Becoming eco-friendly doesn’t have to be complicated!

WORDS BY MARIA FAALAFI

It’s all about going back to basics, just like our grandparents used to teach us and demonstrate. As a little girl living in South America, money was tight and things were simple. I remember my great grandma giving me her twenty year old reusable bags, the shopping list and a bag full of glass drink bottles to return to the corner store for credit. At the corner store, they would make their own produce paper bags from recycled newspapers. Most food came in glass jars that we then reused as drinking cups or pantry storage. Life was simple yet things just worked. Nowadays the amount of plastic and rubbish that is created from our weekly shop or take-aways is very concerning, as most plastic packaging is usually used only for a few hours or days. But what can we really do as consumers? Well this is when we need to go back to basics. There is no need to live off the grid and grow all your food to save the world (even though that would be the ultimate), but little everyday changes can have a great impact in the long run. As consumers, we have a great power; we can send the polluting businesses a message and we can choose who to give our hard earned cash to! Here are a few simple steps that you can take to make a big difference:

1. Stop buying from the polluters and support the little guys providing eco-friendly alternatives who are doing the right thing. Businesses such as plastic free bulk stores, cafes providing degradable t/a containers & cutlery, organic stores and eco-friendly shops.

2. Write to the polluting stores to have your voice heard and express your concerns (trust me, as a business owner this feedback is more valuable than gold).

3. Create a shopping kit with your reusable shopping bags, cotton produce bags and reusable containers quotes. To wrap the bonbons, use to put bulk products in (keep this in the painted scrap paper, paper bags or car ready for easy access).

4. Create a take-away kit with reusable cutlery, straws, containers and coffee cups. Keep the kit in your car or near the front door.

5. Have filled reusable water bottles in the fridge to take with you wherever you go.

6. Try to reduce rubbish going into landfill by reusing anything that can be used again, such as glass containers or clean packaging. Send any soft plastics like wrappers, bags and Glad Wrap to Red Cycle (drop off points at major stores), compost any organic waste and feed your garden with it.

By following these simple tips and going back to basics, you and your family can create the change that is needed to help the next generations combat such a huge pollution problem!

So this year, let’s have a Christmas that doesn’t cost the Earth. www.ecomarketplace.com.au