8 planet friendly life hacks 

Planet Friendly Life Hacks

At Mer, we are exploring ways of living more sustainably during Blue Week – in addition to drive an EV powered by renewable energy of course! And you might have heard of “reduce, reuse, and recycle” before, but there´s five more R´s you can keep in mind to upgrade to a more planet-friendly style of living. By incorporating the following eight practices in our lives, we can actively reduce waste and help conserve the Earth´s resources: 

Rethink

We live in a demand-driven society and that sometimes makes us want and need things that are unnecessary. This week your mailbox is probably filled with very persuasive ideas about what you need to buy, and flashy ads creates urgency and make it look like the sweetest deal. But do you need to go shopping this week, and are you buying more things than you need? Rethinking our consumer habits is a very impactful way of nudging sustainable practices. Consider what things you need, consider if it is something you could buy second-hand or borrow from a friend, and consider if it might be just as sweet having that amount of money still sitting in your bank account on Monday.   

What is your carbon footprint?  

Reduce  

Reduce consumption, minimize waste. Easy-peasy. We can reduce our waste by making small changes, such as turning off the lights when leaving a room, taking shorter showers, and using reusable bags instead of plastic or paper. What practices can you take to be more mindful of your use of water, energy, and other resources in your life?  

Some tips on how to save energy at home 

Reuse

By reusing items, we reduce energy and waste in production of products and our own waste. An easy way of incorporating it into you daily practice is for example to reuse items such as plastic containers suitable for reuse, glass bottles, and shopping bags multiple times. We can get reusable water bottles and coffee cups instead of using disposable ones.  

Turning off the tap: End plastic pollution

Recycle

Recycling is one of the most effective ways to reduce waste and conserve resources. The EU aims to double its use of recycled material, in terms of its share in the total amount of material used by the economy, between 2020 and 2030, as set out in the circular economy action plan. By recycling, you help to prevent materials from ending up in landfills and reduces the need for raw materials – all you need to do is to sort and put waste in the right bins. 

Circular material use rate in Europe 

Repurpose

Repurposing means converting waste materials into new products or uses. For example, we can use old newspapers and magazines to make papier mache, the fabric from old clothes can be used as cleaning rags or turned into pillows, and broken dishes can be used for mosaic artwork. There are several fun ways of doing this one – get inspired from some of these creative and inspirational examples! 

Repair

The fashion industry emits about the same quantity of greenhouse gases per year as the economies of France, Germany, and the United Kingdom combined, according to McKinsey. By repairing items instead of replacing them, we can reduce waste and save money. Repairing items such as clothes, shoes, and appliances also helps to conserve resources. 

McKinsey: The future of fashion 

Refuse

Refusing means saying no to things that we don’t need or that are harmful to the environment. We can refuse single-use plastics such as straws, utensils, and takeout containers. We can also avoid buying products packaged in excess plastic or other non-recyclable materials. 

Living plastic free 

Rot

Ideally this should have been a C as in “compost it!”, but for the sake of making it easy to remember – let it rot, waste it not. Rather than letting food scraps and leftovers end up at the landfill as waste, we can put it to good use. Whether it be onion skins, carrot peelings or yesterday’s dinner, composting it helps to reduce waste and provides nutrient-rich soil for your garden and plants. 

Zerowastechef: How to compost food scraps with or without a yard