Category: Shades of Green (page 1 of 1)

Sticky post

We’re taking a break

Emma and I are taking a break from our regular monthly posting. But never fear, Tim is here…! 🙂

During this pause, do visit #LetPompeyBreathe where local activist Tim Sheerman-Chase writes passionately and informatively about the air pollution public health crisis in Portsmouth.

Visit: https://greenpompey.org.uk/let-pompey-breathe/

#LetPompeyBreathe

Image by Kathleen Port from Pixabay
Written by Tamara, a Green Hairy Feminist

9 Free Apps to Help You Be Greener Today

I (Emma) don’t know about you, but over this [swearword redacted] of a year, I feel like my productivity has gone right down. Leaving aside the arguments about toxic productivity and that we are worth more than what we get done in a day, this has been hard for me.

It hasn’t just been the pandemic, but rather a lot of personal stuff that hasn’t got any easier throughout the lockdown period, which for me is basically from March 16th and will continue until my grandad gets the vaccine. (This is not an arguement against the lockdown, which I fully support.)

And this productivity vacuum hasn’t just been limited to work. In fact, I’ve been less green in all the ways you’d expect (buying packaged food and takeaways) and ways you might not (using the dryer more).

So how can we be more green with less time and energy? Well, this is the topic of this article. Apps.

Ecosia

person searching with binoculars

I feel like we bang on about Ecosia a lot but they use their ad revenue to plant trees in places that need them most. They’ve planted over 114 million as of writing.

They’ll also put a green leaf icon next to websites that supply eco products or have sustainable practices.

Forest

tree

On a similar note (and because this post is focused on productivity), Forest will encourage you to put down your phone for a set amount of time while a cartoon tree grows on screen.

It also plants IRL trees through partnering with charity Trees for the Future.

Too Good to Go/ Olio

bags of peaches

I’ve put these together because they both fight food waste by picking up stuff that someone else doesn’t want; Olio from other people and TGTG from restaurants and shops.

I haven’t used them since early March because #shielding, but if you feel confident, you can do contact-free pick-ups from people’s houses or in the same way that you’d usually buy food in the store. (Follow the advice on the apps.)

Pinterest

photo collage

Now, there are a lot of things on Pinterest that aren’t eco, but it’s a great place to search for vegan recipes, upcycle tutorials, and zero waste tips. Approach with caution. It’s addictive.

BorrowBox

woman reading book

Can’t get to your library or a charity shop? Want to avoid buying books online with all the pointless packaging? With BorrowBox, you can borrow eBooks and audiobooks for free without leaving the house.

[As always, second-hand books can be bought from World of Books and new books can be bought from the independent and Southsea-based Pigeon Books, who wrap them in paper and deliver on bike.]

Good On You

clothing store

We all know that Tamara likes the Ethical Consumer, but what if that was in app form and scored clothing brands based on their impact on the people, animals, and the environment.

I haven’t used it because I don’t buy a lot of clothes new – one band t-shirt this year – but I thought it might be good for people who like clothes shopping, as if they recommended you avoid the brand, they’ll give you better options.

reGAIN

woman with boxes of clothes

On a related note, reGAIN encourages donating clothes, shoes, and accessories you no longer wear to the British Red Cross in exchange for discounts on new items.

Weather App

person riding bicycle during rain

This is something I use all the time and the best part is that you don’t have to free up space because it’s already on all of our phones. My most common use of it is to check if it will rain, so that I can put the washing out at night and bring it in the next day.

Other uses could include checking if you can walk somewhere rather than taking the car, seeing the best day to go for a bike ride, or using bad weather as an excuse not to see someone you don’t like when the lockdown lifts.

Hopefully, this will help you be more eco without much effort. Let us know in the comments below if you have any other app suggestions.

The Big Green QUESTION: Part 1

Hello and welcome to the 2020 anniversary post for Shades of Green. How’s your year going so far? Terrible? Ours too.

A little bit of housekeeping before we start. You may have noticed that our blog has undergone some changes recently. For instance, we changed our posting schedule to once a month; the last Friday. It’s not that we’re any less committed to the cause, but we are under a lot of pressure in our lives right now and to preserve quality, we had to cut quantity.

We’re hoping that this is just temporary and that, by the time 2021 rolls around, we’ll be back to “normal”.

In keeping with this being a weird year, we’ve changed our anniversary post to reflect what it means to be green. (Especially in quarantine.)

