SPREAD USEFUL GOSSIP
Glossy magazines are topped with a coat of clay which makes them particularly hard and annoying to recycle. So make sure to cut down on unwanted magazine subscriptions and if you’ve purchased and read any great magazines, pass them around to your friends.
BAG IT UP
Get a big, cool colourful hipster bag made of cloth to replace plastic and paper ones that stores provide. Also, don’t limit them to just groceries. You can put anything in cloth bags! Most are strong enough to carry heavy machinery.
GO VINTAGE
Old clothing and reused materials are probably not going to create any more damage to the environment. Plus, vintage is totally back in style.
MAKE ‘THRIFT SHOP’ by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis YOUR THEME SONG.
Donate everything you don’t want. “One man’s trash is another man’s come up” so look out for thrift shops around the UAE, or give away well maintained clothing to charity bazaars.
EVERYBODY LOVES STARING AT THEIR SCREENS ANYWAY.
Even if you were old school and classy enough to pledge to read the printed word, getting the online version of a book ultimately leaves the world a better place. Also, try to use the last few empty pages of old notebooks.
PLANT A TREE.
Plant a tree in your own yard. Trees are beautiful and make for nice décor and shade from the blazing sun!
RECYCLE EVERYTHING
Nowadays people are more aware of recycling newspapers, plastic and paper bags. Considering our progressive society, we can now move on to painstakingly recycling any tiny, insignificant pieces of paper such as receipts, airplane tickets, and sticky notes.
COFFEE? ICE CREAM?
If you’re going to stay in an air-conditioned coffee shop, ask for a ceramic mug before the server instinctively gives you a cardboard one. And if you’re getting ice cream, get a cone not a cup. Cones taste better anyway.
GREEN AT COLLEGE
Make sure your school does not stop at paper/plastic recycling facilities, but incorporate other ‘go green’ initiatives. Thousands of students walk and talk the streets of the UAE and are able to make a significant difference to the capital’s environment. One example is providing goodwill donation bins outside a college’s dormitory on move-out week for students to throw any unwanted books, clothes, electronics or houseware.
By Rhea Oomen
