A Zero Waste Kit When You’re On The Go

Creating a zero waste kit is one of the easiest ways to start reducing plastic waste when you’re on-the-go and often, you can start with items you already have in your own house. To create yours, think about your daily routine:

  • Do you stop for coffee? 
  • Are you always buying bottled water? 
  • Do you like using a straw?
  •  Do you eat out for lunch?

 Make a list of what items you’ll need on a daily basis, gather them from around your house and/or purchase items you don’t have, and most importantly take it with you when you leave the house! Below are some of the items you could bring with you on a daily basis:

Bamboo Cutlery

We are obsessed with this bamboo cutlery set – it’s our secret weapon against using throw-away plastic utensils that crop up everywhere! It’s a great replacement  for a plastic cutlery, because most plastic cutlery out there is made from a type of plastic known as polystyrene. polystyrene or expanded polystyrene is more commonly referred to as Styrofoam. it is very difficult to recycle Styrofoam. Most counties simply do not offer Styrofoam recycling and thus plastic cutlery that is put into a recycling bin is usually just sorted out at the recycling facility and sent to a landfill. We don’t want to be part of that, right?

Travel Mug

Even what feels like the smallest step can make a big impact – right down to how you drink your coffee in the morning.  Since the launch of the Keep Cup, it seems like reusable coffee cups are everywhere and rightly so. Reduce your carbon footprint by reusing this glass coffee mug instead of discarding single use cardboard ones. Made from durable borosilicate glass, it features a natural cork band for easy handling.  Even at the end of its life the cup is fully recyclable. Now accepted by many coffee shops and chains, by bringing your own coffee mug into the store, many places will fill it for you with some even giving you money off to thank you for choosing to bring your own cup. ]

Glass Straws

These stylish environmentally-friendly drinking straws are both heat and cold resistant. Better still, they’re dishwasher safe too! These trendy Glass Straws are manufactured from borosilicate glass. That is one of the strongest common glass types available on the market today, similar to that of Pyrex glass measuring jugs and beakers. Borosilicate Glass Straws are strong and sturdy and available in a range of lengths.  With an optional 8mm diameter, you can easily sip thicker drinks, such as frozen cocktails, smoothies and milkshakes.Glass conducts very little heat so they’re suitable for use with both hot or cold beverages, and can be used time and time again.

Travel Water Bottle

Sometimes you want a water bottle that does more than hold your drink. Sometimes you want one that purifies water too. If you’re traveling to a destination where the tap water isn’t drinkable, consider taking a purifier bottle. It’s the best way to reduce your carbon footprint around drink consumption and avoid consuming plastics that aren’t likely to be recycled, like water bottles. I’m a big fan of stainless steel water bottles because they last forever, and withhold insulation so your water stays cold (or hot) longer. Moreover, stainless steel water bottles are easy to clean, which is essential when you’re hopping from place to place. If I had to choose, stainless steel material makes for the best travel water bottle .

Reusable Cloth Bag

A reusable shopping bag, sometimes called bag-for-life in the UK, is a type of shopping bag which can be reused many times. It is an alternative to single-use paper or plastic bags. It is often a tote bag made from fabric such as canvas, natural fibres such as Jute, woven synthetic fibers, or a thick plastic that is more durable than disposable plastic bags, allowing multiple use. Reusable shopping bags are a kind of carrier bag, which are available for sale in supermarkets and apparel shops. In Ireland, they were introduced in March 2002, when the Plastic Bag Environmental Levy was brought in to reduce the massive amount of disposable bags being used annually. Bags costing 70 euro cents or more are exempt from the levy.

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Have you ever worn sustainable clothes ?

Did you know there are entirely sustainable clothing lines?

Amorilla is an example we want to tell you about. 

Organic cotton, block printing technique and certified Azo-free colors are the main factors that characterized this brand. Amorilla is a project that was born, on paper, in 2017. Its philosophy is to rediscover the textile traditions that have given life to fashion and resume them to create capsule collections for women, while being ethical and sustainable.

The founder and designer is Camilla Mendini, she has been engaged for years as a consumer and as an activist in the field of sustainable fashion. Since 2016 Camilla’s focus is on sustainable lifestyle, eco travels and zero waste solutions, promoting brands that offer products and services that share her same values and vision.

The collection is designed in New York and ethically made in Rajasthan, India where the organic cotton fabric are hand-printed using wooden blocks carved by expert hands.

“It is crucial that the fashion industry begins to come to terms with the catastrophic consequences it is producing. Being sustainable is increasingly becoming a necessity rather than a personal choice.” – Camilla Mendini. 

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Ireland to Plant 440 Million Trees by 2040

[This blog is written for a fictional university society as part of a college project. This is not a real college society]

Ireland is set to plant 22 million trees across the island each year until 2040 to help combat the worst effects of climate change. The initiative is part of Ireland’s climate action plan, which will see large investments in renewable energy, the introduction of a new carbon tax and a widespread tree-planting effort.

