10 EASY ways to be eco-friendly in 2020

• By Born-Eco
• June 8, 2022
• No Comments

 

Ever asked yourself how to be a little more eco-friendly? We got the answers!

It’s 2020, “eco-friendly” is starting to take a frontline seat in the ever-changing world of consumerism. “But how do I be eco-friendly?”, “What products should I be looking into to start a more eco-friendly lifestyle?”. Well, in this blog we’ll provide 10 super EASY ways to be more eco-friendly.

 

• Cling film – Britain’s annual cling film use can encircle the earth how many times?!

 

The Fact:

The UK’s consumption of cling film currently sits at 1.2 billion meters per year. If we were to make that into one long strip we could wrap it around the earth a whopping 30 TIMES!

Cling film is manufactured in such a way that means it cannot be recycled, leaving no other option than to send this 1.2 billion meter long heap to landfill. Often during manufacture the tiny pellets the product is made from (nurdles) can spill and eventually end up in drains. Once out to sea it can pose a huge threat to marine life, who mistake them as eggs to eat.

 

The Solution:

If only there was a completely reusable eco-friendly product to switch with this horrible product. Oh wait, there is. Beeswax wraps are essentially a square sheet of fabric coated in a thick layer of bee’s wax, soy for the vegans, which can be repeatedly used to cover and seal foods and containers. Once the wax has worn off after a few months, reapply another coat and good as new!

 

 

• Cleaning sprays – How to use the SAME bottle and keep a clean home for years.

 

The Fact:

The average household spends roughly £15 - £25 on cleaning products each month. With cleaning products being an industry worth an estimated $46 Billion in 2020. And with these all commonly taking the form of a spray disposable bottle, contributing to the half a trillion plastic bottles consumed yearly, something needs to be changed.

 

The Solution:

What if you could use the same bottle over and over again, for years, to clean your home? Well, would you? Of course, you would. Saving you money and being eco-friendly, the ultimate win-win! The trouble is that finding these solutions are often hard to come by. And when I say solutions, I actually mean solutions. Water-soluble pouches of concentrated (natural) cleaning product that can be added to a reusable bottle of water to clean. And they don’t just exist for surface cleaner, there are also options for floor cleaner and oven cleaner!

 

 

• Kitchen roll – Wait? It’s not even recyclable?!

 

The Fact:

A very unknown fact about kitchen roll is that it’s recyclable… but only if you throw it out without using it! Once it’s been used and gotten dirty, it’s actually a very tricky thing to recycle, and so where does it go? Landfill. And, for every tonne of paper towels produced, 17 trees have to be cut down. The US waste 3000 tonnes of paper towels EVERY DAY! That’s 51,000 trees…

 

The solution:

Reusable kitchen roll, or a hanky, a rag, edge of your t-shirt, I mean the eco-friendly alternative options are almost endless here. But the best solution is a reusable kitchen roll or pad of some sort. The ones on Born-Eco are hand-made from 100% cotton material and a fluffy bamboo layer to make them extra absorbent.

 

 

• Toothbrushes – The cleaning device with a dirty little (well huge actually) secret!

 

The Fact:

Toothbrushes, another item we don’t really consider when it comes to the topic of “eco-friendly”. But let it be known that these innocent little f*ckers are building an army in our landfills, with the US consuming roughly 1 Billion every year alone.

Toothbrushes are made from a mix of plastics (the main body, the grip and the bristles), making it, like so many other products, a pain to recycle. So, of course, 99% of the time they’re not. Meaning a toothbrushes end destination is almost definitely landfill.

 

The solution:

Once again the solution is not far from the problem, all that’s needed is something a little more eco-friendly and bio-degradable, like bamboo. Bamboo toothbrushes are slowly picking up awareness, but the transfer from plastic to plant can make some a little uncertain. But, when you can buy one for as little as £1.75 on Born-Eco, they’re worth a try!

 

 

• Razors – How disposable razors are cutting DEEP into the environment!

 

The Fact:

One of the most wasteful items we as humans use in the bathroom is the razor. 163 million consumers of razors in the US alone, 2 billion razors thrown away each year worldwide. And guess what, they’re not even recyclable. Like so many other products, their mix of plastics such as Polypropylene and Silicone just make them too much of a pain to bother with. In fact, the only real part of the razor that can be recycled is the blade, which… is the solution to this mess!

 

The Solution:

Like I said above, it’s the blade that can be recycled, and it’s only really the blade we need! So, what if there was a reusable product that allowed us to add in a new (fully recyclable) metal blade ever 2 or 3 weeks? Good news, they exist, and they’ve existed for many years!

