Treepoints monthly challenge: February
Many people around the world use February as an opportunity to test themselves and see if they can go without something they love. Something like sweets, crisps, or chocolate. But what if we all gave up something, and it helped the planet. February is the shortest month of the year, so why not give it a go?
Here’s a few of our suggestions for 28 days of a greener lifestyle…
Meat
Beef is the most polluting food in terms of greenhouse gases released from the whole production process. For every kilogram of beef, 36 kilograms of carbon dioxide or equivalent greenhouse gas is produced. This is closely followed by prawns, lamb, and then pork and chicken. Cutting meat out of your diet results in a huge decrease in your overall carbon footprint.
If going cold turkey (no pun intended!) is too much for you, why not limit your meat intake to once or twice a week. We recommend checking out Mob kitchen for some delicious vegetarian recipe inspiration that’ll make you forget about meat altogether.
Plastic
Scientists estimate that the emissions from making and then disposing of plastics will amount to 56 gigatons of carbon between now and 2050. That’s almost 50 times more than the annual emissions of all the coal power plants in the United States. It’s an unbelievably large amount.
But if you think about it, almost everything we buy comes wrapped in one if not several layers of plastic.
Going plastic free is a challenge, but it’s a great way to make you really think about the scale of our world’s plastic habit. Next time you go to the shops, look for loose fruit and veg, and avoid buying foods that are wrapped in unnecessary plastic.
If you have any questions or are struggling with motivation, head over to the Going Zero Waste blog. Kathryn lives a completely zero waste lifestyle, and she has loads of tips for cutting out plastic.
New clothes
You’ve almost certainly heard about the perils of fast fashion, and yep, it is as bad as people say. The fashion industry is responsible for 10% of annual global carbon emissions. As a society, we have a habit of buying cheap clothes regularly, wearing them a few times and then throwing them out to replace them with the next trend.
This behaviour contributes huge amounts of waste to landfills, and drives up demand unnecessarily. Think about holding off the purchases this month. If you’re a real shopaholic, or you find yourself in need of new clothes, head over to Depop and Vinted for some ace second hand fashion.
Driving
We’d say give up flying, as mile for mile this is the worst form of transport for the environment. But none of us are flying much at the moment anyway (thanks Corona!)
After flying, driving a non-electric car, especially if it’s just you in the vehicle, is the most polluting form of transport.
Why not test yourself this month and see if you can do without your car. How about hopping on a bike or taking a walk instead? Not only will it get you out in the fresh air, which is proven to boost your mood. But you’ll also be cutting down your carbon footprint.
So that’s the Treepoints monthly challenge for February. We look forward to hearing how you get on!
How did you get on with Veganuary?
The Treepoints Monthly challenge for January was Veganuary. How did you do? Was it easier than expected? Did you try any new foods?
Let us know – either in the comments below or tag us on Instagram @treepoints.green and you could be in with a chance of winning some goodies from one of our awesome eco partners.
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