Climate Strike Sept 2019
We’re reflecting on the Climate Strikes last month and asking ourselves if we are doing enough. We’re all ‘doing our bit’ towards climate action, but could we do more?
I started this company having taken inspiration from my late Grandfather, Adjustus. He was a true craftsman, and was born during a time when things were ‘made to last’. A time when we had little idea of the environmental crisis that lay ahead. What would he think of the situation our planet is facing, and what will future generations think of us – and those before us – when they look back in ten, twenty years. Will they think we’ve done enough?
Greta Thunberg
We are all familiar with the awe-inspiring Swedish schoolgirl, Greta Thunberg. With her powerful message to the world, young and old have been moved to join in her quest to get MPs, politicians and world leaders to listen and take immediate action on Climate Change.
“This ongoing irresponsible behaviour will no doubt be remembered in history as one of the greatest failures of humankind.”
Part of Greta Thunberg’s chilling and eye-opening speech to MPs earlier this year.
She continued, “Every time we make a decision we should ask ourselves; how will this decision affect that curve?” in reference to the emissions curve, that continues to rise. She has definitely inspired us – we took to the streets of West Sussex last month to join the worldwide climate strike on September 20th. We wanted our voices heard. We wanted future generations to know this is – without question – worth standing up for.
While it is undeniable that the world is listening, there is less certainty over what tangible actions are being taken by each nation to dramatically reduce (or better still, stop) carbon emissions.
Perhaps they don’t have all the answers just yet, but as Greta herself says,
“We must lay the foundation while we may not know exactly how to build the ceiling.”
Time for Action
So what can we do now to feel like we are taking positive action towards climate change?
At home, we recycle, as all of us do, but this is the baseline now, with so many other concepts we can embrace to help protect this beautiful planet of ours.
Terracycle
Terracycle is an innovative recycling company that has become a global leader in recycling typically hard-to-recycle waste.
We stockpile crisp packets and take them to our local Terracycle drop off point each month. For us, this happens to be our local primary school, which receives reward points that help to buy much needed educational equipment for the pupils. We love this – it feels like a real ‘win-win’.
Bread bags are also stockpiled and we return these to our nearest major retailer for recycling under the ‘Bread Bag Recycling Programme’.
Terracycle can shred and convert the packaging into new recycled products, rather than it going to landfill, and more, brand-new plastic being made.
Environmentally-friendly lifestyle choices
• We never accept plastic carrier bags from shops, and instead opt for a reusable shopper bag
• We don’t buy bottled water – we always carry a reusable bottle and ask outlets to kindly refill
• We visit our local butcher, which no longer uses plastic bags, and offers a discount if you bring your own reusable containers
• We take our trusty reusable coffee cup to our favourite coffee shops
• We shop at local farm shops, where we find there is less plastic packaging on produce
• We are mindful of plastic packaging when we make purchases
• We consider our purchases – especially in fashion – and try to only buy items that will be in our wardrobe for the long-term, avoiding ‘fast fashion’.
EcoBricks
Our next mission is to introduce EcoBricks to our household. An EcoBrick is a reusable building block created by packing clean and dry, used unrecyclables into a plastic bottle to a set density. This enables plastic to be kept out of the environment. The EcoBricks can be used to build green spaces for the community, furniture for homes, as well as many other practical applications.
Together, we hope our voices will be heard, and IMMEDIATE climate action will be taken by world leaders, while we continue to do our best at home.
What eco-friendly actions or initiatives does your household undertake? Could you share some of your ideas? Please let us know in the Comments below, or on social media.