With that in mind, let’s hand over to Tamara to start off.

Once a month, I plonk myself at my desk to write about my ongoing attempts to live green in Pompey. I very much write about what I live and do. Some months are greener than others and I try to be honest about that.

Take for example earlier this month, I briefly considered cycling (green!) in the rain to multiple recycling banks with my mixed plastics and cartons (green!), then immediately tossed that thought aside (wait, what?) and sidled ungracefully into my car (not green!). Trying to be green with these daily actions – it got me thinking.

What the heck do I (Tamara) mean when I talk about my attempts to live green or eco or sustainably or ethically?

Hmmm…..

What does living green really mean?

Is it just a green stick I use to beat myself and others with? My mother, who lives with me and who I strongly encourage to recycle and buy free-range meat would say, ‘absolutely, yes!’.

To be honest dear Reader, my definition depends on the day and what cards life is currently dealing me. It depends on the individual and their circumstances.  It’s in the very title of this blog – Shades of Green – recognising that there is no one right way to live ethically – you decide on your focus and do what you can, with the resources you have.

Let’s take a pause here to acknowledge that even being able to talk about living eco is a privilege. To have the time, brain space, and money to even attempt to live a sustainable lifestyle (whatever that means to you) is a privileged space to reside in. 

What is living green not

Image by Robin Higgins from Pixabay

It is not photogenic. Forget the zero waste jars of Instagram Influencers – my version of living green isn’t glass jars and pretty photos of vegan food. It is second-hand furniture and eating leftovers. It is also forgetting leftovers in the fridge until they go mouldy but hey, I put them in the food waste recycling bin…so that’s green right?!

It is not always spending my way out of a problem. There are a lot of products aimed at the green market and some of that shit is expensive and unnecessary. I am trying to be discerning. Do I need that beautiful bamboo lunchbox when I work at home and have a perfectly functional plastic one for the rare times I leave the house? 

Yes, I do.

Oops, I mean – No! no, I do not.

It is not absolute. All or nothing thinking has no place in my brain or my home. That is a fast track to Overwhelm City and Give-Up Land. If I try to do it all, I quickly end up unable to do anything and beating myself up. I cycle short distances but when my depression is bad or, to be honest, it is raining – I get in my car. Some of my food shopping is done in local shops and naked (the food, not me!), but I also buy food in plastic. And that is ok. With this blog, I challenge myself to do better – on my terms.

What does living green mean to me?

  • Acknowledge & Adjust: Looking at the big-picture stuff, it is first acknowledging that the way our society is built and run on finite resources is not sustainable and secondly, crucially, adjusting my behaviours accordingly. We are in a climate emergency and we have to change both wider society and individual behaviours quickly and dramatically. This is an uncomfortable truth I have to keep reminding myself off.
  • Environmental Injustice: Even more uncomfortable is facing the truth that those who benefit from and perpetuate this system are not those who experience its repercussions. Living green is about fighting climate change, speaking out for social justice and being actively anti-racist. The areas in Portsmouth with the highest levels of air pollution are also some of the most deprived. It would serve me well to remember that next time I get in my car for an unnecessary journey.
  • Consumer Power & Circular Economy: So, it is about me trying to live lightly on the planet, being aware of my consumer power, and ensuring that the products and activities I buy and consume are made, distributed, and disposed of in a sustainable and environmentally considerate manner. Essentially, trying to live in a circular economy.
By Catherine Weetman – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=67945876
  • Do, Repeat & Layer: In terms of my daily life, it is focusing on small actions that I can repeat and build on overtime. Green Living is like an onion that you can peel for infinity. 
    • The Infinite Green: For me, it started with easy kerbside recycling, then I added in home composting, then recycling items that required more effort.
      • I became more knowledgeable about the recycling process and decided I needed to buy less and create less waste and not just rely on recycling the stuff I buy.
        • I then started to think about my clothes.
          • My shopping. I think about what the products I buy are made off. How were they sourced? Who had to work for less than a living wage to make these shoes for me? Do I need to buy this new? Can I get it second-hand? Do I need it at all?
            • My food. How was the land and people treated to grow this? Are these eggs made by happy hens?
              • My travel choices.
                • My energy providers.
                  • About the banks I use.
                    • My phone. My internet connection.
                      • Is this company transparent in their hiring and sourcing? Do they pay their taxes?
                        • The onion skin keeps peeling…

It is easy to dismiss how much of an impact one person can have. But the only person I can control is myself. The money I spend, I want it to reflect my values. I want to be thoughtful, intentional and aware. I fail often but in my own way, in my little corner of Portsmouth – I try.

