Remaining Sustainable During the COVID-19 Pandemic
In the past few months, the world has changed in many ways. From fear of spreading the virus and disease, many have turned to using single-use every thing.
I get it, believe me, I’m a health care professional myself. I know the importance of infection control and being diligent, especially during a pandemic.
But I want you to know that you haven’t lost all control over your impact on the Earth. The pandemic cannot make all of your sustainability habits, which you had worked so hard towards, go out the window. You might have to do things you didn’t used to just to ensure your family is safe, sometimes creating waste you wish you didn’t create. But there is a happy medium. And as it turns out, there is still a lot you can do to remain sustainable during these times. So I’ve listed 10 ways you can lower your impact during the COVID-19 pandemic.
First off, remember, that you can still control which items you purchase and which items you bring into your home. Here are a few examples:
Freeze your own food
Frozen foods are harder to get these days with what seems like the entire world stocking their freezers. Yet, there is little to no shortage of fresh produce available in the stores. Buying your food fresh rather than pre-frozen means you aren’t collecting all that plastic packaging frozen foods come in. Instead, set aside an hour of your time after doing groceries to cut and prep food to be frozen. Ideally, you’d freeze it in glass containers or jars, but if you don’t have these, freezer-safe plastic containers or a set of resealable bags that you reuse over and over are ok too. But keep in mind that these plastics contain carcinogenic and hormone-disrupting chemicals that leach into your food. Don’t forget that you can collect freezer-safe containers for free over time by keeping your pickle jars, nut butter jars, etc. You can also find glass storage containers secondhand on online marketplace websites.
2. Don’t let plastic bags make a comeback in your life
If your local grocery store no longer allows you to bring in your own reusable bags, don’t panic! After purchasing your groceries, place them all back into the cart or shopping basket unbagged and bring them out to your car that way. Once there, have your totes or bags ready and bag your items at your car. It might take a few extra minutes, but it saves a lot of plastic from those dozens of bags you would’ve used instead. I’ve actually found a few stores in my area that still accept reusable bags and have also tried curbside pick-up options from smaller grocers who pack all your items plastic-free in one cardboard box.
3. Try to go easy on the takeout
It’s nice to support small businesses when you can, and it’s more important now than ever to support your local restaurants. But I’m sure we can all agree that we could do without all the single-use plastics most take-out options come in. Unfortunately, the governments have banned restaurants and cafés from allowing you to bring in your own cups or containers for takeout. So how can you support them without the use of packaging?
Firstly, I want to point out that big fast food and coffee chains are not the businesses needing your support at this time. I’m talking about the small local businesses that rely on every order just to keep afloat. A great way to support these small businesses is by buying gift cards to use when they open up again. This gives them money upfront while they really need it with a promise to visit them again in the future. Many will have electronic gift cards which means it’s a zero waste way to support them.
Of course, supporting these businesses with takeout is ok too, but try to keep them to a minimum. Cooking your own food, in theory, always creates less waste than ordering in. But if you do choose to support them in that way, ask them if your order can come in a paper bag rather than a plastic one and minimal packaging if possible.
4. Use bar soap in your home instead of liquid
No doubt we are washing our hands more than ever lately (and for good reason). If you haven’t yet made the switch to bar soaps, now is the perfect time. But don’t feel limited to the plastic-wrapped bars at the grocery stores. Look into local soap makers in your area to reduce the soap’s carbon footprint. Most will do curbside pickup or delivery which reduces the amount of packaging versus having something mailed to you, and feel free to request sustainable or no packaging for your purchase.
5. Don’t panic-buy or stress-buy
Businesses every where are taking advantage of our panic right now and making us believe we need X, Y, and Z to get through this pandemic. But purchasing items when stressed or panicked will undoubtedly lead to overconsumption and the accumulation of items you neither need or want, creating waste. Whether that be buying cheap clothes online that you don’t love just to boost your mood, buying foods you won’t eat fast enough that’ll go to waste, a new gadget that after a couple months will lose its initial appeal and from then on sit untouched and dusty in your basement… Let this be a time to realize that we need a lot less to be content than the world makes us believe. Take this time to figure out what is truly important and to then live more simply and consciously.
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In addition to being able to control the items brought into your house, you also have control over your actions and the implementation of more sustainable habits, such as the following:
6. Eat less meat
Animal agriculture is one of the leading causes of climate change, and the most recent science shows that a whole foods plant-based diet is not only healthier for the planet, but healthier for you too.
Now is the perfect time to experiment with the millions of plant-based recipes out there. Start by looking up plant-based alternatives to your favourite recipes. You’ll be surprised how easy and delicious swaps like bean tacos, tofu pad Thai, cauliflower buffalo “wings” and sweet potato chili can be. A quick search online will bring you to millions of recipes that will make you wonder why you didn’t reduce your meat & dairy intake sooner.
7. If your clothes aren’t dirty, don’t wash them
If you haven’t left the house, think twice before throwing your pants or sweater into the laundry basket. Do they really require washing after one wear? Rewearing items of clothing several times before washing them won’t hurt you if you haven’t been out and about, and it’ll prevent a lot of microplastics from shedding off your clothes and contaminating the water, while also saving on your water use and electricity bill.
8. Research your next low waste swaps
Take this time to go through your inventory of beauty products, cleaning products, etc and seeing what you’re low on. Research zero waste alternatives that are sold in your area so that you can order on time and aren’t forced to buy yet another plastic item when you run out at the last minute. Think shampoo bars, dish soap bars, bamboo toothbrushes, cleaning powders, and reusable glass or metal containers or bottles.
As a bonus, small local shops often carry these types of items, so you’ll be supporting small (local if possible) businesses rather than the big grocery stores and pharma companies.
Of course, don’t start using these swaps until you have completely used up your old stuff. Buying new sustainable alternatives is only sustainable if you aren’t wasting what you already own.
9. Take time to disconnect
Reduce your electricity use by taking the time to “log off” for part of your day. Let as much sunlight in as possible by opening your blinds and curtains and opt for technology-free activities like reading a book, organizing and cleaning your home, doing yoga, playing board games with your family or partner, going for a walk or bike ride, and spending time in your backyard if you have one.
10. Don’t lose hope
The world will eventually find a new normal. The state of the Earth will still be remembered after the initial chaos that we are in. The world is already noticing that this slowing down of life has drastically reduced our carbon emissions. Companies will see that their employees could benefit from working from home more permanently. We’ll reconsider our business travels after seeing that video meetings were just as effective. We’ll be able to use our reusables again one day. We’ll keep advocating for our beliefs and lead by example throughout the hard times.
It’s important to forgive ourselves for the unsustainable things out of our control, like going through more PPE as a healthcare professional or buying food that were in single-use containers now that the bulk stores aren’t allowing refills or may not be open at all. Remember that you’re probably being sustainable in ways you weren’t before, like a reduction in your CO2 emissions from no longer driving places or a cancelled trip.
The good news is, you still do have control over your home and most of your habits, even when it doesn’t feel like it. So focus on those things that you can control. Take it one day at a time, take care of yourself and your family, stay healthy, and give yourself grace. You can only have energy to be kind to the Earth if you are first kind to yourself.♡
Much love,
-Chanelle oxo