First 5 Simple Steps to becoming Human Kind...

1. Turn the tap off when you brush your teeth.
Although the world’s surface is about 70% water, a lot of energy goes into making that water clean and drinking quality. We can help y only using the water that is needed, i.e. turn the tap off when we brush our teeth, wash vegetables in a bowl of water rather than under a running tap etc.

2. Stop using plastic bags.
Plastic bags may be convenient, strong, lightweight, and waterproof but they are very detrimental to the environment. Britain produces eight billion carrier bags a year, most of which get used once and end their very short life in landfill. You can make a stand and so no to the carrier bag. There are so many alternatives to a plastic carrier bag; different fabrics and boxes. Just make sure you take them with you for your weekly shop.

3. Switch off and unplug unused chargers and appliances.
This not only applies to phone chargers, but leaving appliances on standby on when not being used. Only 5% of the energy used by the UK’s mobile phone chargers is actually used to charge phones, the rest, that’s 95%, is used when the charger is plugged into the wall but not switched off at the socket, and it is completely wasted. Similarly leaving TVs DVDs and computers on standby wastes four million tonnes of CO2. By switching off and unplugging, the average household can expect to save £37 per year in electricity.

4 Use your LOAF.
This is a practice to use when shopping:
Locally produced – Buying food that has been produced locally means less food miles and carbon emissions, support to the local economy and farmers, and less waste produced from extra packaging required to keep it fresh.
Organically grown – Growing organically is good for the environment; it leads to healthier soil, uses less fossil fuel energy, and is beneficial to wildlife rather than detrimental.
Animal friendly – 18% of greenhouse gas emissions are due to livestock farming, we could help reduce this by eating less meat and dairy products. Also avoid animal products that have been produced through intensive farming practices. Look for free range, outdoor reared/bred and freedomfood, but avoid farm/country fresh, as these are often used to sell factory farmed products. Organically reared animals are also a good choice as they are subjected to high welfare regulations.
Fair traded – Trade needs to be sustainable and fair. People deserve to be paid a fair price for their produce.

5. Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.
This ranges from putting glass and plastic in recycling bins, to composting, to giving furniture a new lease of life. Every time you go to put something in the bin just think if there is another use it could have. Food scraps can feed your garden, paper can be recycled into new paper, and furniture can be altered or painted to create a new unique piece. If however, you really do not have use for it anymore, someone else might, so give it to a charity shop or offer it online. In addition, when you go shopping, think: ‘Do I really need this?’ Reducing the amount of materials we buy will ultimately reduce the amount of materials we throw away and end up in landfills.