Convenient Ways the Save the Planet- Imi Peterson

Convenient Ways the Save the Planet- Imi Peterson

After Kyla’s cracking speech on plastic pollution, I was inspired to share a few of the easiest ways you can become as good a person as the mighty David Attenborough.

1) Tap water is great. We are blessed enough to live in England where (most) taps produce some saucy H2O. Buy a glass bottle and refill it, you don’t need Evian every day.

2) Speaking of drinking, paper coffee cups are not widely recyclable. Starbucks, Costa and Cafe Nero all sell reusable cups for a couple of pounds and will give you a discount for using them. The more you know.

3) Lower sixth this is your time to shine, all those universities giving out free bribes, grab them. At the UCAS event last year I nabbed eight reusable bags, not only am I saving the planet I get to pretend I go to Edinburgh Uni.

4) Use markets to your advantage. Not only are you getting better produce, it will also save on unnecessary packaging. You’ll also get a cracking bargain at the end of the day on Dave’s strawberries.

5) Literally the easiest thing to do is turn off lights. Switches are conveniently placed next to the door, so how much energy does it take to flick it off when you leave a room? Alternatively, switch to low watt lamps instead of glaring ceiling lights, the polar bears will thank you.

6) Even if you have no soul and don’t care about battery farming, free range eggs are actually easier to find today and have a far lower carbon footprint: happy hens, happy eggs.

7) You may think that one tiny piece of litter might not affect anyone, but it’ll be on your hands when a bird mistakes it for food, then drops it into the ocean where a little fish will eat it and then that fish will be the last of its species so when it chokes on it you’ll be responsible for an entire species extinction and you’ll be guiltier than Lady Macbeth.

8) You don’t even need to be able to read now to see the pictures on recycling bins of paper, cans and plastic, and as so little brain power is required I think it’s reasonable that we should all be able reduce landfill one step at a time.

9) Bees. Bees are great, so we need to help them out as much as possible. You can sign up to get free seeds and window boxes delivered, and who doesn’t love anything free? Without bees there’d be no honey and without honey Winnie the Pooh would starve. Do it for Winnie.

10) Just think a little about what impact you’re having as a consumer. Read a label, if there’s palm oil in it, put it back, there’ll be an alternative. Instead of slowly ordering eight items from Asos in separate deliveries, do it on in one chunk and recycle the plastic. Go for a walk, take the bus, cycle; it’s fun I promise.