I used to reuse water bottles thinking that I was doing a good thing, reusing to avoid throwing and buying a new one. But I didn’t know that by doing this, toxic chemicals were released in my water and they could eventually end up in the environment once I throw it away. Just like for the rest of things in life, we have misconceptions about what is eco-friendly and what is not. So, what are the three common steps we believe to be eco-friendly which are not?
Refilling a plastic bottle is a bad idea
Just like I said above, refilling a plastic bottle isn’t really a good idea. If you read our article, you may already know that bottled water contains more microplastics than tap water. In fact, according to a Canadian study, a person who drinks mineral water swallows about 130.000 particles of microplastic water each year, compared to 4.000 for those who drink tap water. But imagine, the longer you keep your plastic bottle, refilling it each time, the more toxic chemicals will be released. Not only will it contaminate your body, but it will eventually end up in the environment once your throw your bottle away.
Avoid buying an e-book reader
Every person who thinks about books cannot help but think about the paper and all the trees that are cut. So, we end up believing that buying an e-book reader would be an eco-friendly step to adopt asap. Well in fact it’s not! Indeed, according to Engie, an e-reader represents 235 kg de CO2 while a paper book represents 1,3 kg of CO2. So, we should read paper books for 10 years to get to the pollution level of the e-book reader.
So instead, you can borrow books from your friends or spend afternoons in the library. You can take new books every week, and spend hours there without noticing time pass. Or, you can even buy second-hand books on Vinted, momox or Leboncoin for instance. It’s an easy way to exchange, reuse and find great books at small prices.
Stop cleaning jars, bottles, and cans before sorting
Sometimes, before sorting our waste we tend to clean them before putting them in the proper bin. Indeed, many of us believe that if our jars are dry, they won’t be recycled. However, by doing this, we consume water and even energy if we use hot water. And, all for nothing! Indeed, they will be recycled anyway by the recycling center. Indeed, they are recycled and cleaned with very sophisticated material. So, please save water and energy because they are precious.
