Eight Ways to Stay Green During a Pandemic
Photo by Adi Goldstein
By Aimee Jo Davis-Varela
The global pandemic has changed our lives in many ways, including revising our priorities as we balance personal and public health with meeting our basic needs, figuring out new ways to work, and determining the best ways to be both social and safe. In times such as this when our focus is on the short-term goals of staying healthy, keeping businesses afloat, and finding a way to the other side of the pandemic, it can be difficult to also keep an eye towards long-term goals, such as keeping the planet healthy for future generations. This is exacerbated by some of the necessary changes put in place to reduce transmission and protect both consumers and workers. For example, we can no longer grab a cup of coffee in our reusable mugs, and many grocery stores are no longer allowing the use of reusable shopping bags. While many of us are not driving as much, we are increasing the environmental effects of transportation by ordering everything online and having it delivered to our doorstep. Those who have replaced dining out with regularly ordering takeout and
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delivery now have stacks of single-use food containers going into the recycling bin or to the landfill every week. The focus needs to be on keeping ourselves and each other healthy and working together to get through this. This requires using more disposable products than most of us would like, but there are still steps we can take to maintain a greener lifestyle while focusing on these immediate priorities. We can start with these: 1. Resist the urge to stock up on bottled water. The water supply is not currently under threat. Continue using your filter pitchers, fill your own jugs at Rainbow Bridge, or establish delivery service for three- or five-gallon, reusable jugs that you return to the provider. 2. Start a compost pile. If you are cooking more than you used to, you have more kitchen scraps to discard. If you don’t already have a compost bin or
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pile, start one to put those scraps to good use in your garden. 3. Invest in a sparkling water maker. Products like SodaStream let you make your own sparkling water and flavored sodas, which means fewer cans and bottles to recycle. 4. Green your takeout and delivery routine. We cannot use our own containers when we order food to go right now, but we can still limit the waste that comes with these orders. If you are picking up food to eat at home, refuse the utensils, napkins, and straws that usually come with takeout. If you are having food delivered, specify that you do not want utensils and napkins delivered with your order. When picking up food on your lunchbreak or on your way to a socially distanced picnic, bring your own cloth napkins, reusable straws, and utensils. There are lots of travel sets available with carrying cases that you can keep in your car or bag to make sure you always have reusable options with you.
