5 ways to reduce your carbon footprint every day

Firstly, let's start by knowing what exactly is carbon footprint.

Carbon Footprint is the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere as a result of the activities of a particular individual, organization, or community.

Ways to reduce your carbon footprint are:

1. Eat less Dairy and Meat

Meat production is the primary source of methane emissions, a greenhouse gas 86 times more potent than carbon dioxide over a 20-year period, and beef cattle produced over 70 percent of it via enteric fermentation—belching and farting—in 2016. (Dairy cattle accounted for another 25 percent that year.)

2. Don’t Buy “Fast Fashion”

The fashion industry is responsible for 10 % of annual global carbon emissions, more than all international flights and maritime shipping combined. At this pace, the fashion industry’s greenhouse gas emissions will surge more than 50 % by 2030.

3. Bike more and drive less

Traditional cars put out a lot of exhaust, which pollutes the air. In fact, vehicles produce one-third of all U.S. air pollution.

The toxins emitted by vehicles are also very dangerous for human health, considering the tailpipes are at street level where humans can breathe the air directly into their lungs.

Challenge yourself to drive less and bike more. Riding your bike forces you to utilize your own muscle power.

You’ll get a workout all while helping the environment. Plus, it requires much less energy to produce a bike than it does to manufacture a car.

If you can’t bike to work for whatever reason, take public transportation. It puts less cars on the road, which reduces the amount of exhaust filling the air at once.

4. Recycle MORE!

• Recycle paper. 

• Recycle paper and steel and tin cans.

• Before throwing away, ask: Can I re-use or repair this?

• Donate working electronics. 

• Recycle broken electronics. Many local electronics stores offer free recycling programs for old goods.

• Collect dry cell batteries. You should be able to recycle them through your local municipality. 

• Contact your local car dealer or municipality to recycle car batteries. 

• Don’t put non-recyclables in the recycling bin. Garden hoses, sewing needles, propane tanks or cylinders, aerosol cans that aren’t empty, hazardous waste and syringes, broken glass and broken light bulbs should all be avoided. 

5. Spend less time in the shower

Spending 1 minute less in the shower can save 23kg CO2 and £8 (USD10) a year (based on one shower a day and a 9kW shower).