Amidst this social distancing and working from home during this COVID-19 pandemic, you may have noticed that your waste has been accumulating faster than ever. Perhaps, if you usually take out your trash once every two to three days, nowadays, you see that your trash bin is already overflowing in merely a single day.
Well, granted, we don’t exactly know how much waste that your household could possibly generate or how often you take out your trash, but if you can relate to that notion, then you might probably be right. Why? Because as we spend more time at home, our day to day waste that we usually dispose of at our workplace or anywhere else outside are now piling in a single location - our home.
On top of that, there’s been a rising trend in grocery delivery services apps downloads recently. In many countries, food delivery services are experiencing an upward trend. As mobility becomes increasingly limited, we’re becoming more and more dependent on delivery services. And it might create additional problems through a surge of packaging waste if we don’t act accordingly.
So what can we do? Firstly, if you rely on food delivery services, we can choose restaurants that use eco-friendly packaging. It’s the least that we can do to minimize our impact on the environment. Even without this self-isolation condition, food packaging makes up a huge portion of our waste. We can’t afford to let the world take much more waste than we already produce. You can learn more about sustainable packaging such as Foopak Bio Natura here. Also, whenever possible, opt for recyclable cutlery or use your own reusable ones instead.
Secondly, you could try to reuse and recycle the packaging that comes with your groceries. We have many ideas on how you can maximize the lifespan of your daily stuff here on our Instagram page. So make sure you follow our account to get more tips on how to live a greener lifestyle and how to face the COVID-19 pandemic!
Lastly, take care of your food waste appropriately if you prefer to cook your meal by yourself. You can use your leftover to create compost for your garden. But it’s still better to make sure that nothing goes to waste, especially during this critical time. Choose foods that you eat often and have a way to store them. Use up all your ingredients!
Also, don’t forget to differentiate medical waste such as contaminated masks, gloves, used or expired medicines, and other items that can quickly become mixed with domestic garbage. The safe management of household waste is also likely to be critical during the COVID-19 emergency.
Keeping our environment healthy is just as important as taking care of our health during this pandemic. Let’s be a responsible citizen by managing our household waste wisely!