Remarkably, for such a green island with ideal soil conditions for plant and tree growth, Ireland has one of the lowest levels of forestation in the EU. In 2017, about 11% of Ireland was covered in trees compared to a European average of 38% in 2015.

The tree-planting target is part of Ireland’s effort to net-zero carbon emission by 2050. Scientists have long praised the carbon-capturing abilities of trees. A 2019 study found that one of the most affordable ways to combat greenhouse gases – the main climate change driver – would be to plant 1 trillion trees or more of the next number of years.

Irish progress on climate change has been consistently been criticised. Over the last few years, protestors have taken to the streets to demand less words and more action from the government on climate change. In 2018, Ireland was the worst-performing country in the EU according to the Climate Change Performance Index, with Taoiseach Leo Varadkar labeling Ireland as a “laggard” when it came to climate measures.

While planting 440 million trees over 20 years sounds like a large effort, many countries across the globe have conducted similar initiatives across much shorter time periods. In July 2019, 350 million trees were planted in Ethiopia in one single day in a bid to combat deforestation and global warming. Similarly, 50 million trees were planted in a single day in India in 2019. Statistics like these beg the question; Is Ireland’s tree-planting commitment over the next 20 years enough?

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Greta Thunberg visits Hogwarts

After navigating the Atlantic Ocean from America, Swedish teen climate activist, Greta Thunberg reached the shores of Ireland yesterday. Thunberg will speak as a Guest of Honour during an Environmental Community event. The teen will address 150 students at the ticketed event in ABC Theatre at Hogwarts.

Thunberg is known for speaking about the importance of putting pressure on our Government to take climate action, but reiterates her sentiment that individuals should not be reliant on Governments to make an impact. Thunberg highlights the importance of individuals reducing their own individual carbon footprint in a number of ways such as taking a bike or walking instead of driving somewhere.

Thunberg also encourage attendees to join the Extinction Rebellion Ireland. The climate activist group regularly undertake peaceful protesting along with their global counterparts. Conducting hunger strikes this week, Extinction Rebellion caused havoc by tactically protesting outside the Labour and Conservative party offices in the U.K. as a December 12th pre-Brexit general election looms large.

It wasn’t known whether Thunberg would arrive in time due to strong south Westerly winds off the Irish coast. Thunberg’s visit to Dublin comes as a detour on her way to the COP25 Climate Conference taking place in Madrid. The event, which was due to be schedule in Santiago, Chile was moved to Madrid due ongoing political instability in the South American country.

This created a problem for Thunberg, who travelled to America from Europe back in August by boat. Thunberg refuses to fly due to carbon emission involved and travelled to a climate conference in the US using trains and electric vehicles. When the venue of the COP25 Conference was changed from Santiago, Chile to Madrid, Spain, Thunberg requested help by sending out a tweet to her Twitter followers.

With the help of two Australian YouTubers, Thunberg and her team have sailed across the Atlantic New York to Dublin. After their Dublin pitstop, the climate activist will join the COP25 Conference in Madrid in early December.

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8 Easy Ways To Reduce Your Carbon Footprint

1. Carpool with Your Friends

Become your very own James Corden.. Don’t waste fuel, money and emissions by travelling by car to the same place as one of your buddies! Arrange to share lifts or car pool with them. In that way, you can split fuel costs with buddies, reduce your environmental impact AND you can have a singalong on the way to your destination.

2. Shop in Second-Hand Stores

The rise of technology has led to an increase in fast fashion retailers like Asos, Boohoo and Pretty Little Thing. While these e-retailers offer clothing at a good price and quality, the resources used by the industry to create cheap clothing certainly add up! It’s estimated that the fashion industry produces over 1 billion tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions annually. So, next time you want to upgrade your wardrobe, consider buying in second-hand shops or second-hand C2C e-retailer, DePop.

3. Ride a Bike

Over the last number of years, governments across the world have done a lot to encourage cycling instead of private car transport, and it’s easy to see why. Each passenger cars emits over 400 grams of CO2 per mile, whereas riding a bike produces ZERO! In Dublin, there’s more and more protection for cyclists such as cycling lanes. A law has been introduced to fine motorists and give them 3 penalty points if they’re caught dangerously overtaking cyclists. We encourage you to use bicycles as much as possible. Dublin Bikes is a Rent-A-Bike scheme and has bike stations right across Dublin including one just outside the Trinity Business School – perfect for any Trinity student. So, Get On Your Bike!!!

4. Reuse Items Whenever You Can

Sadly, every piece of trash thrown in the bin contributes to your carbon footprint. Try and reduce the number of items thrown in the bin by making use for disposable items like bags and container. Forget about using plastic bags in supermarkets. Buy your sturdy shopping bags that will last you years!

5. Hang Your Clothes, Don’t Use a Dryer

Although Ireland’s weather is quite hit and miss (mostly miss), we encourage people to dry their clothes by hanging them up outside on the clothes line or in a warm area on a clotheshorse. Unfortunately, a lot of people use dryers but even if you were to reduce the amount of times you use one, it would significantly reduce your carbon footprint. Getting hanging those clothes up!

