The ecological footprint is recognized as one of the main indicators of sustainability worldwide. Helping to reduce it is in the hands of all of us and can start with something as simple as reducing the amount of waste we generate at home.
In a colloquial way we can say that the ecological footprint is a way to measure the impact that our daily life is leaving on the Planet.
Or explained in a more exhaustive way: “The ecological footprint represents the area of ecologically productive air or water (crops, pastures, forests or aquatic ecosystems) necessary to generate the necessary resources and assimilate the waste produced by each specific population according to their specific way of life, indefinitely”.
Reduce our waste, reduce our ecological footprint
Among the things we can do to reduce the ecological footprint is to reduce and treat waste properly, not to waste energy and water and, of course, to take care of the environment as much as possible.
Waste generation
Within these causes, we will focus on one of the most important, the generation of waste.
We have already talked about the three R’s (reduce, reuse and recycle) and especially the last two, i.e. reuse and recycling. But today we want to focus on the first one, that is, the before, on how to reduce the amount of waste we generate by, for example, prolonging the life of our everyday objects. This way we will not produce the waste, which is much better than having to take measures later to compensate for the damage.
In a society in which unfortunately more and more “throwaway” goods and compulsive and thoughtless buying are present, we have to be aware of the problem this generates and tend towards a more responsible consumption, oriented towards rational buying, maintenance and repair of goods and even their shared use.
How to reduce our waste
Some of the ways to reduce waste are very simple and we just have to keep them in mind and not forget them:
Responsible Purchasing
Trying to acquire only those products that we really need, fleeing from single-dose or over-wrapped packages that bring us nothing but waste. A good option for this is to consume fresh products, since it saves on both packaging and transport (if they are local, even better).
And on top of that they are healthier. Do not forget here that a good habit is in reusing the bags and if you can avoid that they are plastic better than better, one of the most polluting elements and that takes longer to disappear.
Durable packaging and glass bottles
These glass containers and bottles have a fairly long life cycle.
Quality products, with a long shelf life.
Get the maximum: better a good one than several bad ones. The more useful life a product has and the more time you can use it, the longer it will take to become waste. Therefore, it goes without saying that in addition to opting for quality products, we must treat them with care so that they take longer to end up in the garbage can.
Exchange of products
Many times we don’t use them anymore, but they are in good condition and someone can use them. We can even do this with family or friends. Maybe you don’t like those pants anymore, but your friend will love them.
Electrical appliances
Try to have a technician repair them before you write them off. Sometimes repair is possible and we rush to get rid of them. And if they are definitely beyond repair, keep in mind that in many of the establishments where they are sold, they also receive the old ones since some of their components can have a new life. And if not, you always have the clean point of your location to take them.
Home Composting
And finally, another increasingly popular way to reduce the waste we generate is home composting. Almost half of our household waste is organic matter, so it is possible to convert it into fertilizer for plants. Do you know how you can recycle your garbage?
Can you think of more ways to reduce the waste we produce every day and therefore part of our ecological footprint? Tell us about it.