We all know that avoiding waste is important for the environment. It may sound complicated, but it's not. In this blog post, we'll show you simple ways to produce less waste with little effort and do something good for the environment.
1. Use up leftovers
Did you know that a third of all food ends up in the trash? I think we all know what it's like to go shopping hungry and end up buying too much. After a few days, the excess food may no longer be at its best, but it's still too good to throw away.
So our first tip for avoiding waste is to use up leftovers. Not only is
is not only sustainable, but you can also save money by doing so.
We advise you to always write a list before you go shopping, so you only buy what you really need. Never go shopping hungry, then you will automatically buy less. To create a shopping list, it often helps to create a weekly meal plan, i.e. a plan in which you note when you will cook which meal. With this weekly meal plan, the shopping list is created in no time.
We also need to address the issue of best-before dates at this point. Not all products that have passed their best-before date have to be thrown away automatically. For many foods, it is sufficient to first test the smell and then the taste to determine whether the products are still edible.
In our blog post on the topic ‘How you can use up your leftover food in creative and delicious ways’, we also give you three tips on how you can avoid or reduce food waste.
Our Verival breakfast products are also great for using up leftovers. For example, if you only have half a portion of porridge and half a portion of crunchy, why not stir in the porridge and use the crunchy as a crunchy topping?
2. Cloth bags instead of plastic bags
We've all been there. You go shopping spontaneously and of course you don't have a cloth bag with you. But it would be so easy: just take a cloth bag with you and you'll always have one with you. With this simple trick, spontaneous shopping no longer results in unnecessary plastic bags, of which you already have what feels like a thousand at home.
In addition to cloth bags, baskets or backpacks are also great for sustainable shopping. In any case, it is super easy to do without plastic bags for food such as fruit and vegetables. Simply put the products in the cloth bag, basket or backpack you have brought with you and you have already avoided rubbish.
3. Unpackaged shops
Those who shop in bulk stores go one step further. These are shops where you bring your own containers and then fill them with everyday foods such as oats, flour or nuts. This is a great way to save on packaging materials. In addition to bulk stores, we also advise you to buy fruit and vegetables at weekly markets.
4. Use a reusable to-go cup
There is nothing wrong with grabbing a coffee on your way to work in the morning. However, it is recommended that you use a reusable to-go cup for your morning pick-me-up. This can simply be washed and reused afterwards. This trick makes it easy to avoid plastic waste.
And what if you forget your to-go cup? Why not take the time to sit down for your coffee? And if that's really not an option, we recommend not using the plastic lid.
Many bakeries and cafés now even sell their own branded cups. You only have to invest once and you are already doing something good for the environment. There are even cafés, such as Starbucks, where you even get a discount if you bring your own to-go cup. This way you also save money.
Coffee at home
For your home, we recommend using a filter machine or a fully automatic machine. Capsule machines produce an unnecessary amount of waste, require a lot of energy to manufacture and are therefore not sustainable at all.
And what about food?
If you take food with you to school, university or work, we suggest not using aluminium foil, but packing the food in tins or even Tupperware containers.
Instead of aluminium foil, we recommend beeswax wraps.
5. Drink tap water
Especially in countries like Austria or Germany, where tap water is perfectly safe to drink, it makes sense to refill glass bottles instead of buying a new plastic bottle every time. Drinking from plastic bottles and then throwing them away immediately is, of course, not sustainable.
We recommend brands like Soul Bottles or, for those who prefer sparkling water, Sodastream.
6. It's better to share than to buy everything on your own
Just recently, we shared a bag of carrots at work because they were only available in large packages. So why not buy a larger package more often and share it? This method not only saves you money, since larger packages are usually cheaper in relation to the amount of food, but you also produce less waste.
Items such as tools can also be shared with your neighbours. We also recommend trying a shared newspaper or vegetable subscription.
At Verival, we know that families often need more muesli in the morning. Our large packs are perfect for this. The whole family can eat their fill. Our XXL packs are definitely environmentally friendly. They contain more, so you don't have to order or buy more often. This saves CO2 and additional packaging waste.
7. Second hand shopping
Besides, not everything has to be bought new. From clothes to cars, almost everything can be purchased second hand. This also saves waste and money. However, you can not only buy used items, but also resell them. Simply resell or give away your old mobile phone or other electronic devices instead of leaving them in the drawer.
8. Repair instead of throwing away
There are so many products that can easily be repaired. Not everything has to be thrown away when it breaks. Our generation in particular tends to simply throw away socks instead of mending them. But other clothing doesn't have to be disposed of when it gets a small hole either.
For example, if our iPhone screen is cracked, why not just get it repaired? In the past, shoes were also more likely to be taken to the cobbler than thrown away. It often pays to buy a pair of good-quality shoes and have them repaired by a cobbler if necessary, rather than to own many cheap shoes that don't even last a season.
The longer products such as clothing, shoes or mobile phones are used, the less has to be thrown away and less waste is produced.
9. Swapping instead of throwing away
Almost anything can be exchanged, from books to clothes and toys. So-called clothes swapping parties are a great way to swap items of clothing. You meet up with friends, everyone takes a few items that they no longer wear, and then they are swapped. Each participant gets something new without anything having to be produced and without creating any waste. You also save money! Sustainability can be so simple.
10. Refill instead of buy
For many products, it pays to refill them instead of buying new ones. This includes, for example, many personal care products. There are also refill products for washing powder or spices. Just as you should make sure to refill products, you should buy those that can be refilled.
Just as important as producing less waste is separating it. Waste separation is sustainable. Because residual waste is simply incinerated, greenhouse gases are produced and raw materials cannot be reused. However, if items are recycled, they can be reused.
Even better than recycling, of course, is simply to avoid disposable products altogether, such as cotton pads or drinking straws. They are only used briefly but then last a long time. Nowadays, there are so many alternatives, such as reusable cotton pads.
We really hope that we have been able to give you a few tips in our blog post. Of course, not everyone has to do everything and not everyone can do everything right, but if everyone makes just a small contribution, the whole world will become more sustainable! Because together we can achieve great things.