The good old fashioned safety razor. It works by allowing you to add a metal blade in between two rectangular plates, with turreted edges to stop the blade from cutting your skin. Once the blade has been worn down, simply take it out and add in a new one. The only piece of waste is the recyclable blade.

 

 

• The common sponge – You’ll never clean with one again!

 

The Fact:

There are two secrets to the common sponge that even I didn’t know until recently. And I’m going to let you in on them, and then show how you can make the cleaner and more sustainable switch!

No.1 they’re dirty. Research found that up to 45 billion bacteria can live on just one square centimeter of a sponge, due to they’re air gaps and ability to hold moisture well.

No.2 they’re really not eco-friendly now are they! Made from plastics such as polyurethane, common sponges are neither biodegradable nor recyclable. And often, due to their lightweight, blow out of landfills into waterways and oceans. Here, like other products we’ve talked about, marine life easily mistakes it as a yummy snack and digest it.

 

The Solution:

A natural fibre scrubbing brush will help us combat both issues:
Made from natural materials such as wood and bamboo bristles that can be composted, often even in a home composter!
Secondly, scrubbing brush bristles are packed closely, meaning less room for bacteria. And, due to the material difference, they dry a lot quicker than conventional plastic sponges.

Plastic-free dish scrubbers are great too!

 

 

• Plastic-stemmed Cotton buds – Stop cleaning your ears with these!

 

The Fact:

In England, each year it is estimated a whopping 1.8 billion plastic-stemmed cotton buds are consumed. With roughly 10% (180 million) being flushed down our toilets into waterways and oceans, where 150 million tonnes of plastic waste already lies.

 

The Solution:

The more eco-friendly solution is simple and doesn’t even require us to change our behavior. It’s the plastic we’re trying to get rid of and so an easy swap is to a different material such as bamboo, a material that can degrade, along with the cotton, if it doesn’t get disposed of properly.
Another option is a reusable bud, made from soft plastics that can be used and rinsed with water. Products like these will also help you save money in the long run!

 

 

• Shampoos and Body wash bottles – The cleaning product with a dirty secret!

 

The Fact:

Firstly, they help contribute to the 500 billion plastic bottles consumed yearly. Around 550 million end up in landfill each year, with the US using enough to fill 1,200 football fields.

Secondly, many common brands use palm oil in their products. Palm oil being one of the number one reasons for deforestation and the depleting number of animals such as Orangutans, to make room for palm oil plantations.

 

The Solution:

A bar is a simple and eco-friendly solution to switch to. This immediately cuts out the plastic bottle from the equation. Secondly, find a good and environmentally-conscious brand of shampoo and body wash bars that don’t use palm oil in their products. Companies like these are also likely to avoid SLS and other harsh chemicals too.

 

 

• Toothpaste tubes – Made to clean but never to recycle.

 

The Fact:

On average a human will spend 3000 hours of their life cleaning their teeth, but at what cost to the environment? In America alone, over 1 billion toothpaste tubes are sent to landfill. Because of their composition of layers of different plastic and a metal layer they’re generally not recyclable. Pump action toothpaste tubes are a little better, being made from one hard plastic (usually polypropylene), and so are a little easier to recycle.

 

The Solution:

What we’d recommend are toothpaste tablets. They come packaged in a reusable metal tin, containing fluoride to help keep teeth clean just like normal toothpaste. To use you simply chew the tablet in your mouth until smooth and then brush with a wet toothbrush. Using these tablets helps eliminate the need for a plastic and metal tube, and the metal tin they come packaged in can be reused over and over again!

 

 

• Cosmetics – no amount of concealer can hide these figures!

 

The Fact:

In 2017 76.8 billion plastic-packed units of cosmetic products were manufactured and sold. However, studies have found that these products are most impactful to our planet when at the consumer level.

We as humans often don’t think twice about what we put on our skins and wash down our drains and ignore the fact that a lot of the time our products can contain pretty nasty chemicals. Many cosmetic products are produced with over 10,500 unique chemical ingredients. Ingredients such as carcinogens, BHA, BHT, P-phenylenediamine, DBP, Triclosan, and Diethanolamine. All known for having devastating effects on aquatic mammals and plants.

 

The Solution:

Many companies are starting to respond to consumer outrage, bringing out lines of organic cosmetic products. However, this still leaves us with the question of how do we cut out the plastic?
Brands, such as the ones on Born-Eco, offer organic and eco-friendly cosmetics in metal tins, which are easy to recycle or reuse. They’re also cruelty-free, palm-oil free and made here in the UK.