Blog 5- To what extent can individuals (i.e. you) make a difference?

At times there are many of us that feel there is little we can do as an individual to help with sustainable development. Some of have the attitude that if others are not going to do their fair share, such as reducing their CO2 emissions or recycling more, then why should they? But this is not the right attitude and if we carry on with this outlook on life we will slowly destroy the planet between us.

There are so many things we can all do to help. The fact is it does not have to be a massive thing. It can be something as simple as switching of lights or only boiling enough water as is needed to make a few cups of tea. These things are so simple and take no effort and yet they can make such a difference.

Recycling is one way we can all help to save the environment. There is so much emphasis placed on recycling at present that it is hard not to get involved. We can all do our part, making sure we recycle cardboards and papers, glasses, tins and plastics. Once you get into a routine it is very simple. In our house we have a bin for food waste, one for papers and cardboard, another for tins and one for plastics. Mum keeps all this out in the utility so it is out of the way and then once every few days we take it outside to the bins in the shed where it is ready to be collected. By making sure we recycle responsibly like this we can save the planet. Recycled bottles can be made into new bottles and old newspapers can be transformed into new ones. This helps to save money, time and reduce impacts to the environment.

Food waste is also a big problem. In Britain alone it is thought that we needlessly throw away £10 billion worth of food every year. This is a third of everything we buy. We all know that when we go shopping we cram our baskets and trolleys full of food, but the likelihood is we will not be eating all of it. According to recent research carried out by The Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) one in three of the shopping bags, baskets or trolley loads of food we purchase are thrown away. This is quite a scary statistic, especially with the current economic issues; many of us can just simply not afford to be throwing this amount of food away as it is just money down the drain.

Perhaps the most shocking fact of all is that most of the waste goes to landfill where it rots down and produces methane, a greenhouse gas that is 20 times more damaging than CO2 and much of the food wasted is still in date. The sad truth is all of this could be stopped if we just planned, stored and managed our food in a much more sustainable manner.

In my home county, Norfolk, the local councils are supporting the national Love Food Hate Waste campaign. The message is quite simple;

‘ If you want to save money and protect the environment, feed yourself, not the bin! ’

It is fair to say that in my home, with a family of five, there are times when mum will by too much and we end up throwing things away, such as yoghurts, meat and fruit and vegetables. Once again we need to educate people on storing food, looking at the ‘best before’ and ‘use by’ dates and look at showing people how to use their leftovers in recipes.

Another big issue in my family is the use of cars. With four of us in the family all having cars and driving most days we must be emitting lots of co2. Because of where we live we have very little choice as there is no public transport and no other means of getting to work of the surrounding villages or towns. For some people though this is not the case and using their cars is simply just a bad habit. We need to give these people reasons and incentives not to use their cars and to start using their legs or public transport.

So overall I believe there are lots of things we can do as individuals to help. We just need to be thinking sensibly everyday as we go about our daily routines. Do I really need that extra 5 minutes in the shower? Do I really need to use my car or can I walk or get a lift? Do I really need everything on my shopping list? Make sure I switch off any unnecessary lights, do not leave my T.V and laptop on standby all the time. Just silly things like this that I do not always do could make a huge difference to the current impact I personally am having on our one and only planet.

http://www.lovefoodhatewaste.com/

www.norfolk.gov.uk/recycling