3 Ways to Go Green for Seniors

Just because you’ve reached retirement doesn’t mean you’ve stopped caring about the Earth. Wondering how to get a little more eco-conscious in your later years?  Here are 3 easy ways to go green for seniors.

Buy Local

One of the easiest ways to “go green” is to buy from local artisans and vendors. For example, you could buy your produce from a local farmer’s market. Or, buy a birthday gift for a friend from a locally-owned shop instead of off the internet.  By buying locally, you reduce the carbon footprint of the things you buy because they don’t have to be driven or flown hundreds of miles to get to you. This reduces fossil fuel consumption and air pollution. You are also keeping your dollars within your community, which supports your local farmers and your friends and neighbors. 

 

Reduce Plastic Consumption 

Plastic takes hundreds of years to decompose. In the meantime, all that discarded plastic has to be stored in landfills, which destroys animal habitats. You can easily reduce your plastic consumption by using reusable water bottles and reusable grocery bags. Some companies, such as Grove Collaborative, are trying to reduce plastic waste by switching to glass or metal containers for cleaning supplies instead of plastic bottles. There are also brands that offer cleaning concentrates, which you can use to refill a glass cleaning bottle and avoid buying more plastic. When you buy from companies that are trying to eliminate single-use plastic, you can actually use capitalism to help the planet!

 

Buy (and throw away) Less

The truth is, buying things is fun. Getting things in the mail is fun. But that’s where the fun ends. Usually the high of having bought something wears off very quickly. And unfortunately, buying things you don’t need isn’t just bad for your wallet: it’s also bad for the Earth. Shipping items uses a tremendous amount of fuel and contributes to air pollution, and most packaging uses a lot of disposable plastic. So while free 2-day shipping sounds appealing, it’s actually not free at all when you consider the cost to our planet. When you buy less, you will also throw away fewer things, which helps reduce landfill use. Try to limit your purchases to things you actually need and will get a lot of use. If you still want to get in your shopping fix, try window shopping or shopping secondhand or vintage stores!

 

These 3 ways to go green for seniors are easy and won’t require a lot of your time and money, but they can have a big environmental impact. For more cost-effective ways to go green, check out Stellar’s Senior Living communities today!