The impact of my action has been a reduction in my carbon footprint and control on the amount of single-use waste that I produce. For example, if I go out to work 5 days a week for 48 weeks of the year, buy a takeaway coffee, a plastic bottle of water and dispose of them in a public landfill bin each day of my commute, I will have disposed of 240 single use coffee cups and 240 single use plastic water bottles in landfill. By making an effort to carry reusable utensils, that number can be zero!
If everybody could make a tiny change, we could see huge results.
Location
Árainn, Co Galway
Name
Cíara
Useful Links
Climate Connected Case Study: Use your Mug Campaign
Impact:
- Taken together, Cíara’s individual actions save 28kgs of carbon emissions per year: which is like planting 2 trees.
What inspired you to do this?
A couple of years ago I became very worried and very interested in the climate crisis and the future of our planet. After much research, as a student who didn’t have too much money, I thought about what realistic and affordable changes I could make to my lifestyle that would have a positive impact. I started small, with a reusable coffee cup. I would always have my coffee cup in my bag. As I continued to use it, I thought about how many takeaway cups and other single use plastics I had previously used and disposed of on an ongoing basis.
The reality really concerned me. Next, I invested in a steel reusable water bottle, glass lunchboxes, canvas shopping bags, the list goes on. I made this a habit while packing my bag in the morning before heading out to college or work, to have these items on me. If I had to grab a takeaway lunch on the go, I would be able to use my own containers rather than single-use takeaway materials or if I picked something up in a shop, I would have my reusable canvas bag to bring home any bits & bobs I had bought.
After becoming hyper-aware of waste and single use plastics, I continue to try my best, where I can, to shop at markets or to purchase loose fruit & veg, and items packaged in recyclable / biodegradable materials at supermarkets rather than items packaged in plastics. I made these small practices a daily habit and in the past few years, I know I have hugely reduced the amount of single use plastics and waste that I would have ordinarily produced, had I not made a change. I continue to live by the mantra ‘Reduce, Re-use, Recycle’ and will continue with these everyday practices that even though small, make a difference
What were the personal and or sustainability benefits?
I did this in an effort to reduce my carbon footprint and to reduce the amount of waste that I produce. I am very conscious of waste management. Although I can control my personal waste management at home (recycling, compost / food bin and putting very little into landfill), when I am out or in a public space, recycling bins and waste disposal facilities are not always available. I want to avoid throwing single use plastics and materials ‘away’ – because ‘away’ does not exist, it simply ends up somewhere else. I have conducted a lot of research in the plastic industry in particular and I am concerned by the negative effect this is having on our planet as a whole – the threat it poses to wildlife and habitats, waterways and the pollution that is caused by plastics and non-recyclable single use materials. On a personal level, this pollution to our planet is not something that I wish to contribute to or to be responsible for. My actions may be small, but they have a positive impact.
What advice would you have for others to do something similar?
Try to make it a habit to have reusable items on your being when you head out in the morning, whether that be in your bag or in your car. You can purchase light-weight reusable materials that don’t take up too much space and are not much heavier than single-use items to carry around. Keep an eye out in frequently visited public places for water filling stations, they are more common than you think! Also check out you local coffee shops and cafes, there are an abundance of service providers that offer a discount on takeaway food and hot beverages when you use your own cup or container, that way you can have a positive impact on the planet and save some money! When purchasing reusable goods, invest in a good quality utensils with strong materials that will last you a long time – avoid plastic, opt for glass and stainless steel that wash well and have a super long life span so that you won’t have to buy frequent replacements.
What’s the Community Takeaway?
All individual actions can start a community action. The ‘Use Your Mug’ campaign in Galway is a great example of this.
Galway City Council and 2GoCup ran a campaign to dramatically reduce single use coffee cups in Galway City.
For a 3 month trial period, 10 Cafes did not sell any drinks in single use cups and instead only sold drinks in reusable 2GoCups.
This campaign got lots of social media buzz because of a campaign showing a 2m sized mug at the Claddagh in Galway City. From a survey carried out by Galway City Council, 81% of people who were asked said they already owned a resuable mug. This shows people are moving away from disposable cups, but there’s an opportunity to convince the other cohort of drinkers to follow suit.
Learn more about this great project here and see if you can do the same in YOUR community.
Notes and Calculations
[1]It takes 162g of oil and seven litres of water to manufacture a single one litre disposable PET bottle. This amounts to the release of 100g of Carbon Dioxide (CO2), a major greenhouse gas. Therefore single-use plastic bottles significantly contribute to pollution, even if they are subsequently recycled. This means that 240 disposable litre bottles of water generate 24kg of CO2
The production and distribution of a single use coffee cup involes the generation of on average 20gCO2. So Cíara avoids 4.8 kgs of carbon emissions by using a keep cup.
Taken together, Cíara’s individual actions save 28kgs of carbon emissions per year: which is equivalent to planting 2 trees. [1]
[1] 1 Tree offsets 14kg CO2
We do NOT endorse or encourage the purchase of particular products. The reference here is for information purposes only.
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