It's Use Less Stuff Day! Here's how to take part in this global initiative locally
Modern life is all about branding, packaging and stuff - more and more stuff. And, locally, we don’t exactly shy away from buying ourselves the latest iPhone or decking our kitchen cupboards out with branded food items, all of which come in packages that are somehow meant to preserve their shelf life.
Well, there’s a global event that encourages consumers in this day and age to reduce their carbon footprint, avoid unnecessary spending and overall waste. Use Less Stuff Day is an international challenge that we locals should really look into and adopt for the day…and hopefully the rest of our lives. Here’s how:
Avoid single use items
Walking around Malta, or even travelling by car, generally requires some sort of fuel, and we’re not talking about the diesel or petrol in your cars. We’re talking about body fuel - snacks and drinks that make our ‘travel’ that little bit more interesting.
Always carry a bottle around with you and a coffee cup too if you’re the type to chug a decent amount of caffeine every day - every paper or plastic coffee cup you use ends up in our landfill, and we all know that’s not pretty.
If your tummy’s rumbling and you really fancy a pastizz, is there really need for the paper bag, napkin and sometimes plastic carrier bag that it comes in? Surely the napkin alone will do - less stuff wasted for a quick snack. Zero waste is always optimal, so try and find the best eco-solution.
Grocery shopping without impact
Everybody needs groceries in their home. Food is something we can’t really live without. But there are also smart choices you can adopt when it comes to your daily, weekly or monthly shopping. First step…do you actually need it?
Waste in the food industry is immense, and we, as consumers, have a duty to reduce the wasted food that leaves our household. So only buy what you plan to eat. The Maltese idiom - ghandek ghajnejk ikbar minn zaqqek - is a great reference to judge your daily shopping cart.
When it comes to choosing your products, if possible opt for jars with resealable lids. These make for the perfect storage for any left over food, homemade dips and other food items and it also stops you from buying new jars and containers, that at the end of the day carry the same purpose as the repurposed ones.
Gifting doesn’t have to be so strenuous on the environment
We all love gifts. Receiving or giving is one of those human things that we get a rush from! But the new pair of shoes you bought your dad - the ones that came packaged in crepe paper, stuffed in a box and then wrapped to look somewhat pretty - really takes its toll on the planet. From production to packaging, there’s so much impact there!
New shoes are necessary sometimes, but if it’s just another snazzy pair to add to a collection, why not gift experiences instead of physical gifts? A scuba diving session, a canoe trip, flights to a new destination, a luxury massage, a camping weekend, a visit to Gozo or maybe even something you created from scratch. These are heartfelt and minimal impact plus with Christmas just around the corner, so you have a few ideas to consider.
There you have it, three ways to use less stuff on Use Less Stuff Day.