How to Be More Eco-Friendly As a Teenager: 6 Steps
Lately, I’ve tried hard to be more eco-friendly, but sometimes it’s not easy to live in a quite wasteful society; mostly when you’re a teenager. So, I’ve compiled a list of 5 simple ways to be a little more environmentally conscious as a teenager – Have Fun!
TAKE SHOWERS, NOT BATHS
By getting a 5-10-minute shower rather than a bath, you can save between 10-20 gallons of water each time you wash. That’s the same volume of water you can drink in around 40 days (but you shouldn’t drink bathwater!).
PRINT DOUBLE SIDED
Pretty self-explanatory but significant! You can change your printer’s default configuration to print double-sided instead of single-sided. This is such a useful tip, particularly when printing long articles or stories etc., you can save HALF the amount of paper you use otherwise!
AVOID DISPOSABLE FOOD CONTAINERS
That’s something you can do to reduce how much you throw away. If you’re taking a packaged lunch to school, consider placing it in Tupperware containers (instead of using foil or cling film!). I’ve got a very cool lunchbox with 3 separate segments. I might have pasta salad in one part, some trail mix in one section, some grapes in another, or something like that. Try to avoid foods with lots of wrapping like crisps or chocolate bars (especially because they are usually packaged individually in a bigger combo pack bag!). Many foods that have less packing, like the ones I mentioned, are typically less refined and also much healthier, so you’ll do yourself a favor too!
Another very easy thing to do is bring a reusable water bottle or flask with your preferred drink instead of constantly buying fresh water bottles. There’s nothing wrong with tap water, and you can also save some money! You can also take your own flask in coffee shops when you get a takeaway and request them to put your beverage in there rather than a paper cup.
CALCULATE YOUR CARBON FOOTPRINT
When I needed to pursue being more environmentally aware, I measured my carbon footprint and found it very helpful to guide me on how much I need to be more eco friendly! This unique calculator is especially good as it is set out as a survey and geared to teens and youth.
By measuring your carbon footprint, you will see how much waste you generate and how much waste you save. I think that definitely gave me a strong starting point to find out where I made mistakes!
WALK OR GET PUBLIC TRANSPORT TO SCHOOL
I agree we’ve read this a thousand times before, but that’s just because it’s real. Did you realize that by walking or cycling to school, you could save 328lbs of CO2 every year and save 984lbs of CO2 every year by getting public transport? That’s 350 or 1,050 miles driving equivalent! If you can’t walk or get public transport, you can try to set up a car-sharing with some of your mates as this would reduce your carbon footprint.
BE A SOURCE OF INSPIRATION!
Encourage your family and friends to be more mindful of environmental issues; many people falsely believe that just because we don’t feel specifically the consequences of global warming and the right this second, it’s never going to happen. Scientists now predict that unless we change our ways radically, global warming will be well underway by 2050. Individual people alone can’t always make a significant difference, but many people can work for the same objectives. Inform people! Tell them what they can do to reduce their carbon footprint and tell people why environmental protection is important. In such cases, nothing works better than good old-fashioned mouth words!