Have you ever walked barefoot on wet sand? Or have you ever walked with wet feet on a dry surface? Did you look back and notice the trace of footsteps behind you, leading to where you are now? Similar to the footsteps we leave behind while walking, we are constantly leaving behind an invisible footprint on the environment called a carbon footprint.
Every human walking on this planet leaves this environmental footprint called a carbon footprint which is the total greenhouse gas emissions caused by an individual measured in their carbon dioxide equivalent. We can’t see this with our naked eye but be assured that mother nature is a great detective; she monitors, traces, and factors together the carbon footprint of all human activities.
But is it in our control to reduce our carbon footprint? Is it necessary?
The answer is YES. You can reduce your carbon footprint by doing what is within your control by using simple methods. Let’s focus on a life aspect, we all deal with everyday waste. According to reports, we create 2.01 billion tonnes of waste annually on a global scale. That’s equivalent to more than 182 million largest African elephants in the world!
But what about recycling this amount of waste? Around 33% or over six hundred million tonnes of this waste is not effectively managed. When it comes to individuals, waste generated per person per day averages 0.74 kilogram but ranges widely, from 0.11 to 4.54 kilograms, wordlwide. But you don’t have to let your waste go to complete waste. Some people think that only the companies are responsible for contamination but, in reality, the average population has a lot to do with it. This issue can be solved by learning how to manage waste correctly, and there are many resources available to help people learn how to do so. For example, the team at Away Today Rubbish Removal can help house owners get rid of their junk while educating them on the process.
Tips for waste management
1) Ban the use of plastic bags in your life
Switching from plastic carry bags to reusable paper bags will slash the waste you produce drastically. Here’s a stat for you or anyone you know who is on the fence about making the switch -plastic bags are used for an average of 12 minutes but it takes 500 (or more) years for them to degrade in a landfill. They photo-degrade, becoming microplastics that absorb toxins and continue to pollute the environment.
2) Segregate your waste.
Waste segregation is a step that any citizen can take to help the environment. All you need to do is follow the below steps to segregate your waste to maximize its utilization even after it has lost its value to you.
- Allot separate containers for dry and wet waste in the kitchen or in your society or office. If it decomposes when kept in the house for a long time like, vegetable and fruit peels, it’s wet waste. If it just sits there and doesn’t decompose, like plastic or paper, it’s dry waste.
- Further, segregate dry waste collection into paper and plastic for better recycling and reusing potential.
- Make a separate bin for toxic waste like old batteries, pesticides, paint, car oil, etc.
If you need to educate the people about what falls under these categories, print a list with three columns for Dry, Wet and toxic waste. Add a list of common items that are thrown into waste, like cooking residuals, food leftovers, toiletries, dust, etc. This should give them an idea of what goes where.
If you are moving out of your house or office, make sure that whatever waste that turns up during the move is properly segregated and transitioned into recycling. If you don’t have the time or energy, consider hiring a proffessional junk removal service. So for example, if you are in Orlando, look for Orlando junk removal services near you and let them take care of all your junk responsibly.
3) Stay vigilant during shopping
We all love and appreciate the ‘care’ that went into every single product we buy. However, the ‘care’ is simply for the consumer, not for the environment. These mass factory produced products squeeze natural resources and amplify waste with their unnecessary boxes and plastic wrappings that amuse us for a few minutes but leave a degrading environmental impact for years. Stay vigilant about products that buff up their packaging just to end up in your trash after a few moments of unpacking.
Final Takeaways
Some green steps towards responsibility will ultimately affect our collective carbon footprint. Make sure you share your understanding of a carbon footprint in your social circles and implement the above-mentioned waste management tips for a better and greener future!