Achievable Green Goals for the New Year
It’s the time of the year when the holidays give way to thanksgiving and stock-taking. Some of us may also be inclined to make New Year’s Resolutions in this period as a commitment to living life differently from how we have done for years past. Common resolutions include eating more healthily, exercising more regularly, or spending more time with loved ones and family.
This year, let us consider how we may incorporate principles of sustainable living and environmental consciousness into our lifestyles. Here are three unique New Year’s Resolutions, all with a green twist!
- Minimise the use of toxic cleaning chemicals
Spring cleaning is a tradition synonymic with the new year. However, most household cleaning agents we use in our homes may be made with chemicals that can cause bodily harm or exacerbate environmental degradation. Common cleaning agents, such as bleach and disinfectants, have been found to cause severe burns and disability if misused in excessive amounts or accidentally ingested.
Choose to use non-toxic cleaning agents this spring cleaning season. At UnPackt, we stock sustainably sourced and produced household cleaning products, such as baking soda, dishwashing liquid, and floor cleaning liquids. These products mitigate harmful environmental impacts and grant us peace of mind as we clean our homes in the new year!
- Bring your own bags and other reusables
As the COVID-19 situation transits into a state of endemicity in Singapore, more of us will return to our places of work or engage in more face-to-face interactions with colleagues, friends, and family. Some habits that we cultivated over the last year, such as using our own containers for food takeaways, or opting to use reusable bags over plastic carriers, can also be enacted as we progressively resume pre-COVID activities.
Place reusable bags by the door as a reminder to reuse whenever possible, even when leaving for work or social gatherings. Reusable cutleries may also be brought to the office so that you would never have to rely on single-use plastic cutleries too.
These simple actions could go a long way in reducing our individual carbon footprint, making it one of the most meaningful New Year’s Resolutions this year.
- Recycling right
Make an intentional effort to recycle the right way next year. It may come as a surprise to us when we learn that more than 40% of whatever we throw into the recycling bin cannot be recycled – not because it is made of unrecyclable materials, but due to unintentional contamination. Contamination happens when non-recyclable things, such as food waste and liquids, are thrown into the recycling bin. This contaminates the entire batch of recyclables and negates the positive efforts made by the community around us.
While recycling is a laudable effort, we must be mindful of what can be recycled and how these recyclables should be organised to prevent recycling contamination. Putting the right things in the right bin is paramount. It makes for a perfect New Year’s Resolution as we dispose of old ways to live a more environmentally conscious lifestyle!
