I make no effort to discover where my purchases or their components are sourced, and once I dispose of them, I make no effort to check where they go.
I want to save the world as much as anyone else.
I want the trees and animals to be healthy, and the sea and sky to be clear.
My carbon footprint isn’t massive. I don’t own a car, and I fly once every few years.
But I haven’t made a big effort to live sustainably. I’m ashamed especially to see the amount of single-use plastic I buy and waste.
The truth is that buying off a shelf and throwing in a bin, is too easy.
I make no effort to discover where my purchases or their components are sourced, and once I dispose of them, I make no effort to check where they go.
I have access to recycling bins and so I usually dispose of my rubbish responsibly. But disposing of so much single-use plastic shows that at my core, I’m not a responsible consumer at all.
With a little more effort, a little more money and yes, a little less convenience, I would be able find alternatives to many of the single-use items I use.
Whether their prices are always sustainable is another issue, and ultimately, I know that living much more sustainably isn’t too feasible right now.
So, what should I do?
I know that I can try and make small changes. I can reduce the number of bottled drinks I buy for example, and I can also find a place to refill my liquid soap instead of constantly buying new containers.
I could also choose to adopt a vegan diet. It’s no secret how destructive the agricultural industry is to ecosystems and the environment.
“Going vegan” would be a big step towards living more sustainably, but that is a psychological battle which my conscience is yet to win.