What does living green mean to you?

And what of you, Dear Reader? What does living green/ eco/ ethical/ sustainably mean to you? What are you focusing on at the moment? Let us know in the Comments section below. 

Written by Tamara, a Green Hairy Feminist

celebrate the little everyday green wins

Recently I (Tamara) have been struggling to manage my depression. It has risen up and engulfed me and my outlook, which usually presents outwardly as positive and energetic, has been bleak, joyless, and stationary. 

In the last few days, I have reluctantly dragged myself out of the murky treacle that I have been residing horizontally in. Some of the things I needed to do before this depressive episode hit still need to be done. This blog post is one of those things.

Now,  Emma and I are a team and she has occasionally in the past filled in for me when I have been unwell. But this time,  I didn’t ask her as I know she is swamped with work (it’s why there was no blog post earlier this month) and anyway, I want to write my post. 

But my brain interferes, telling me that I am a terrible Green who is not doing enough and the world is burning.  Not very conducive to writing a cheery post about eco bathroom tips and tricks. Not conducive at all! 

A tool I keep in my mental health toolkit is counting the small achievements. Usually, brushing my teeth and taking a shower are daily actions that don’t require much thought. During a depressive episode, these can take an inordinate amount of energy and are a major achievement. Recognising this helps me change my thinking, which then helps lift me out of depression’s grip. (Together with therapy, antidepressants, love and support from friends and family, getting exercise, trying not to face plant into potato (crisps and chips are my go-to depression food), occasionally leaving the house, and lots of light-TV binging).

Image of a sunny and sandy beach
Clearly not Southsea seafront

So this post contains no tips on how to green up your bathroom, instead, it is a list of the green minutiae, the daily eco tasks I have accomplished that all add up. It is celebrating the drops of water that make up the ocean. Cheesy, yes. True, also yes!

And if you have that voice telling you that you are not doing enough, saying this is all pointless and how are these small actions changing anything? –  I hope you will list all your small accomplishments and see that each and every action is helping to create a culture of change. 

Ok pep talk over, let us celebrate the joy of the tiny green action! Here’s my top 10!

person wearing face mask and doing the thumbs up sign
Not me or Emma, but we beg of you: wear a mask! (in places where social distancing is impossible and provided you are not medically exempt due to a disability)
  1. Refilled 

I trotted down to Herbies, the independent health food shop on Albert Road to refill my cleaning liquids (laundry, washing up, and hand soap). At the time, this was on a Wednesday and they were closed. This is not their fault. My brain was depressed goo. The real win was that I returned when they were open! (Alert: Herbies have recently changed their opening hours and are now open on a Wednesday!)

  1. Supported Local Independents

My hubby (The Dutchman) and I celebrated an anniversary by gifting each other a book. We had a lovely, safe, and socially-distanced look round Pigeon Books, our local independent book store on Albert Road and left two books richer. What is not to like? Say I love you with a book!

  1. Grew Something

Earlier in May, I wrote about my difficulties keeping seedlings alive. I am pleased and proud to report that my honeywort – my last man standing – is still alive!!!!! No one is more surprised than me! (Scroll to the end to see evidence of this great feat!)

  1. Cooked Food Waste

This is a two-part win as I made soup from the broccoli and cauliflower stalks and leaves which I used to compost. When I am low, I do not want to cook or eat nutritious food. This made so much I froze some, so Future-Depressed-Me can eat better. She won’t be happy about it, but I know she’ll be glad in the end.

  1. Composted Food Waste

I do not currently have a compost bin in my garden (it is on my list… Actually, hold on, I am going to post a Wanted ad on a local group right now…. Ok done! Hopefully, I will get a flood of replies!) 

So while I am compost bin-less, some friends of mine are kindly letting me use their Food Waste bin as they are one of the lucky few who were part of the council’s food waste collection trial. I walked over to their place and deposited my offerings into their box. (Hahah, I love how dodgy that sounds!)

  1. Hung Laundry Outside

That’s basically it. Chores tend not to get done when I am depressed so doing laundry meant I was winning at life! And with a 20°C wash cycle and hanging the clothes outside, I was also winning at my green life!

