Everything we buy carries its own environmental footprint: natural and other resources (land, water, fertilisers, pesticides, fossil fuel, minerals, etc.), energy inputs, by-products during manufacture, packaging, transportation, use of the product, and ultimate disposal.
This linear process is very wasteful
As consumers we can help turn this into a circular process where nothing ends up wasted but is a resource for a new product. This way a huge amount of resources and energy could be saved.
Therefore
Buy less
Buy local, 2nd hand and recycled
Borrow & share, give away
Avoid unnecessary packaging
Fix, mend, reuse, repurpose, upcycle, recycle
Buy seasonal, local food and avoid out-of-season, fresh produce which has been flown in from overseas:
Sheffield veg-box schemes: Regather, Moss Valley Market Garden, Beanies Wholefoods, Sheffield Organic Growers, …
Visit the farmer’s market at the Scout Hut in Broomhill
Buy loose rather than prepacked and bring your own bag/container: Unwrapped (Crookes), most greengrocers, zerowastenear.me/loc/sheffield/
Bring your own cup and most coffee shops will give you 20 to 50 pence off your take-out coffee
Refill your water bottle at home rather than buying water bottles on the go
Recycle empty ball pens, felt pens, and printer cartridges at ‘Good Taste’ fairtrade shop in Broomhill
Repurpose old jeans: www.diyncrafts.com/repurpose (search for jeans)
New T-shirts from old ones: www.rapanuiclothing.com
Avoid cheap ‘Fast Fashion’: most of it ends up as waste as charity shops are often unable to re-sell it
Resources: www.wrap.org.uk/, www.terracycle.com/en-GB