[INFOGRAPHIC] Top Worst Products for the Environment

The list above are the top 5 worst products for the environment that college students use the most in their everyday routine. College students must be educated about the consequences of each decision they make. For example, if college students understood how bad single use razors are for the environment they would switch to a reusable durable razor that will last years. 

Plastic bags are recognized for being bad for the environment, but it's estimated between 500 billion to one trillion are used world wide. Stop using plastic bags and invest in a durable re-usable grocery bag. 

How often do you buy a coffee on the go? Paper coffee cups are bad for the environment and the quickest solution is to invest in a reusable travel coffee mug. Some stores reduce the cost of the coffee when customers bring in a reusable mug too!

Plastic water bottles are a big problem in the pollution around the world. 1,500 plastic water bottles are consumed every second in the United States. Investing in a reusable water bottle will keep the drink more cold and reduce your carbon footprint. 

Batteries can be dangerous to the environment due to the chemicals that are used to make them. Also, mining for these resources is terrible for the environment. A battery contains one or more of the following metals: lead, zinc, mercury, lithium, as well as acids. 

Disposable razors are made with blades from cheap steel and handles made from cheap plastic. Two billion disposable razors are discarded in the United States each year. Since most of it can't be reused they are placed into landfills. 

The simple solution for most of these products is to invest in a reusable product that can be used for years and years. Single use and disposable products are detrimental to the environment since none of the product can be recycled, it ends up in the landfill. 

What is sustainable living?

Since my blog will be about sustainable living, it's important to define what sustainable living means to me and the importance of living a sustainable lifestyle. Sustainable living is a lifestyle where an individual or society tries to minimize the use of the Earth's natural resources and personal resources. People who practice living a sustainable lifestyle attempt to reduce their consumption of natural resources by altering methods of transportation, diet, and energy consumption.

Information is always better understood through firsthand experiences. In the link below there is the "Ecological Footprint Calculator" which is a quiz to find out how many Earth's it would take in order to current lifestyle I live. When I took the quiz, it told me if everyone lived liked me, it would take 6.7 Earths in order to sustain my lifestyle.

Ecological Footprint Calculator Quiz: https://www.footprintcalculator.org/

I will share some simple and easy ways to change your lifestyle into a more sustainable lifestyle that uses less Earth's and personal resources. The first is REDUCE, REUSE, and RECYCLE. Don't buy plastic water bottles or use plastic bags at the grocery store, rather buy a reusable water bottle and use reusable grocery bags. Reducing amount of waste is the most important part of the 3 R's, since it's the easiest, so be conscious of the amount of waste you produce as an individual. 

The next thing to do in order to live a sustainable lifestyle is unplug phone chargers and other appliances when not in use in order to reduce energy consumption. Also, take shorter showers and don't run the water when brushing your teeth in order to reduce the amount of water used. Living a sustainable lifestyle can be challenging, but making minor adjustments to your everyday routine can help save the planet, such as no more plastic water bottles or unplugging appliances when not using.