If you heard people were reducing, refusing, and recycling more in lockdown you might think‘oh my, was the toilet paper shortage that bad? ’But no. A new study has shown that one of the biggest bright spots from this whole crisis is that people started to get serious about going green.
The research shows a third of households have become more eco-friendly over the past few months but it’s not like they all did something huge like DIY solar panels. They’ve just been doing small stuff like turning the lights off, recycling more, and showering instead of bathing. A quarter of folks are also turning electricals off at the socket and 22% say they started washing clothes at lower temperatures. And probably washing them less too since clean clothes weren’t exactly a necessity from remote work.
And apparently, it took everyone cooking for themselves to realize how much food they’re wasting. The survey found 27% are now eating everything on their plates to reduce food waste and 27% of the survey said they’ve switched to canned and frozen food to cut down on waste as well. Because nothing tastes better than a can of panic-bought baked beans.
Top 10 Ways Households Have Become Greener In 2020
- Sorting the recycling more carefully
- Turning unused lights off
- Making sure they put the recycling out every week
- Taking more care to rinse and clean recyclables
- Using up leftovers to cut down on food waste
- Only filling the kettle with as much water as needed
- Making sure taps aren’t left running needlessly
- Cutting down on meat
- Cycling or walking to places rather than driving, where possible
- Upcycling household items
Source:Metro