There are 4 simple steps for this - 4R: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, React.
Step 1. Reduce
This is the first R on your way. To achieve a sustainable lifestyle, you first need to reduce consumption and waste generation.
Consumption
Every day you buy things. Some of your purchases may be impulsive, others simply unnecessary. For example, you love white socks, but you already have three pairs in your closet. Or you buy a fourth brown belt. Are you sure you need these things? Buy only the things you need and pay attention to the quality. The longer they last, the better.
Waste generation
The first R is also about reducing waste. If you can buy vegetables in a cloth bag, do so. If you can take a shopper with you to the store, take it. Choose reusable products and use them: for example, order a drink in your cup.
Step 2: Reuse
Okay, we have already given up unnecessary things and started buying products with minimum of packaging. What's next? Next comes reuse.
If you can fix something, fix it. If you want to throw things away, instead give them to friends or to charity. You can reuse things and save money: you can make a vase out of a plastic bottle, a stylish necklace out of buttons, and a T-shirt out of a T-shirt. There are a lot of DIY hacks online.
Step 3. Recycle
We’ve reduced our consumption, started reusing things, but there is still waste. It's time to recycle. Your waste is not garbage, but secondary raw materials. A bag of chips, a wine bottle, a plastic container from a ready-made lunch are materials. New things can be made from these materials, which saves resources.
Only clean recyclables are accepted for recycling. Rinse off the remains of organic matter, find the nearest waste collection point and dispose of the waste there.
Step 4. React
After you have made the first 3Rs part of your daily routine, it's time to move on to level up. If you see the wrong labeling on packaging, inform the store about it. If you notice greenwashing, post it on social networks with the manufacturer's tag. And most importantly - tell your friends, acquaintances and relatives about the eco-friendly lifestyle. React! The more we do, the more opportunities for an eco-friendly lifestyle will arise. After all, demand creates supply.
These 4 simple steps are the path to a sustainable life and a circular economy. One person's "green" lifestyle can turn the entire economic system upside down.