  1. Connected with the Green Community

Prior to Covid-19, Portsmouth Green Drinks gathered once a month at The Southsea Village – an informal meet-up for people interested in environmental issues. During the lockdown, these monthly meet-ups moved online and there were quizzes and various themed talks.

I attended a recent talk given by local Passivhaus designer, Rachel Mitchell of GreenBox Associates. It was nice to see smiling, familiar faces, listen to an interesting talk by a passionate, inspiring local entrepreneur and environmentalist and also immediately use some information on insulation gained from her talk in my next win.

  1. Chose the Greener Product

Sometimes, living a green life and making choices based on eco-values can be cheaper than the norm. But sometimes, and to be honest, I find a lot of the time, it isn’t cheaper. Case and point – my attic insulation. 

Insulating our very draughty and dusty attic in our new house is a project The Dutchman has recently tackled while I have been languishing horizontally. I have not been involved in it at all apart from as a cheerleader and giving the odd opinion. When presented with the choice of cheaper insulation or ethically sourced and more expensive wool insulation, I winced at the extra cost, but, as we could afford it, decided it was worth installing the eco insulation. Not everyone can spend out on more environmentally friendly products, but I was able to and so I did.

  1. Bought Ethical Fish

Though still a vegetarian in my head, I am not an actual official vegetarian any more and haven’t been for a while. My secret shame made public! (Bonus: Emma still is very much a vegetarian though and will be writing about it next month!)

I have Type-2 diabetes and have been controlling it for the last year with a low-ish-carbohydrate diet, so I have been eating MSC certified sustainable fish. Except, when it comes to sashimi. I bloody love local restaurants’ Sakura’s and Rakuzen’s sashimi and it has been a delightful guilty treat over the lockdown months. So to counterbalance this, I recently made a purchase of frozen ethical sashimi for me to chow down on at home. 

  1. Wrote a Blog Post About Celebrating the Small Green Wins

So meta. But this blog post is a massive achievement. I love writing it and look forward to it every month. This month was harder than usual and thank you for reading. It makes it worth the times when it is a struggle.

And here is the moment you have been waiting for. I present to you for her Shades of Green debut – my last-man-standing, my precious, my honeywort!

365 days of Shades of Green- Part 2

Here at the Shades of Green headquarters, we are still in celebration mode as we pat ourselves on the back for one year of green-ish living! In our previous anniversary post, we focused on Emma as I (Tamara) asked her about her eco changes and choices.

Today Emma puts me in the hot seat as we continue our two-part series in which we discuss our Shades of Green journey.

 

Talk with Tamara

Hey Tamara, Happy Blogiversary to us! I’ll start off with a softball question. What’s the problem with me throwing compostable materials in the bin? (Also, I don’t actually do this. I’m asking for a friend.)

vegetable peelings

As this is my first question, I will refrain from speeding down Rant Road and instead will meander down Sensitive Street and say, there is no problem at all with you throwing compostable materials in the bin if there is absolutely no other option.

If you can compost, here’s why you should. First, let me set the scene…imagine The Lion King’s ‘The Circle of Life’ playing in the background. Why send organic, compostable matter to landfill or to be burnt when it could instead be composted down to produce the most boootiful natural fertilizer for the soil. From the earth, back into the earth – what could be better?

I am so lucky to have space in my garden to compost my organic waste. I haven’t always been in such a privileged position and I appreciate that not everyone in Pompey has outdoor space to compost. This is why I have signed up to ‘Share Waste’ and currently have four people, who do not have outdoor space at their homes, dropping off their veg peelings once a week to be composted in my home compost bin.

My biggest bugbear is that Portsmouth City Council don’t offer a food waste collection. This would mean that ALL food waste, including cooked food and leftover meat and bones, could be rotted down into compost. I compost as much as I can in my garden but I still throw away bits of cooked food as this cannot go into a home composter. Also, realistically – Pompey is full of flats and home composting is not an option for them! I did try a Bokashi Bin when I lived in a flat but you still have to dispose of the fermented waste.

Another bug-bear is how bio-plastics i.e. plant-based compostable or biodegradable plastic is marketed as a much more eco-friendly plastic version. It can be – if it is composted in an industrial composter. If it is thrown into the bin, it is not being composted! It is just going to landfill or the incinerator or finding its way into the sea. Sigh! The best one I have found locally is sold in Wild Thyme – their packaging for takeaway food is home compostable. That makes me happy. Ok, rant over! 

