If you live sustainably, you live uncomfortably—Eliza Leusmann, Editor of Nachrichten aus der Chemie, Frankfurt, Germany, disproves this by questioning existing practices and realities and collecting ideas on how to contribute to the reduction of waste besides washing at lower temperatures, showering less often, and buying less convenience food.
First, she gives many examples related to the five Rs of minimalism. Reuse: do not wash coffee cups after every drink, reuse cooking water, or use coffee grounds as fertilizer. Refuse: do not take what does not make you happy or what you do not need—even if it is for free. Reduce—a little less of everything. Rethink—even if it takes energy at first to break a routine. Recycle—reuse, e.g., the envelope as a notepad or packaging as a trash bag.
Other ideas include washing clothes with environmentally friendly soap, making your own cleaning products, buying secondhand, buying concentrates, sharing food on platforms like foodsharing.de instead of throwing it away, or searching the internet with ecosia.org, as the company claims to plant a tree for an average of 45 searches.
The pleasant side effect: Much of this not only saves resources and waste, but also money.
- (M)Ein ganz persönlicher Beitrag,
Eliza Leusmann,
Nachr. Chem. 2021.
https://doi.org/10.1002/nadc.20214112148
