Buy Less Stuff

Buying less stuff. It sounds simple doesn’t it, but when you start to think how often we are bombarded with adverts, and how easy online shopping has become, and not to mention how cheap some online retailers are, it becomes a bit harder.

But what if we said waste starts when you buy items, rather than at the point you want to throw it away?

We recognise that people are still feeling the effects of the cost-of-living crisis and that many are concerned about climate change and want to take steps to reduce their carbon footprint.

The concept of buying less stuff begins to prioritise other measures above recycling waste, such as preventing it in the first place, and reducing items that could become waste – whilst also saving money. 

Let’s tackle the why. Buying less stuff has financial benefits:

• Not only on your own pocket
• But also on the Council’s pocket too – having less waste to pay to dispose of means they can divert the spend to other areas
• As well as the benefit to the local economy – repair and reuse solutions can support jobs and charities in your local area

There are of course environmental benefits too. Buying less stuff leads to:

• fewer resources, like water and minerals, taken from the Earth to make the things we buy – helping to halt deforestation, protect habitats and restore nature.
• less CO2 emitted from making and transporting new products – helping to limit the warming of the atmosphere that’s leading to extreme weather.
• less litter and plastic pollution, on land and in our oceans.

Let’s look at the how? How do I buy less stuff?

• Have a buy less mindset – spend a few extra minutes thinking if you really need to buy something
• Swap the way you shop – can you borrow it, hire it or buy it pre-loved instead of new?
• Use it again and again – make the most of what you have. Can it be repaired, fixed, reused, repurposed, upcycled? Can you buy it from a refill shop?
• Rehome it – instead of throwing an item you no longer want, can you give it away, or sell it?
• Put it in the recycling – as well as what you can recycle at home, there are more and more ways to recycle items with specialised collection banks (clothes, shoes, blister packs, toothpaste tubes, metal, soft plastics, electricals, batteries)
• The final option is to throw it away – but it should always be the last resort.

If you need any more inspiration, look no further than: 

Jen Gale (who runs a very successful Instagram page called Sustainable(ish)) challenged herself and family to buy nothing new for a year and hasn’t looked back since.

Laura is an award winning environmental scientist and influencer (otherwise known as Waste less Laura).

Hubbub is an award-winning environmental charity that’s all about inspiring action that’s good for the environment and for everyone.

As Anne Marie Bonneau said -  'We don't need a handful of people doing zero waste perfectly. We need millions of people doing it imperfectly.'