 

Eeek! Start composting now, everyone. Organic material doesn’t rot properly in landfill.  Okay, let’s move onto your green journey. What do you feel you’ve learnt about eco issues over the past year?

I have learnt that reducing my waste and what I buy needs to come before recycling. I aim to recycle as much as possible but when China banned imports of our trash that we send to be recycled, I realised I had to reduce my waste first and recycle second. This is a difficult mindset change for me and I have been helped with this by joining the local Zero Waste community. For example, I now try to buy my fruits and veg in no packaging, use soap and shampoo bars and refill my laundry and washing up liquid bottles at Wild Thyme and Southsea Health Shop on Albert Road. I’ve also joined a Bulk Food Buying group. 

 

 

That’s incredible – I’m sure many of our readers would join you with that! So, I think I already know the answer now, but lay it out for me: why should we cut down on plastic consumption if we can recycle it (I.e. plastic bottles)?

In one word, China! Recycling is a good option, where facilities exist. But what happens when we can’t recycle it – it goes to landfill or is incinerated. Therefore, reducing at source is the better option. Plastic production is resource intensive and plastic does not biodegrade, it just breaks down into microplastics and pollutes our oceans and seas. Think of the turtles!

 

I do love turtles. Okay, you’ve convinced me; not more bottled water! Let’s move on to something positive. What eco changes would you like to see PCC adopt on the next year?

Well, I have already ranted about the lack of food waste recycling! So that would be amazing. A few recycling banks for tetrapaks and food/drink cartons across the city would make a huge difference as well. I don’t expect miracles – but a trial such as the one in Southampton shouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility. And my third change would be more split bins on the street which would have a recycling section. And in case anyone from PCC is reading this, I’d also like a million pounds…. 😉

 

I hope you’re planning to share that million pounds – some of us have un-eco holidays to pay for, lol. Okay, final question, what eco changes would you like to adopt in the next year?

I am a person who has lots of intentions, tries to do it all, gets overwhelmed and then hides from the world in shame. So, keeping it manageable is key for me!  

I was tempted to say I will give up flying but with friends and family living abroad and my love for swimming in a warm sea, that would not be honest of me. But for my Europe trips, I am aiming to only fly one way and to get the train/ferry one way.

I have a weakness for crisps (cheese and onion mixed with prawn cocktail is mah jam!) but the packaging is not recyclable. So making my own crisp substitutes is a priority for me, as well as meal planning and cooking more as my local chip shop knows my order before I open my mouth!

I would also like to buy more clothes from ethical companies. I really hate clothes shopping and never have any money – which means twice a year I grab a load of clothes from Sainsbury’s and call that George!

I also have a few recycling options to explore such as Terracycle and stretchy plastics in the Carrier Bag recycling banks – this has been on my list for a while and I need to get round to it! That’s why I love doing this blog with you, it keeps me accountable.

 

As always, we love to hear from our readers. What are your top Pompey recommendations? What eco changes have you made in your life? What are your guilty pleasures? Tell us in the Comments Section Below.

365 days of Shades of Green- Part 1

Shades of Green is one year old! Happy Greeniversaray to Emma and meeeeee (Tamara).

It has been a fantastic year – a year of attempting to show and not just tell the wonderful folks of Portsmouth that it can be easy being green, a year of charting our attempts to be kind to the planet whilst not leaving the house and a year of eating our way around Pompey’s veggie establishments under the guise of blog ‘meetings’! I am so chuffed to be marking this milestone with Emma and of course with you, dear reader.

 

what's your story

 

To celebrate a year of Shades of Green, Emma and I have posed five questions to each other to judge who is the greenest of them all. Haha, could you imagine?! We don’t do judgement here, only positive vibes! 🙂

 

In this 2-part series, Emma and I will share where we both are in our Shades of Green journey. Today it’s all about Emma!

 

Explore with Emma

 

Time for change

 

Q1: Emma, tell us is there anything you have changed in the past year to be more green?

 

Since we started Shades of Green, I’ve made some changes to my life in order to become more eco.

 

  • Food waste – I hate to admit it, but I’ve always been a little bit concerned about using vegetables or fruit when they start to look a little funny or something dairy based when it’s a little bit out of date! In the past year, I’ve been tackling this by taking food that a little past it prime and actually cooking with it. Often, the appearance, texture, or even taste of an individual food item can put us off eating something that is perfectly safe to eat. This can be mitigated by making it into a soup/curry/smoothie and even masking the taste with sauces and spices.
  • Recycling – You’ve really helped me to recycle more by telling me about the plastic recycling at Sainsbury’s and taking my cartons to that secretive place somewhere outside the city. You have no idea how much that’s reduced my family’s waste.
  • Traffic – While I don’t drive, I’ve been reducing the amount that I ask my parents for lifts, which means more buses and more walking.

