Fortunately, more and more people are becoming aware of the impact of the humankind on the nature. People are becoming more conscious about their purchases as all of the things we are using are living their ecological footprint. Needless to say, it is extremely important to reach for more ecological solutions. Yet, the problem is, many things regarded to be ecological are resolving one problem and creating another one.
This article will tell you more about such eco-friendly solutions.
Biodegradable bags
One of the most popular assassin of the natural environment is a plastic bag. Even though many countries have banned free plastic bags in shops in order to minimise the amount of packages, many people still tends to buy such bags. On top of that, small plastic bags made of thin plastic are still available in many supermarkets free of charge allowing customers to pack virtually each of their purchases in a separate transparent bag without paying for it. It is not difficult to imagine how much garbage such a habit will be.
Of course, there were attempts to make biodegradable bags. Currently, two major types of them are: so-called biodegradable plastic bags and paper bags. The first group of packages actually does not have anything in common with biodegradability. Such bags are just prone to disintegrating into small pieces of plastic more quickly than ordinary plastic bags. Unfortunately, this is the end of their biodegradability. The remaining plastic pieces will require the same amount of time for degradation as normal plastic bags.
Paper bags can be completely biodegraded, however, their production requires a lot of resources which is also rather bad for the ecology.
There is also a third type of biodegradable bags which are rather rare. These ones are made of natural polymers and can be biodegraded just like paper. Yet, they are made from plants and again, require a lot of resources for production.
The best solution
There is hardly any better solution than using the same shopping bags over and over again. It is sensible not just to switch to a single shopper but also to have a couple of smaller bags made of textile materials which will be useful for any products which can make your shopper dirty.
Vegan milk
Many people willing to switch to a more eco-friendly diet become vegans. This is a sensible approach indeed, however, it would really work if people purchase only raw plants and make all the necessary vegan products at home. It is especially true for vegan milk which is usually made of nuts, oat or soybeans.
The first problem coming with such products is the fact they are usually packed in Tetra Pak packages which are complex composite materials made of several different layers and are extremely tricky when it comes to recycling. Even if you are able to come across such milk stored in a plastic bottle which is more recyclable, albeit still not eco-friendly, you might find it costs more than the milk packed in a Tetra Pak package and it also has a very short expiration date. As you can imagine, Tetra Pak is a technology allowing to preserve food in a more efficient way, that is why it is used so often.
Another problem with vegan milk is that the most popular type of it is made of almonds.
For example, the 64% of all of the plant milk sold in the USA in 2018 was made of almonds. Mass production of almonds is rather harmful for the natural ecosystems. Firstly, it requires a gigantic amount of water which is nearly 74 litres for making just one glass of milk. Secondly, many almond plantations are using harsh pesticides for improving the harvest which is very harmful for bees.
Actually, almond milk has only 2% of almonds in it, while it is filled with extra additives for creating an appropriate consistency and taste and preservation of the product.
The best solution
The most ecologically-friendly solution is making plant milk from oat at home. Certainly, it is not thus easy as just grabbing a package of ready-to-use milk. Still, if you have become a vegan in order to minimise your impact on the nature, you should resign from purchasing such milk.