How to Stay Eco Friendly During Coronavirus? | Blog-1

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Eat plant-based foods to reduce the impact of your diet. Take advantage of your time in quarantine by trying out some new vegetarian recipes. Animals that are raised for food produce a lot of methane, and large-scale farming contributes to deforestation. Eating a plant-based diet for even part of the week can make a difference in your carbon footprint!

• You don’t need to buy lots of fresh produce to go vegetarian. Stock up on less perishable foods, like canned, frozen, dried, or preserved vegetables, so you won’t have to make as many shopping trips. You can also try growing your own veggies outside or in containers.
• For example, if you have a lot of beans and rice, you can use them to make some quick and easy vegetarian burritos or mix them with Italian seasonings and diced tomatoes to make Italian-style rice and beans.
• Have a lot of wilted veggies in your fridge? Make them into a tasty and nutritious stock for soups!

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Compost your scraps to reduce food waste. If you have scraps you can’t use for stock or other dishes, turn them into compost so you can grow fresh herbs or vegetables! You can compost with materials like eggshells, coffee grounds, raw fruit and vegetable scraps, nutshells, twigs and leaves from houseplants, tea bags, and tea leaves.

• If you don’t have an outdoor space for composting, do some simple aerobic composting in an airtight bin in your kitchen. Fill the bin ¾ full with materials like shredded newspaper, cardboard, or dead leaves, then top it off with food scraps. Gently toss the components together, then bury them in a thin layer of garden soil.
• Don’t put cooked foods, meat, bones, fat, or dairy products in your compost bin, since these will create nasty odors and possibly attract pests.

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Stick to online shopping as much as possible. If you’re practicing social distancing, there’s a good chance you’re doing this one already! Shopping online will not only help protect you from getting sick, but it will also reduce the amount of traffic on the roads. This, in turn, can help cut down on harmful emissions. Try to buy as many items as you need in as few shipments as possible to reduce traffic to your home.

• Avoid using express or expedited delivery services when you can, since these services tend to add up to more trips for delivery drivers.
• Make sure you really want an item before you buy it, since returning items contributes to more vehicle emissions.
• You’ll probably need to go out from time to time, but try to limit your store runs to no more than once a week. This will limit your chances of being exposed to the virus while also cutting down on car emissions.

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Buy toilet paper with plastic-free packaging to minimize plastic waste. Plastics are notoriously terrible for the environment, not only because of the waste they create but because of the amount of energy that goes into making and even recycling them. Avoid the TP rush at the store and help the environment at the same time by ordering eco-friendly toilet paper online from companies like Who Gives a Crap, Reel, and Pure Planet Club.

• You can take it a step further by purchasing recycled toilet paper or even tree-free toilet paper, which is made of materials like bamboo and sugar cane waste.
• Alternatively, skip the TP altogether and invest in a bidet!

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Use reusable items as much as you can. This makes sense at any time, but it’s also important to apply this basic rule of green living during the quarantine. If you have food delivered, ask them to leave out the napkins, plasticware, and plates. Use your own cutlery and tableware instead. Need to go out shopping? Bring your own reusable cloth shopping bags, then launder them when you get home.

• Sometimes it’s safer to use disposable items, and that’s okay. For example, the CDC recommends using disposable gloves when cleaning and disinfecting items that might have been exposed to the coronavirus.

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Make your own household cleaners to cut back on plastics. While you should use bleach, alcohol, or another EPA-approved disinfectant to kill germs and viruses, you can do basic household cleaning with eco-friendly DIY cleansers. Make a small enough batch for just one cleaning job, or fill a clean spray bottle so you can use it again. This is a great way to reduce plastic waste and cut back on environmentally harmful cleaning chemicals at the same time.

• To make a simple cleaner with orange peels and vinegar, gather enough orange peels to fill half a mason jar. Pour in enough white vinegar to cover the peels and fill the jar, then close the jar and store it in a dark place for 2 weeks. Use a fine mesh to strain the mixture over a bowl, then throw away the peels. Pour your new cleaner into a clean spray bottle!

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Avoid panic buying unnecessary supplies. Buying way more toilet paper, hand sanitizer, or food than you need hurts other people, and it’s also super wasteful. Even in places with lockdown orders, most grocery and home goods stores are staying open, which means there’s no need to buy several months’ worth of supplies. Make a list of the things you actually need and stick to the list as much as possible.

• Prevent food waste by planning ahead when you buy groceries. Don’t buy tons of perishables unless you plan to eat them within the next few days or have space in your freezer for things you won’t eat right away.
• Be respectful of buying limits on high-demand goods like paper products, hand sanitizer, and disinfectant wipes. Buying up more than you need will put pressure on manufacturers to churn out even more and increase the need for deliveries to stores in your area.