If you follow us on social media you’ve probably noticed us using the term “walk a little lighter” a lot. To us, this means minimising our footprint on the planet through the every day choices we make.
One couple that live and breathe this philosophy are the kind-hearted, generous humans Nat and Dan from Clean Coast Collective. They run a not-for-profit, creating eco products (like reusable straws, and shampoo bars) to help people become more mindful of their choices, minimise waste, and play a part in creating a consumer movement towards a more sustainable way of life.
Nat & Dan use the sales from these products to fund Trash Tribe expeditions to clean up Australia’s most polluted beaches (which are often the most remote!).
We spoke to Nat to find out 7 simple actions we can all implement today to reduce our waste and Walk a little lighter on the earth….
Guest Blog Post by Natalie from Clean Coast Collective
When we lead busy lives, managing to cook a healthy breakfast or dinner is often a struggle, let alone making sure we’re living in a way that doesn’t cause harm to the planet. And then often when we do decide to live more sustainably, the information available on what to buy and from who is often too confusing or conflicting!
A few years ago we were just as perplexed, but after learning that there are over 5 trillion pieces of plastic in our oceans, we decided to make the effort to lead a life that was more mindful and gentler on our earth — and to our surprise it wasn’t as hard as we thought it would be. Here are seven daily practices that you can start right now to lessen your impact on this beautiful world we live in.
Carry your own reusable water bottle
Plastic water bottles take over 450 years to degrade and often end up polluting our waterways and oceans. We are so lucky in Australia to have clean drinking water, so grab your own reusable water bottle and take it with you everywhere you go. Even when travelling, you’ll often find that hotels and restaurants have clean filtered water so you can fill up your bottle.
Slow down your morning coffee ritual
Australians use over 1 billion coffee cups every year, and it might shock you to find out that the majority of them can’t be recycled. Slow down your morning coffee run by choosing to sit down for your coffee, or take your own cup or mug if you need to grab a quick takeaway.
Take your own bags shopping
Plastic bags are one of the most common things found on beaches and in waterways, posing a huge choking threat to marine wildlife. Take your own reusable bags or totes when shopping (like your Spell organic cotton tote!). You’ll not only enjoy shopping more, but you won’t end up with a kitchen cupboard full of plastic bags!
Say ‘No thanks’ to plastic straws
We take care to drink the best and healthiest smoothies (and cocktails….) only to drink them through a plastic straw. Not only is plastic made from petrochemicals (yikes, keep that away from my kombucha), but they are used for only minutes before ending up in landfill where they’ll take up to 200 years to degrade. Say ‘No thanks’ to a straw next time you’re out, or take your own with you.
Start buying your food package-free
Packaged food is the easiest way to increase the amount of plastic going into your bin every week. Choose to shop at bulk wholefood stores like The Source or Naked Foods to cut down on packaging in the kitchen. Stock up on recycled jars to store all your new ingredients in and enjoy your beautiful new pantry!
Choose to buy organic
When possible, choose to buy organic fruit and veg. Organic grown produce is not only healthier for you, but it’s healthier for the land on which its grown, meaning that there have been no toxic chemicals or pesticides used. Even better, find your local farmers market and buy from the growers themselves — there’s so much we can learn from our farmers and they always have the best cooking tips.
Swap cling wrap for beeswax wraps
And when you have delicious organic and package-free leftovers to pop in the fridge, you’ll want to keep them fresh. Choose not to use plastic cling wrap (another unnecessary disposable plastic) by swapping to some beautiful beeswax wraps — you can make your own or buy them at most wholefood stores.
By simply changing a few daily habits, you can stop our oceans and landfills clogging up with plastics, and keep our planet free from toxic chemicals. And through treading lightly, you’ll probably find that you begin to live more mindfully in all aspects of your life.