6. Plant a Tree

This activity can be very beneficial and very fun. Trees are so important in our environment. They take in Carbon Dioxide and release oxygen, which is why there is always uproar when you hear about deforestation in places like the Amazon Rainforest. Take an afternoon to plant a tree and by doing so, you have life lasting benefits and memories. The older a tree gets; the more carbon is sucked out of the environment. By the time the tree is 40 (and you’ve gotten much older and greyer!), a tree will have taken in 1 tonne of carbon emissions that would have otherwise been released into the atmosphere.

7. Unplug Your Devices

Surprisingly, all electronics use energy even when they’re not charging devices – called ‘Vampire Power’. Leaving sockets plugged in when devices aren’t being charged contributes almost $20Bn in energy in the US alone each year. An easy fix is to remove plugs from sockets when they’re not in use!

8. Stop Eating (or Eat Less) Meat

According to a number of studies, including the EAT-Lancet 2019 report, the single most effective action a person can take to reduce their environmental impact is to change to a plant-based diet. There’s so much talk about switching from combustion engine vehicles to electric vehicles, however, the agribusiness actually generates more greenhouse gases than fossil fuels. Red meat is particularly harmful, requiring 11 times greater the amount of water than poultry. Amazingly, 5,000 gallons of water is needed to produce just a single pound of beef. These levels aren’t sustainable, so by reducing your meat consumption you can help to create a brighter future for Earth.

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How much water do you use?

Have you ever thought about how much water you use while taking a shower? 🚿 A water-efficient shower-head uses approximately 9 liters per minute. On the other hand, an older style showerhead uses approximately 19 liters per minute – that’s 10 liters more!

We should become more interested in water conservation and be aware about how much water we use in a day. Using less water will not only help our Planet but will also help us to reduce energy costs. The longer you run the hot water, the higher your energy use and utility bills rise.

Join us in the challenge! ⏱🛀🏻 Reduce your shower time!

Save water and energy! 🔌 Measure your time in the shower. We challenge you to not spend more than 5 minutes in the shower. Set a watch timer or watch the clock, if you stay in 5 minutes…come to the next meeting, a lot of surprises await you! 🏆

Do you need help to measure your time? Here are our tips:

  1. Listen to 5-Minute-Long Songs. 🎶 In Our Playlist: 
    • The Scientist, Coldplay
    • Smells Like Teen Spirit, Nirvana
    • Before You Go, Ok Sweetheart 
  2. Count backward from 300 🔙
  3. Watch Joker’s trailer🃏 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06g6kHWNQoE
  4. Watch this action scene from The Amazing Spider Man 2 🕸 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOYRogLgHbk
  5. Choose your favorite Talks from Ted but don’t forget to set the 5 minutes filter in your search 🗣 https://www.ted.com/talks
  6. You can also learn a new language listening to 5-minute Podcasts 🔊 https://player.fm/podcasts/5-minute

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Trinity introduces Reusable Cup Deposit-and-Return Scheme

On Monday 18th Of November 2019, Trinity College Dublin launched a deposit-and-return scheme for coffee cups across three of their on-campus coffee shops.

The company behind the project is 2GoCup. Headed by young, Irish entrepreneur, Kevin Murphy, 2GoCup is Ireland’s first deposit-and-return scheme for reusable cups. The initiative has been part-funded from the The Environmental Protection Agency and aims to combat the number of single use plastic coffee cups.

With an increasing awareness of the harmful effects of single-use plastics, 2GoCup are coming along at the right time. Just this month, The Irish Government announced the introduction of a 25 cent levy on disposable cups from 2020.

It’s estimated that 200 million single-use, non-recyclable coffee cups are used in Ireland every year – that’s 22,000 every hour! 2GoCup’s future-thinking scheme hopes to end the single use plastic epidemic in Ireland, one cup at a time!

So How Does the Scheme Work..?

When customers purchase a coffee, instead of being served in a plastic cup, they will be served the drink in a 2GoCup for €1 extra. By paying this fee, users can either keep the cup forever or return the next time to get their €1 deposit back. For hygiene purposes, everyone keeps their own lid!

Trinity isn’t the only place where 2GoCup have secured partnerships. Dublin City Council and Dublin City University were heavily involved in the initial pilot project and it was made available at their offices and campus. 2GoCup have partnered with hundreds of cafes, companies and campuses across including Dublin Zoo!

We hope the introduction of this sustainable initiative to The Buttery, The Vaults and Arás an Phiarsaigh can help to reduce the volume of non-recycled cups.. 

Guest Lecture with 2GoCup CEO, Kevin Murphy, coming soon!

We’re hopeful that Kevin Murphy can take some time out of his very busy schedule to address our members as a keynote speaker in the next few weeks. For more information on the upcoming event, sign up for Trinity Environmental Society’s newsletter now!

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