 

plane

 

Q2: Talking of traffic and travel, how do you reconcile air travel with your green living aims?

I knew I shouldn’t have bragged about my holiday to Florida, lol.  Like most people, I love going on holiday and sometimes that involves air travel. Now, I know that’s a controversial thing in the green community, but in order to visit places in America and Africa, it’s kind of the only option, and I don’t think that we need to be martyrs in order to save the planet.

 

Yes, take slow transport where you can and where it makes ecological sense to do so – if you’re getting a plane from Southampton to Manchester, then rethink the train or the coach – but don’t beat yourself up for wanting to visit other countries and other places.

 

According to the Carbon Footprint Calculator, my return economy-class flight from London to Orlando will be about 1.13  tons of CO2. That’s a lot and there’s no way that I can deny it, which is why I’ll be offsetting it (it only costs about £6). But, do you know what equates to a carbon saving of roughly 1.88 tons a year? Being Vegetarian.

 

The things that I do to be green, including being vegetarian, recycling more, not driving, etc, actually more than make up for these big holidays that I only take every 2-3 years. It’s not perfect and ideally, I would love to be content travelling in the UK and in Europe, but I’m not perfect and I want to go to Disney World. I can’t excuse my use of air travel, but I can cut my eco-impact in other ways in order to make up for it.

 

home lettering

 

Q3: You mention a few of the actions you take to cut your eco-impact Are your family on board with your green aims? How do you deal with any conflict or differing options?

My mum is a little peeved whenever I tease her about eating meat, but my parents are mostly on board with my green lifestyle. In fact, they’re the driving force behind most of the green things in our house and have been since I was little. My dad went pescatarian when I was four and ditched fish after I went vegetarian. My mum almost never eats meat anymore.

 

We have a compost bin, several different recycling bins for the things that can’t go in our kerbside recycling, use eco-friendly bulbs, reusable bags, and even use the water collected in baths and showers to flush the toilet and water the garden. All of that was in place far before I could weigh in. Maybe my parents should write the blog instead of me?

 

teddy bear

 

Q4: Aww, shout out to Emma’s Mum and eco-warrior Dad. I’m well jel as I struggle to get my mother to even recycle! Thinking of the relationship between us and our folks, what are your thoughts on having children and the impact on the planet?

 

I would like to preface this minefield of a question by saying that I have three little nephews who I love very much and I wouldn’t give them up if that one action would end climate change. Sorry, but that’s just the truth.

 

But there is plenty of evidence to suggest that having children is one of the least eco-friendly things you can do, mainly because when you create another human being, you are creating someone else who needs resources that are already in demand.

 

That’s not to say that you shouldn’t have kids if you want them and can offer them a healthy and happy home environment, but you might be shocked to know that having one fewer child will save you  58..6 tonnes of CO2 per year. That’s more than all the other green things combined.

 

I don’t currently have children and they’re not really on the cards for me for like another 5-10 years, but I do think I want them. Depending on how I (and my future partner) feel at the time, this might mean bio kids, but more likely it will mean adoption. Don’t worry, this isn’t a selfless act – I’m just freaked out by the idea of being pregnant!

 

 

Q5: As a reward for you generously answering some tough environmental and ethical dilemma questions re. air travel and children – here’s a nice easy one to finish off. What are your top Pompey places for green living?

 

As always, we love to hear from our readers. What are your top Pompey recommendations? What eco changes have you made in your life? What are your guilty pleasures? Tell us in the Comments Section Below.

18 Green Resolutions for 2018

Every January, social media feeds are full of people pledging to run more often, learn a new language, or how to sculpt their eyebrows perfectly. I (Emma) can help you with none of those resolutions but if you want to learn how to be more green in 2018, then I have a few ideas of where to start.

Beauty

1. Bypass toiletries with microbeads: The UK Government has recently banned the use of microbeads (tiny plastics) in cosmetics/toiletries because they’re a big contributor to plastic pollution in our oceans. However, the ones that were already produced are still on the market. Don’t buy them! Need a good scrub? Look for products with salt or sand instead.

