Tribe, the most common question I have been asked since the past 7 years of my sustainable blogging is, ‘How to kick-start a sustainable lifestyle especially in UAE?’ Because once you are convinced that ‘every bit counts’ everyone gets overwhelmed about to start? But don’t worry we all were there, at a point. A sustainable lifestyle doesn’t happen overnight, you have to take one day at a time, and start implementing one sustainable action at a time. Here is a quick guide to all newbies on how to start a sustainable lifestyle.

The first step of Sustainable Living

You need to adopt a way of thinking, where you would be constantly thinking of Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. Though it sounds difficult at the start, it’s not very hard. Rather like any new habit, you need to practice it for a while and it goes into your subconscious. We just need to introduce ‘conscious living’ in our subconscious!

You might be familiar with 3Rs, reduce-reuse-recycle, these are basics of a sustainable lifestyle in efforts of reducing the burden on our natural resources. Over the years while talking to people professionally or in an Eco Talk or otherwise, I have noticed there are few misconceptions related to this topic. Through these same 3 Rs, we can go further in a sustainable lifestyle and reduce our waste to ultimately adopt a zero-waste lifestyle.

Reduce

First, we need to reduce the consumer mentality, we need to audit our wants versus needs! Like me, you can actually take paper and pen and list it. Believe me, at this very first step, you can even save money by realizing you don’t need as many things you keep buying without giving much of a though. This way you can live a more organized life, by reducing materialistic clutter and start a minimalist lifestyle.

The next step is, before buying anything new, we need to think do I have anything which can be re-purposed or reused for the same function? But if the answer is no to this question, can I buy something secondhand instead of buying new? And if not do I have a sustainable or Eco-friendly alternative to the product I want?

Lastly, you need to think, can I buy an item without packaging? And do I have my reusable shopping bag with me, so that I can say no to plastic bag or packaging? If you are not familiar with package-free shopping, read here. Apart from packaging waste, we also need to reduce single-use plastic waste. Read here how to beat plastic pollution and why plastic is harmful to us and our planet.

We can find sustainable alternatives in everything right from sustainable food, sustainable fashion, household items, natural personal care products, electronics (refer to Energy Efficiency Standards for appliances). Check our conscious consumer section to find sustainable and Eco-friendly alternatives available in UAE.

Reuse

I think the most important change we need is in our mindset, not to get shy using old things we have. Say no to disposable items and always invest in reusable items. We can always swap and share things through secondhand flea markets else giving away your unwanted items to charities who are in need is always the best solution. One man’s junk is another man’s treasure!

Before throwing anything away we need to think about what can be its other uses, we can always reuse household items by upcycling or repurposing.

Difference between Up-cycling and Re-purposing

Let’s see now what is the difference between upcycling and re-purposing. Up-cycling means repairing or renovating an item for the same function. Re-purposing means reusing the items by renovating it for a different function. Here are basic examples from my household,

This shoebox I decorated and made a memory box out of it is upcycling. I store all-important memorable items of my son from his birth in this memory box. The function of the box is storing, which remains the same in both applications.

Up-cycling

This disposable wooden cutlery I got when ordered food from outside. I painted them and displayed them in the dining area is an example of repurposing. Because the cutlery is not used for the same function in this case.

Re-purposing

Recycle

Now if the item is broken or there is no further use left out of it then we need to recycle it. This should become a default case, instead of throwing it to landfills. If we have chosen Eco-friendly alternatives to the products then at this step we can be assured that the products are easily either recycled and used as a raw material in manufacturing or can be degradable in nature without leaving any toxicity. For organic waste, we can always make compost and create a garden from the garbage.

But there are few basic techniques of recycling, which we need to learn and bring it to regular practice. Firstly segregate the waste into different recyclables. We need to empty the containers and quickly clean them before recycling. For hazardous materials like batteries, lamps, chemical containers always follow disposal instructions written on labels. If you are storing these items before disposing of them, then store in the right way, unreachable by kids to avoid any accidents. For example, for storing batteries always keep them tied with positive ends at one side to avoid any leakage. You can find more detailed recycling techniques in this post.

Store batteries correctly

The most important thing, people complain in UAE that recycling here is a big hassle. I don’t agree with it. There are recycling stations available in almost every community and shopping malls provided by the government or recycling companies. For years we are following recycling techniques and storing segregated waste at home. We always keep bags full of recyclables in a car boot and when we are out and about we just spare a few minutes to drop those bags at recycling stations we come across that specific day. Find here a guide to recycling in UAE.

Dropping segregated recyclables at Recycling Station

So this is how you can change your thinking to start living sustainable and Eco -friendly. And mind well, you can save so much money in this lifestyle and can live healthier by denying all sorts of toxicity in your life. More of that will be coming soon on the blog.

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