all the help and support we can get and it will only be possible if we are united for the same reason.

Peace and love,

Larissa x

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4 Comments

  • Reply
    Kevin H
    26/06/2019 at 8:29 pm

    Nice tips Larissa. I wonder if there are websites that round up all the petitions that concern a certain location. Maybe that’s information that would be available on council websites? It’s something I should look into.

    In terms of contacting brands, food brands are the first thing that come to my mind. I wonder, would it be more effective (initially) to contact name brands about their packaging rather than supermarkets? For example, I heard that Weetabix packaging inside the cardboard box is now brown paper, whereas the cheaper Tesco version is in plastic. Are name brands more likely to change their smaller product offering, than a massive supermarket like Tesco that produces 1000s of different products.

    Does that make sense? Obviously every little helps (no pun intended), but I wonder if it’s worth tackling “quicker wins” first?

    • Reply
      Larissa Tedesco
      30/06/2019 at 12:46 pm

      It would be great if there were a website that could gather local petitions but I’m sure sites like change.org have a filter by location and cause type…so maybe that’s a start?

      In regards of best strategy, it’s a difficult question actually. What could be good, is to get a group of people to send a message to those brands, like in a Facebook group in your area that is interested in tackling a brand at a time kind of thing. It only works if there’s a group of people interested in doing it together.

      I hope you can find a group like that, or maybe you can start your own? 😉

      • Reply
        Kevin H
        05/07/2019 at 11:54 pm

        I didn’t even think about change.org! I’ll check it out and see if it has location filtering.
        You’re right, tackling a brand at a time as group effort would be more likely to weild results. I’ll take a look and see if I can find any facebook groups, otherwise I might just have to start my own! Thanks for the ideas 🙂

        • Reply
          Larissa Tedesco
          11/07/2019 at 3:47 pm

          Yes! It’s all about taking that first step and making a change 🙂

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