There are some of the things that we could do, in order to take action into having a sustainable life and maintain a greener way of doing things that we can in our daily lives. Especially after the industrial revolution, the neglecting acts that people make damage the natural resources we have in the world and harm the environment. People pollute the air, soil, and water with hazardous materialsand consume unconsciously. We are living in a huge ecosystem in that every part of the system is highly connected to each other. For instance, if we pollute the soil, we might have unhealthy food as an outcome, which is due to the unhealthy environment that the fruits, vegetables, etc. will be exposed to while at the period of growth. It is inevitable that from now on, people should act for sustainability.
There are some of the things that we could do, in order to take action into having a sustainable life and maintain a greener way of doing things that we can do daily. Here are some tips for acting sustainable and taking care of the valuable environment and resources with the 6R Rule as follows:
Recycle:
The term "recycle" is indicating to turning the recyclable materials to the earlier stages of the production cycles and obtaining the raw materials again. From my point of view, it is one of the most crucial points for achieving sustainability. It has great importance and many benefits. People should be mindful of separating their garbages. The most common recyclable materials could be listed as paper, plastic, metals, glass, and electronics. Sometimes, it is not possible to recycle the product that you used or consumed. Because of that, you should be observing for ways to use recyclable material-origin products and if it is recyclable, find recycling bins to recycle them near your location, contributing to your society, economy, and environment.
Reduce:
If you take attention closely to your daily used items, you might find out that you are not really using what you need 100% of the time and most of the things that you utilize in your daily lives are not necessary at all. You should look after those items and try to shift into a "minimalist" form of view. You do not need to buy a new T-shirt if you have the same three or four in your wardrobe already. If they have a hole in them, you can sew it yourself or send to someone to do it. Old clothes are not meant to be garbage all the time. You can tie-dye your clothes if their colors are faded and bring them a fresh and brand-new look. More often than not there are new methods and techniques for bringing freshness into old products.
Replace:
It is a good idea to shift the nylon or plastic bags for your shopping with paper or fabric ones. Another way of sustainable replacement is to start using biodegradable packages instead of disposable ones. FMCG or cosmetics sectors could be the well-known areas the indisposable packaging and wrapping methods are used, unfortunately. You should be looking for eco-friendly alternatives for those materials.
Renewal:
We have to be always reminded that the resources we have are limited. Exceeding the threshold of maximum usage will lead to the depletion of the valuable assets of the environment. We will better be using the alternatives for the non-renewable products. Fossil fuels are both limited and harm the environment with a carbon footprint, unlike renewable resources. Some of the eco-friendly materials that you should be considering for daily use are paper packaging, waxed paper, PE from renewable resources (bioethanol), and starch-based biologically degradable films. This substitution could have little impact on you but it will impact the world positively in the long run for sure.
Responsible:
It is not only the environment and resources but ourselves that we are respecting and preserving. All in all, sustainability is a concept to maintain and protect the assets and resources for future generations to meet. The UN Brundtland Commission talks about sustainability with those words: “Sustainable development is a development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” In addition to that, according to Schur Flexible's report, acting with accordance of the holistic vision of sustainability is key. Society, the environment, and the business form the wholeness of sustainability as the three sustainability pillars, as I mentioned in the recycle section above.
Rot:
Composting is the ultimate way of decomposing organic solid wastes into recycled organic material. In case you are a garden owner, try taking advantage of making use of this method while getting rid of the organic waste you have in hand, if you have a composting service near you, this opportunity might come in handy. There are various locations where the compost is collected. To give an example, organic waste collected from campus is a project by Campus Compost in US, a student-run campus-based organization, which supports initiatives of composting, serving at different locations on campus.
To sum up, we should do whatever we are able to at the exact moment that we are in, because we need our world no matter what for ourselves, and we all maintain the power to start taking action for a sustainable future, at any point in our lives.
RESOURCES:
Simon. “6 RS of Sustainability: Easy Steps for a Sustainable Lifestyle.” Sustainability Success, 2023, https://sustainability-success.com/6-rs-of-sustainability-lifestyle-9-3-rs/.
Hui, Kayla. “This Fabric Shaver Is the Secret to Making My Worn, Pilled Sweaters Look like I Just Bought Them.” Well+Good, 16 Feb. 2023, https://www.wellandgood.com/steamery-pilo-2-fabric-shaver/.
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