2. Save your bathwater: If you have a bathtub- even if you use the shower all the time- try leaving the bath plug in and save the water. You can use it to water the plants, clean your sports equipment, or even flush your toilet.

3. Turn off the tap: You’ve heard it before, but don’t leave the tap running while brushing your teeth, shaving your face, or removing your makeup.

FOOD AND DRINK

4. Meat-Free Mondays: If you’re not already vegetarian/vegan, consider cutting out the meat for just one day a week. Not only is it kinder to the animals but it’s also better for the environment because producing meat uses more energy and creates more greenhouse gases than a plant-based life.

5. Avoid clingfilm: Instead of keeping your food fresh with clingfilm, use reusable sandwich boxes or even put one plate on top of another.

6. Refuse straws: Many people don’t use straws at home but it’s a little hard to escape them when you’re out and about. Ask your server not to use a straw when you order a drink- you could even put a note in your purse to remind you.

7. Make it reusable: Not all plastics are created equally. A reusable bottle to fill up with tap water is going to be 100% better than disposable bottles. The same is true of reusable coffee cups because takeaway cups are hard to recycle and most end up in landfill.

Shopping

8. Refuse plastic bags: I know, I know. They already have the 5p charge on plastic bags so you’ve definitely got your reusable one on you at all times. The thing is that the plastic bag charge doesn’t go far enough. Smaller shops and takeaways are exempt from the charge, which means that the cashiers there often bag your purchases without asking. Produce your reusable bag before they start packing and let them know that you have it.

9. Cut down on packaging: When you’re shopping, look around for items with less packaging or packaging that is easily recyclable like buying loose fruit or snacks sold in cardboard boxes rather than plastic/foil wrappers.

House and Home

10. Print double sided: Many printers are still not set up to print double-sided automatically but very few documents will need to be printed on just one side.

11. Switch energy suppliers: If you want your energy supplier to use renewable energy and oppose fracking, then make the change to Ecotricity or Good Energy. Bonus: You can even get them to donate to the Green Party on your behalf at no added expense.

12. Use less energy: Whether its remembering to turn off lights when you leave a room, drying clothes on the line rather than in the dryer, or putting on a jumper rather than turning on the heating, everyone can do something to cut down on their energy usage. Find out what your energy Achilles’ heel is.

13. Go paperless: Sign up for online banking and get your statements delivered via the internet (remember to check them) and use your mobile devices to store your tickets (you can’t lose them if they’re in your email account).

14. Recycle more: There’s no doubt that Tamara and I love recycling and that we dream of living a zero waste lifestyle, which is why we’ll continue to show you how to recycle more on both the PGP blog and Instagram. If there’s anything that you don’t know how to recycle, ask us and we’ll let you know.

15. Use your dishwasher: If you have an energy-efficient dishwasher, then running a full load is actually less wasteful than washing by hand in terms of both water usage and heating.

Community

16. Cut down on car usage: A lot of public transport is overpriced (#RenationaliseTheRailways), but getting the train or the bus may actually work out cheaper than the parking prices in some parts and it’s much kinder to the planet. Try buying season/annual passes if travelling for work (ask your company if they offer loans to cover the initial cost) or buying in advance, using discount sites for one-off trips, and walking/cycling wherever possible.

17. Do a beach clean: When rubbish gets into the ocean, it gets into the sea life and into the human food chain. If you live near a beach, volunteer a few hours a month to help remove trash from the area. Pro tip: Take separate rubbish and recycling bags.

18. Join the Green Party: One thing that we can all agree on is that while individual green acts are important, the real change needs to come from government. By joining the Green Party, you can help fund the election campaigns for the next round of Green councillors and MPs to pressure the government into making Green choices that will make your eco-friendly life a little easier.

Now I want to hear from you. Are you going to adopt any of these resolutions? Do you have more to add? Let me know in the comments.

Welcome to Shades of Green

Hello and welcome to Shades of Green. Our blog’s purpose is to share how Portsmouth Green Party members are trying (and hopefully succeeding) to live green in Pompey and how the Green Party is working on your behalf to make Portsmouth and the UK as a whole more sustainable.

Stick around for some superb eco-friendly tips (like how to recycle batteries or where to donate unneeded elastic bands), green debates (can we really justify eating meat? is carbon offsetting really the way to assuage your guilt over air travel?) and even the chance to put some much needed pressure on our political official (because it’d be nice to have recycling bins in Commercial Road, like other cities on the South Coast). Read more