Dear reader, welcome back to the second article of our article series-“How to Quarantine the Eco-Friendly Way”
In the last article of this series, we extensively spoke about the need for leading an eco-friendly lifestyle, especially in times of the current pandemic where some of the precautionary measures are polluting the environment.
Last time we introduced the “Reduce-Reuse-Recycle” mantra and discussed various ways in which we can lead an eco-friendly lifestyle by Reducing our consumption and waste disposal.
In this article, we will talk about how we can effectively reuse the resources available to lead an eco-friendly lifestyle.
Reusing:
Before we start discussing the various ways in which we can reuse the resources available to us, let us first try to understand what it means to reuse and why it is so important.
Reuse refers to the prevention of solid waste from entering the landfill, improving our communities, and increasing the material, educational and occupational wellbeing of our citizens by taking useful products thrown away by people who no longer want them and providing them to those who do.
Whenever we choose a new product over reusing whatever we have, it requires the creation of that product from scratch, burdening the economy as well as an unnecessary wastage of all the other factors of production. Thus, reusing also comes with economic benefits.
Reusing over purchasing new goods or passing it on to someone also promotes solid waste management by bringing down the production of solid wastes such as building material, e-wastes, chemical waste, etc.
Finally, every time we donate a reusable item to charitable organizations, we help provide for the needy. It is especially helpful in times of COVID as many people have lost their jobs and their sources of income.
So, now that we understand the importance of reusing our resources. We now try to look at different ways in which we can practice the mantra of reusing while stuck in quarantine.
Reuse Your Gloves
Times are such that we need to wear masks and gloves every time we step out of our homes to prevent the spread of this deadly virus. But unfortunately, most of us tend to throw them away after a single-use.
Did you know the commonly used latex gloves take up to 5 years to decompose!!
So, next time, instead of throwing them away after using them just once, sanitize and store them safely to reuse them later.
Get Creative with What You Have
These days most of us are spending our time in isolation, so we can try to avoid buying new clothes and reuse our old ones instead.
Did you know that approximately 8,183 liters of water are required to grow enough cotton to make one pair of jeans!!
So, get creative, reuse the ones you already have, especially denimwear.
Here are some ideas on how to get creative with your old denim wear.
Read Also : HOW TO QUARANTINE THE ECO-FRIENDLY WAY,https://greenstories.co.in/quarantine/
Pass it On
Most of us are attending our classes online these days, because of which there has been a sudden rise in demand for electronic devices such as mobile phones and laptops.
Did you know that E-waste has increased by 44.7 million metric tons (or 8 percent) from 2014 to 2016!!
With the current rise in demand for electronic devices, it is only going to get worse.
But if we recycle our old electronic devices and offer it to people who are not fortunate enough to have access to personal computers or mobile phones to attend their classes.
Doing this will not only reduce the e-waste generated but also help us to share with the less privileged ones.
Bits & Pieces
The frequent need to wash our hands to prevent the spreading of the virus has led to an increase in commercial chemical-based soaps. And if you have ever noticed, most of these soaps are barely useable as they are too small and often get thrown into the disposal. It leads to increased toxic chemical-waste both during production as well as of soaps.
Instead of throwing away small pieces of soap, collect a couple of them, mash them together, and voila, you have successfully reduced your demand for industrially produced chemical-based soaps and helped save the environment.
These are some of the tips we thought can be useful in your quest to reuse available resources and lead an eco-friendly life.
Remember, although there has been a drastic decline in overall pollution across the globe, with the governments everywhere imposing heavy restrictions on traveling via air, land, and water. Still, there is a lot that needs to be done for our planet to recover from the worrisome state it is in today, and even though it may seem like it is too late to prevent this rapid depletion but we should remember that “there is always a way where there is a will”.
So, even in challenging times like this, by following these simple tips mentioned above, we can do our bit to save the environment from further degradation.
Stay tuned to read the next article of this series on how to recycle for an eco-friendly lifestyle.
Until then, stay home, stay safe.
Tags: #ecofriendly, #environment, #getgreen, #gngagritech, #greenstories, #handmade, #plasticfree, #recycle, #reduce, #reuse, #savetheplanet, #sustainability, #sustainable, #sustainableliving, #upcycle, #vintage, #zerowaste
