As well as bringing us a global pandemic, 2020 will also be remembered as the year that the world woke up to the climate crisis that is going on around us. Changing weather patterns were happening across the globe — from deadly wildfires in California to the most active hurricane season in American history. And in the UK we were also experiencing changing weather patterns with periods of increasingly hotter weather and more frequent and damaging flooding.
In September I joined millions of people across the globe to watch a Life On Our Plant by David Attenborough and cried over the loss of our wildlife and natural habitat. The World Wildlife Fund said that 2020 was a critical year for our future and the future of the planet. Action needed to be taken now. But what impact could one person actually have? What are the little changes we can all make to our lives to make a difference?
My story began with clingfilm. One day earlier in 2020 I found myself in the kitchen writing a shopping list. I needed clingfilm — but did I really need it? Did I actually know what the environmental impact of clingfilm was? In Britain households use 1.2 billion metres of clingfilm each year and most of it ends up in landfill where it can take hundreds of years to degrade. And just like plastic bags, clingfilm can end up in our seas causing harm to our marine wildlife.
So I decided that 2020 would be the year I stopped using clingfilm and you know what? I learnt to live without it. But it didn’t end there. I started to look further at the impact that I was having on the planet and what else I could do to live a more sustainable lifestyle.
Like many people I already recycle as much as I can and I’ve stopped using single use plastics, but is there more we can do to live sustainably and limit the impact we have on the environment — little changes can produce big impacts if everyone makes a commitment to make small changes.
Reduce our waste
In the UK in 2018 9.5 million tonnes of food was wasted — that’s over £19 billion a year and generates more than 25 million tonnes of greenhouse gas. Worldwide around one third of food produced is wasted generating 3.3 billion tonnes of greenhouse gases.
It shouldn’t be this way. Reducing the amount of food we waste is one of the easiest things we can all do to reduce our impact on the environment. And there are simple ways to do this such as making a weekly meal list, only buying what you need and using recipe ideas to make the most of any leftover ingredients. Here are some more tips on reducing your food waste.
Shop Local
One of the positive things that has come out of the global pandemic is the renewed love of buying things locally. I’m sure that not everyone has embraced this, but certainly where I live I am seeing a real desire to support local businesses — and that’s a great thing. We’ve seen a huge increase in the number of farmer’s markets appearing locally which means it has been easier to buy locally produced food — from fresh fruit and vegetables to jams and chutneys.
When it comes to buying food locally a lot of the time you’re not only supporting a small business, but you also know where your food has come from. Locally produced food is fresher and often produced organically with no use of pesticides. I love the fact that I know my milk has come from cows just a 30 minute drive away — I could probably see them in the fields if I lived closer — and my meat tastes so much better with knowing it comes from local farms.
But the most important thing about buying locally produced food is that you’re helping reduce your food miles and lessening the environmental impact of the food you eat.
Buy second-hand
I love the French way of living. Not only do many French people shop daily at local markets for their produce they are also masters at buying second-hand and their homes are full of flea market finds and furniture handed down through the generations. I adore their style and it’s something that I’ve been trying to replicate.
Charity shops and second-hand furniture shops are full of exciting finds and the best thing is that when buying second-hand you’re reducing the amount being sent to landfill and, when buying from a charity shop, you’re also supporting local great causes.
As well as picking up some ace pieces of furniture and bric-a-brac for our home this year — including a fantastic writing bureau I picked up for just £40 — I made a commitment to stop buying any new clothes (apart from underwear obviously!)
I’ve absolutely loved rummaging through charity shop rails and scouring the internet for second-hand furniture. Buying second-hand not only helps the environment, it helps save money and most of the time you’re supporting a local business along the way! But it shouldn’t just be about clothing and furniture, we’ve become a ‘throwaway society’ and many items are thrown away before the end of their life, sometimes just because they don’t fit aesthetically with a new design theme for our homes. I own a toaster that’s base is coming away from the grills, but I refuse to replace it until it no longer works. So next time you’re thinking about replacing something that’s still working have a think about whether you really need to replace it, and if so, is it something that can be donated to a charity shop or for a family in need?
Eat less meat
I’ll be honest here, I’m not ready to give up eating meat or dairy. I admire people who have been able to do this and live on a plant based diet, but I’m not there yet. However, I am acutely aware of the impact that mass farming is having on our plant. So cutting down on the amount of meat and dairy that I consume seemed like a good starting point. But I also think about where my meat and dairy comes from and where possible I always buy local.
My milk comes from a local farm shop and in turn is from cows just 30 miles away. I buy most of my meat from my local butcher which is again from locally sourced farms and my fruit and vegetables come from my local farmer’s market or local organic shop.
I’m lucky that I don’t have big family — meaning this way of shopping is easier for me. I know that reducing reliance on supermarkets and cutting back on the meat and dairy that we consume is not easy for bigger families — I can’t even begin to imagine the reaction if I asked my son to give up his steaks! But even little changes can make a big difference.
Think about how you travel
I live in a small hamlet about 15 minutes’ drive from the local town. I rely on my car so much, but recently I’ve had to learn to cope without it. I’m extremely lucky that a small bus runs through the local villages every half an hour. So without the freedom of my car I used the local public transport — and you know what? It was great. Gone was the stress of driving instead I had the freedom to listen to a podcast, read a book or just stare out of the window at the passing countryside.
Not everyone has the luxury of a car. Many people have to make do with public transport and I know it’s not perfect. A few years ago as a train commuter I often got frustrated at the poor service, constant delays or lack of available seating on my journey — but emissions from transport is one of the main causes of carbon emissions in our environment. Using public transport and becoming less reliant on our cars is one way of dramatically decreasing our impact on the planet even if just occasionally.
I didn’t write this with the intention of making an exhaustive list — there are so many other ways that you can live more sustainably — I wrote this with the intention of setting out some of the steps that I have taken and the decisions that I made in 2020.
There’s more to do and I’m sure over 2021 I’ll make even more changes to my life to reduce my environmental impact. If you’re interested in finding out even more ways you can do you little bit then Earth Day have a handy guide with 47 small actions you can take now.
