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DO YOU DO your bit for the planet? Are you careful about always putting paper and plastic into the green bin rather than the black?
Good stuff. However there is more that you can do – and it’s not much more difficult than chucking your paper into the recycling bin.
Here are six easy ways to help reduce your impact on the planet today. If you have any more tips, let us know in the comments below.
Did you know that using water more efficiently can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions? This is because it takes a lot of energy to purify and bring drinkable water to your home. Turning off taps and taking shorter showers can help but so can putting a brick in your toilet cistern to displace some of the water and so you don’t flush so much.
Sometimes you can’t avoid using plastic plates, cups or cutlery, but for the most part, if you can, do. If these are put into a landfill, as they tend to be, the plastic never biodegrades. Ever. So ditch those dishes.
Look, we all need that coffee jolt of a morning, but did you know that even if you rinse out and put your coffee cup into the recycling, chances are it’s still not getting recycled? A better option is to bring your own reusable coffee cup with you and save the planet one caffeine boost at a time.
Same goes for your water bottle. Buy a reusable one and… reuse it.
Some things that you can recycle that you mightn’t have known about are light bulbs, including CFL (energy saving) light bulbs, electronic cables and batteries, just not in your green bin. All these electrical items are handled through the WEEE programme which offers several different ways to recycle.
You can also recycle aerosol cans. Just make sure they’re empty, the lid is removed and never pierce them – not that you ever would.
We all know the old ‘reduce, reuse, recycle’ but what’s becoming popular more and more is the fourth ‘R’ – repair. Repairing an item rather than throwing it away means it won’t end up in a landfill and will save you money. There are Repair Cafés around the country where you can go and see if someone has the skills to fix what’s ailing your item, or you can offer your own skills to items in need.
It’s not a glam as a thug life, but the Zero Trash life is out there, and it’s gaining ground. It may seem impossible at the outset, but there is plenty of evidence to show it can be done. Much like eating better and getting exercise, it takes planning and preparation. You might not be able to get to Zero Trash, but you can significantly reduce your rubbish output. Check out Trash is for Tossers for inspiration.
Fancy doing even more for your planet? Don’t throw your old CFL (energy-saving) lightbulbs in the bin. You can swap any old CFL bulb for a flowering bulb for free at any participating hardware store . It’s another bright idea from WEEE Ireland.
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They should leave these girls go. Serving time for bruising Putins ego! Bloody ridiculous.
Absolutely, bloody fascist it’s like Russia never moved on! Disgusting detention of these girls for having and expressing their opinions, shame on Putin and his lot
Well in my opinion, because they did a very disrespectful act in public the public needs to be shown there were consequences.
I doubt Putin wanted this to happen.
@mick so disrespecting the govt is fairly punishable by prison time?
Thankfully most people appear to disagree with this notion.
I’d worry for us all if you were running the show.
Well it’s the law there and they broke it, we all have different laws, like if you smoke a joint here in Ireland you break the law if you smoke a joint in holland your not breaking the law,
I respect everyone’s right to an opinion but yours is crap
Roibeard
Your a troll leave a common on the peace,if you want to put some input on the issue
Mick, do you know anything about Vladimir Putin?
They should check her intestines with a geiger counter to see if she ingested anything radioactive.
Are people foregetting that this is the same Tovarish Putin that slaughtered the people of Chechnya under the guise of homeland security Men Women & Children were crushed by a continous tank & rocket barage as Putin blooded conscripts in a clinical move that was nothing short of genocide.do you for one second think he has a worry about a rock band as he used that situation to strengthen his tie to the church as the protector of the church also as a message to Russia the day that the church is not in keeping with his thinking will be a day too late.the band could have got shorter jail time had the west not got involved once his hand was forced there was only to be one winner Vlad. Tovarish Putin is probably one of the most dangerous leaders that Russia will ever have even when the 15 Republics were CCCP he should never be underestamated.Dasvidanniye.
Ok, we make a body count ? Russia :Chechenya, Afghanistan ( against cia special Agent bin laden) Vs US :Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya etc. Body count please ? inclusiv torture methods,
One of the problems with European democracy at the moment is that it has been (with the exeption of Iceland) hijakedby by the banks. Hope they learn something from it here.
.So many very clever young people here have such a great aspiration to have a realy free democracy like in the west,and they will have it one day,because its their greatest wish.but when they ask me how is democracy working in Europe and in America, I must bite my tounge before I speak. We can learn a lot from each other.
I am very dissapointed with western media at the moment because of this “we are holier than thou” attitude.
Russia on the way to democracy ? Yes, but its a bumpy road sometimes. Great country, great people, making very fast progress in the right direction. One of the worlds youngest democracies.It took one of the oldest democracies ,the English, a long time to get there and they are still struggling, Very strange sometimes to note that the media (especialy the German media) only point out the negative things, which are in the minority.
I have been living here 6 years now. Its very easy to judge a country from the outside.
have your say