World Oceans Day - Sustainable Habits to Incorporate At Home

2022’s theme for World Oceans Day is Revitalization: Collective Action for the Ocean - something that we believe has been reiterated time and time.

In a grand scheme of things, the oceans provide countless benefits like the air we breathe, climate regulation, transportation, recreation, ocean freight, food, energy resources and a whole lot more… it may seem like a far stretch but remove the oceans from our ecosystem and our entire human livelihood may just crumble.

 Watch the interview here.

Just a couple of months back during Earth month, we had the privilege to speak to 2 couples - Shawn & Trini and Scott & Fabian on how they managed to incorporate healthy habits in their homes and their lifestyles altogether.

So here are 4 key takeaways that we can all learn from especially living in a modernised city like Singapore:

1. Be Mindful of Food Deliveries & Takeaways
2. Grow Your Own Food
3. Set Up Convenient Systems at Home
4. Get Rid of Old Unused Items Responsibly

1. Be Mindful of Food Deliveries & Takeaways

Food takeaways are so convenient these days its almost an integral part of our fast-paced lifestyle. But if you take a closer look at things - how much of our deliveries actually consists of single-use packaging that are non-biodegradable? 

A great suggestion from Shawn & Trini - being aware of the food shops & restaurants that uses single-use plastics for takeaways gives them the chance to eliminate it from their go-tos, essentially only supporting those that uses eco-friendly food packaging alternatives such as paper bags and kraft paper food boxes.

If you’d like to step it up a notch - how about cycling to your favourite nearby restaurant with reusable containers in order to go completely zero waste like what Shawn does?

2. Grow Your Own Food

You may wonder - how is growing your own food good for the Earth? Fresh produce like fruits and vegetables are always ready for us in supermarkets and wet markets - but have you considered the journey it took to be where it is?

With most of our fresh foods coming from nearby countries daily - imagine the amount of carbon emissions produced just by ensuring we have a constant supply of groceries islandwide! So how about making small changes like Scott & Fabian, through growing  their own food?

According to Oceana, ‘the flood of carbon dioxide in the oceans makes it more acidic, threatening corals, shellfish, and fish, and threatening to undermine entire marine ecosystems,’ - a terrifying fact that we should always consider when making decisions especially when it comes to fulfilling our need for convenience.

What other conveniences can we part ways from in order to cause less harm to our Oceans & Mother Earth?

3. Set Up Convenient Systems At Home

Actionable habits can easily be attainable and easy to integrate into our lifestyle especially when it’s convenient. An important habit that we hear a lot and is one that we should already be practising is recycling, which sometimes can be easier said than done.

‘Out of sight, out of mind' rings true especially so for the opposite. Setting up recycling systems at home will make it so much easier to cultivate a habit. A great tip from Trini, she recommends viewing the importance of having recycling bins at home as important as buying a fridge - as an absolute essential. The system she has set up for her home includes having designated recycling bins allocated for different areas and purposes - such as the kitchen for food recyclables, and the office for paper recyclables.

Almost like building an ecosystem at home - Trini also suggests a great way to save and use less water, that is by reusing the water used for washing fresh produce to flush toilets so that no water gets wasted.

4. Get Rid of Old, Unused Items Responsibly

Did you know that it takes less energy to recycle a material than it takes to destroy it completely? The environmental benefits of recycling or reusing is energy conservation, reduces air and water pollution, reduces greenhouse gases and conserves natural resources - which fundamentally leads back to causing less harm to our oceans.

A great suggestion from Scott & Fabian is the use of apps such as Carousell & Olio - platforms that put sustainability and less wastage in the heart of what they do. From giving away surplus of food or unwanted items for free, this helps to build an ecosystem that sees the value in reusing, repurposing and recycling.

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With that we hope you’ve found these tips helpful and easy enough to incorporate into your daily lifestyle and may we thrive to always do better to protect our natural resources and mother earth as fiercely as we should.