4 ways we can go green even during the pandemic

We’re an eco-friendly bunch here at Preparture, and with all this sitting around and being confined to our homes, we were wondering just how eco-friendly we can be during the current pandemic.

With businesses taking a swift and hard cut to their sales, it’s been up to the cleverer ones to think of ways to keep their business afloat whilst simultaneously keeping their customers satisfied.

Take restaurants for example. With every restaurant in the world basically being closed for business, the future looks bleak for many eatery owners. However, to save themselves, their stock and their customers from going crazy, you’ll find restaurants around the globe offering drive-thru meals for those who dare to come in their own cars, or even sending out their own front line delivery drivers to distribute the goods. It seems like the perfect solution right?

Well, yes and no. Whilst it certainly helps the business owners keep a roof over their head, and stops food wastage, all that single-use plastic is harder to excuse. For now, it’s impossible to serve their food on real plates, and of course, all meals, sides, and condiments, must be put in their own container. That means that the use of Styrofoam containers, as well as other hard core and currently unaccepted-for-recycling plastic containers, are certainly on the rise.

That’s not all though. Supermarkets, shops, and those same restaurants, are also back to offering plastic bags to their customers, and the use of these plastic bags has gone up since the pandemic took off. And, bottled water has become a panic-buy item, with many people emptying shelves of 2 liter bottles in multipacks, an action far removed from our eco-friendly selves’ mere months ago.

It’s not surprising though. We are in the midst of a pandemic after all – a time of panic that no one really knows how to navigate properly just yet. We should give ourselves a bit of a break. Up to a point. And there are definitely some ways that we can still make sure we’re as green as possible, even during this strange time.

Remember your bags for life

Make sure you remember your reusable bags when you head out on shopping trips.

We may be buying extra groceries right now to compensate for those longer periods of time that we’re spending at home, but we can still make a difference when we remember to take our reusable bags.

Don’t have a bag for life? Check online where you’ll find loads of stores selling bags made from recycled material as well as long lasting materials. Why not try a mesh net bag for your fruit and veggies for example? These are made specifically for shopping trips and are strong and durable, so you won’t find yourself repurchasing one for quite a while.

Give away your unwanted clothing

All this spare time on our hands gives us extra time to do those jobs we’ve been putting off, like deep cleaning our homes, or cleaning out our closets.

If you’ve got a bunch of unwanted clothing sat at the back of your wardrobe, why not give it to a friend or someone in a less fortunate position?

With less shops open, and more people losing work, it’s not always possible for everyone to get their hands on the latest gear that they want or need. By donating your unwanted clothing (as long as it’s in good enough condition of course!) you could really help make someone’s day, and stop them from spending their own money on fast fashion.

Not up for giving away your best pair of jeans just yet, but finding your clothing looking a bit worse for wear? Grab the sewing kit (it’s usually hidden in the delicious looking biscuit tin), and mend your clothing for the time being. Rather than spending money you may not have at this time, you can keep your own clothes looking fresh, and maybe even rekindle the love you had for an item you’ve not worn for a while due to its state.

Create your own disinfectants

When life gives you lemons… you can create your own eco-friendly, non-toxic disinfectants to clean up your home and keep contagions at bay.

There are plenty of household items that you can create disinfectant, cleaning solutions, and even your own hand sanitizer with, including vodka, lemons, limes, and white vinegar, and you may even find that you get more cleaning done with these simple items than you ever have with more toxic solutions from well-known brands that can cost a lot of money.

Head online to find the perfect recipe for a home-made disinfectant that could help keep your home clean for half the price, and, for extra brownie points, reuse an old spray bottle so you don’t have to buy a new one!

Grab your bike or scooter and get some fresh air

If you’re still able to get out and about, you may have chosen to take the car when you leave the house. Whilst this is of course fine (we’re seeing a lot less carbon emissions from cars and factories since the pandemic began, as you can see in one of our past blog posts here, so using your car once in a while is a lot less harmful than it once was), why not grab your bike, or scooter, and head out for some fresh air. You’ll be adding fewer (none, to be precise) emissions to the atmosphere, and keeping yourself fit and healthy in a time when many of us are feeling down and scared.

However you choose to get around, don’t forget that you can use the free Preparture app to check travel times quickly and easily so you’ll never find yourself stuck, or too late.

However you choose to stay green during the pandemic, make sure you do it safely. Look after one another, and stay inside as much as you can.