This week, please become conscious of buying less and using less plastic. Get outside and notice the beauty of spring. I saw my first butterflies, and the migrating birds are on their way! Happy Earth Day!
Earth Week
Tag: buy nothing
Zero Waste
Today is the first International Day of Zero Waste!
Buy less, reuse and refuse!
What is zero waste? https://health4earth.com/2022/01/21/what-is-zero-waste/
Refill your own containers in the bulk section of food co-ops.
Reduce your plastic consumption!
“Zero-waste initiatives can foster sound waste management and minimize and prevent waste. This contributes to reducing pollution, mitigating the climate crisis, conserving biodiversity, enhancing food security and improving human health. The International Day of Zero Waste aims to promote sustainable consumption and production patterns and raise awareness about how zero-waste initiatives contribute to the advancement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Humanity generates an estimated 2.24 billion tons of municipal solid waste annually, of which only 55 per cent is managed in controlled facilities. By 2050, this could rise to 3.88 billion tons per year. The waste sector is a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions in urban settings and biodiversity loss. Around 931 million tons of food is wasted each year, and up to 37 million tons of plastic waste is expected to enter the ocean annually by 2040.
The United Nations General Assembly formally recognized the importance of zero-waste initiatives and proclaimed 30 March as the International Day of Zero Waste, to be observed annually beginning in 2023.
Zero-waste initiatives can foster sound waste management and minimize and prevent waste. This contributes to reducing pollution, mitigating the climate crisis, conserving biodiversity, enhancing food security and improving human health.
The United Nations Environment Programme and UN-Habitat will facilitate the observance of the Day. All Member States, organizations of the United Nations system and relevant stakeholders are encouraged to implement zero-waste initiatives at local, regional, subnational and national levels.” The United Nations
https://upstreamsolutions.org/why-we-cant-recycle-our-way-out-of-the-problem
Buy Nothing!
Buy Nothing Day
Use your power as a consumer to create a better world!
Today is Buy Nothing Day, it is a day to turn our back on the awful obsession with consumerism we have in the United States. The things we purchase put stress on all our resources, water, air, time, energy, and landfills. All the stuff we buy contributes to the climate crisis! Do you really need more junk? Give thanks for what you have and all the people in your life. Be grateful for our beautiful planet, and for all you have. Instead of shopping spend your day outdoors or spend time doing something creative. Instead of shopping for happiness take deep breaths and do something you love. All the state parks in my state are free today, and I’m off for a long walk!
From Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day, household waste increases by more than 25%. Added food waste, shopping bags, packaging, wrapping paper, bows and ribbons all adds up to an additional 1 million tons a week to our landfills. (Source: EPA)
The Story of Stuff – Story of Stuff
A consumer is powerful. The choices we make, and what we purchase changes marketing and products, and as consumers we can make a big difference by the choices we make. These choices can make a positive change on the environment creating a more sustainable world.
- Heighten your awareness of packaging and waste, choosing products with minimal or no wasteful plastic packaging.
- Always shop with reusable bags.
- Never purchase products with glitter or Styrofoam. They can’t be recycled and are harmful to wildlife.
- Shop reuse stores. Some of my favorite clothes and items come from consignment stores.
- Shop bulk items.
Buying in bulk is a good way to manage food waste, and plastic waste. Bring your own bags or containers.
- Shop retailers that pay living wages and are local over big box stores.
- Buy nothing and reuse what you have!
- Purchase items that will last instead of cheap junk.
- Avoid all single-use plastic
- Make your own choices and be creative, don’t be owned by corporations like Apple, Target, Amazon etc.
Save 100%
How can we be sustainable consumers? We have another die warning from the UN on the climate crisis we are experiencing. Buying more stuff does not help the earth. If you need to purchase items, do it in a more sustainable manner. See below.
We don’t need to purchase to be happy. I went to see the new Fred Rogers movie. The messages are subtle, but say a lot. Rogers was a master at helping children to feel important. and to feel good about themselves. He thought television was an excellent educational tool, but had been ruined because it tried to turn children into consumers demanding things they didn’t need. As we enter the holiday season and a time of extreme consumerism read more about Fred and his philosophy here
Consumerism and saving money is on our minds. Unfortunately, we have become a throwaway society. Do you use an item for a short time then throw it away, and even worse we raise our children to get bored quickly from that item they just had to have. Again, we don’t need to purchase to be happy. This holiday, how can we be more sustainable and honor the season at the same time?
- Join or create your own Friday climate march #FridayforFuture
- Always shop with a reusable bag and avoid all plastic.
- Shop reuse stores. Some of my favorite clothes come from consignment stores.
- Give gifts of help, time and outside events.
- Shop retailers that pay living wages, and are local over big box stores.
- Buy nothing and save 100%. Reuse what you have!
- Purchase items that will last instead of cheap junk.
- Plan a day outside instead of shopping, REI.
Happy Holidays! Pause, Enjoy, Reuse
Does Black Friday promote “resource waste and overconsumption?” Read at France.
Health4earth 