Saving the Environment

There has been a lot of talks on climate change lately.  This post is to summarise some of the things we as individuals need to know/do to save the environment and hopefully, indirectly slows down climate change.

Reduce-Reuse-Recycle

Reducing is a more effective strategy than reusing and recycling, because when we reduce the use of say, plastic materials, then we have less plastic materials to reuse or recycle.

Many years ago, there was a school doing a recycling project.  They built some artistic structures using used plastic and aluminum bottles/containers.  By having such an activity, some children may inadvertently buy more such items, in order to bring the containers to school for the project.  At the same time, in my opinion, reusing such items do not solve the problem.  It only delayed the problem.  Because many years later, they would still need to dispose of the structures.

Examples of things we can do:

1.   Reduce the need for single-use plastics : Bring own carriers when shopping for grocery/food, opt for no cutlery when ordering for food delivery, choose products that do not use plastic as container/packaging, drink without using straws;

2.   Try not to buy things on impulse because of sale or because it is branded/fashionable.  Many of us would have learned that sometimes we regret afterwards.  Things we throw but cannot be incinerated will have to be thrown into the landfill.  

3.   Try not to buy too much food to store at home or in the refrigerator and needing to dispose them when they expire.  Buy only what we need;

4.   Reduce consumption of beef as rearing of cows releases large amount of Methane.  This could be a cause for global warming (unless it is a conspiracy theory) 😏.

Examples of ways to save resources:

1.  Turn the lights off when not using them;

2.  Switch the computer and TV off, at the socket, after using them, instead of putting them on the standby mode;   

3.  Set air-conditioners at 25 degrees celsius (for Singapore context) [note: we should get our air-conditioners serviced at least twice a year to ensure they are efficient and do not use more electricity than they need];  

4.  Turn the tap off when brushing our teeth, take our shower no longer than 5 minutes;

5.  Take public transport instead of buying our own car;

6.  Buy local produce over imported ones;

https://www.mse.gov.sg/take-action/individuals

https://www.towardszerowaste.gov.sg/recycle/what-to-recycle/

Some of the things I am doing:

1.   I now bring my own reusable containers to buy food from the hawker centre.  And for cases where the food has to come in single-use plastic containers, I would wash these containers before dropping them into the recycle bin [note: food-stained plastic containers cannot be recycled and have to be incinerated].  

2.   I have a paper box at one corner of the house where I keep recyclable items.  I bring these to the recycle bin once the box is filled.

Things that I ponder:

1.   Competition in the commercial world is good for the consumers.  It keeps prices down, and encourages innovation.  But there is over-production of similar products and leading to lots of wastage in almost all sectors.  Is there a way to limit production such that they produce only what is needed, instead of what companies intend to sell? Using data analytics, perhaps?

2.   Sometimes I tell myself, what is the point of doing all these when many others do not care. Then I would reply to myself: someone has to start somewhere.  With proper education, more and more will be aware and start thinking.