Climate change
These ten everyday products are harmful to the environment
Plastic bottles and paper bags are more polluting than many think.
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Many everyday products turn out to be true climate killers. These tips will help you do something good for the environment.
Everyone knows them – the discussions about climate change, microplastics in products, and plastic and garbage in the oceans. But some consumers are not even aware of how many everyday products actually harm the environment.
Palm oil production at the expense of animals and forests
The demand for palm oil is immense and the reason for this is easy to explain: The cultivation of oil palms is cheap and efficient. The vegetable edible oil can now be found in numerous products from margarine to chocolate cream to ice cream. However, the high demand has its downsides and the real price is paid by animals and rainforests that have to give way to palm plantations.
Cosmetics and detergents pollute water, fields and air
Most detergents and cleaning agents contain some environmentally harmful ingredients that our sewage treatment plants cannot completely filter out of the wastewater. These eventually end up in water, on the fields and ultimately in the air. Right at the forefront: microplastics, for example in hairsprays or optical brighteners in detergents.
The paper bag also joins air pollutants
The numerous discussions about plastic bags and the considerable amount of garbage in the oceans made many consumers resort to paper bags in their everyday lives. If this is not made from recycled waste paper, however, the production requires various chemicals – with effects on our air quality.
Butter, beef and cheese are considered real climate killers
Apart from vegans, butter, beef and cheese are almost everyday foods in every household. According to data from Greenpeace, it is precisely these three that have the greatest impact on climate change. The reason for this is the large amounts of methane gases released from cattle and cattle farming, which promote the greenhouse gas effect.
Toilet paper requires a lot of energy
Alternative: recycled toilet paper – because the use of waste paper requires many times less energy than is necessary for the production from fresh fibers (wood). A difference between fresh fiber and recycled toilet paper is hardly noticeable anyway.
Growing avocados promotes water scarcity
Avocados are very popular in Europe and are considered a superfood due to their high nutritional content. On the other hand, one important point tarnishes the environmental balance of the fruit: A lot of water is used during cultivation (1,000 liters for three avocados) and that at the expense of the population living there.
Plastic bottles are difficult to recycle
In truth, the recycling rate is a third, which means that the majority of the PET bottles taken back are not suitable for the production of new bottles. Despite recycling, the problematic raw material crude oil is necessary for the production of new bottles.