Items to be used better or replaced

ITEMS TO USE BETTER

Ten objects, just ten , that if used with a little more common sense , could truly improve our lives. While we wait to find out what the next green tax will be, after the messy law on organic shopping bags in supermarkets, which we will have to pay to reduce the waste most at risk of pollution, we could start the year with a few new and effective habits. After all, sustainability , the authentic, everyday kind, is us . And no one can rain it down on our homes by law or decree.

READ ALSO: To truly feel better, it takes very little. And it's the small gestures that produce big changes, as this book explains.

DON'T WASTE COMMONLY USED OBJECTS

So, we might as well make a little effort and learn, with ease, to reduce our daily use of the most significant pollutants. It's simple, it costs nothing, and we should at least try. It's in everyone's interest.

PAPER TISSUES

The ritual of stocking up begins at the bar : the customer arrives at the counter, orders a coffee, and then, bang, pulls his allotment of napkins from the machine. In America, there are an average of 2.200 napkins per year, per citizen. How can you avoid waste? Look at the wastebasket and you'll quickly understand. One small paper handkerchief is enough, if necessary, and with the leftovers, have fun making origami.

SUGAR SACHETS

Half of the sugar in packets, including the paper, ends up in the trash. Remember that excess sugar is bad for you , and the Italian average of 17 teaspoons a day is too high. It's better to use a sugar bowl, which reduces consumption, and get used to some alternatives with natural sweeteners, from honey to stevia plants.

STRAWS

Their residues are regularly found in the stomachs of fish. Here too, America leads the way: 500 million are used every day, all disposable. Americans drink everything with ice, so they can't do without straws. And us? If you really can't give them up, choose steel ones, which are lead-free and completely safe for children.

PLASTIC BOTTLES

Of the 32 types of plastic debris found every square kilometer of our beaches, the deadly plastic bottles rank first. Avoid them . Always choose glass bottled mineral water, don't snub tap water, and remember that reusing PET containers is not recommended. It's best to dispose of them properly.

PLASTIC CAPS

If you're addicted to plastic bottles and can't overcome this addiction, at least save the caps . There are many volunteer organizations (one is Giovanni XXIII) that collect and sell them. In Brescia, for example, the proceeds have even funded stationery supplies for students in schools in the suburbs.

COFFEE CUPS

In Great Britain, they're considering a tax , thirty cents, to reduce a devastating situation: 25 billion cups thrown away, of which only 0,25 are recycled. In Italy, something like this would be disastrous, especially since one in two consumers now drinks espresso from a coffee machine. Disposable cups are no longer hygienic and alter the flavor of the coffee.

DOGGY BAG

Have you ever noticed how much food ends up in the trash in restaurants? About a third of customer orders. So don't be reluctant to use doggy bags: currently, only 20 percent of Italians use them, while in France they're mandatory for restaurants seating more than 180. Furthermore, once discovered, doggy bags can also be used in schools, cafeterias, and hospitals.

COTTON SWAB

Another symbol of the sea-trash can. On Italian beaches, hidden in the sand, there are 100 million cotton swabs (according to ENEA), and the government has just introduced a requirement to use only biodegradable ones. However, keep in mind that frequently cleaning your ears with cotton swabs is wrong and harmful. Earwax, for starters, protects the ear canal.

PLATES, CUTLERY, PLASTIC CUPS

To discourage the bad habit of a throwaway lifestyle, it would be enough to appeal to aesthetics. A table set with plastic items is truly ugly, even sad. It may be a coincidence, it may be a conditioned reflex, but the fact remains that the main mistake Italians make when recycling is to throw plastic cutlery in the organic waste bin. As if they were food scraps.

PIZZA BOXES

Food delivery fever has now infected 10 million Italians. The risk is that our garbage bins will become increasingly clogged with food packaging . The solution? Simply ask to be served in takeout containers that can be returned. The new models are also insulated, so pizza won't arrive cold and with stringy mozzarella.

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HOW TO FREE OURSELVES FROM PLASTIC:

• Plastic recycling: Too much of it ends up in landfills that we should close.
• When technology meets fashion, here is the fabric made from recycled plastic
• Bottles made from red algae (photo), durable and non-polluting. A far cry from plastic.