In an era where an ecological conscience is a virtual prerequisite for big businesses, many entrepreneurs have embraced the notion of turning waste into profit. By no means should this thinking be limited to businesses, however. The “Zero Waste” phenomenon has become a hot topic in recent years with high profile bloggers like Kathryn Kellogg of Going Zero Waste, Lauren Singer of Trash is for Tossers and Celia Ristow of Litterless have all contributed immeasurably to helping ordinary household limit the environmental damage they do at home by reducing their household waste by recycling, reusing / upcycling and making prudent shopping choices. This concerted effort to reduce landfill waste is not only beneficial to the environment but aids immeasurably in managing household finances.
Shopping with waste reduction in mind has an unexpected knock-on effect of reducing waste in terms of monetary spending. All those brightly colored pre-packaged products on the supermarket shelves are (whether you realize it or not) passing a lot of unnecessary expenses on to you, the consumer. If you’re struggling to get by and consulting debtsettlement.co to better handle your debts, you’ll need all the help you can get in righting the ship. Fortunately, with a little extra planning and approaching your shopping with a sense of wily cunning you can help the environment while scything down your shopping bills.
Go plant based
Meat and dairy products come at a relatively high cost in the supermarket but an even higher cost to the environment. Keeping livestock requires much more in the way of feed, water, land and waste management than plant crops and eschewing animal products for an entirely (or mostly) plant based diet can help you make big savings without contributing to wasteful animal agriculture.
Buy local
Buying from farmers markets or other locally sourced outlets allows you to buy your fruit and veg loose without harmful packaging. Plus, since those selling at these markets have far fewer overheads they’ll pass the savings along to you. If you don’t have access to a farmers market look for a CSA or local delivery service.
Buy in bulk
15% of your food costs is spent on packaging. While a relatively innocuous figure, it all adds up… especially if your family goes through 3-4 food shops a week. 1lb of beans in a plastic bag costs $1 but the same amount of loose beans costs just 65 cents for the same amount. Why pay over the odds for something you’ll only throw away?
Tidy up on toiletries
As well as food, there are substantial savings to be made in the bathroom. Even changing your brand of toilet roll for something more readily biodegradable can make a big difference to the environment and save you money. Bamboo toothbrushes are also cheap and biodegradable while plastic toothbrushes will still be on the planet long after we’re all dead. Swapping out disposable razors for a stainless steel razor with changeable heads can also lead to significant long term savings. Swapping out disposable diapers and sanitary napkins for washable and reusable alternatives can also save a small fortune as the months and years roll by.
No Comments