Happy Easter everyone!
UNICEF Student Team Maastricht would like to present the Maastricht For Climate Sustainability Guide to you. Read this post to learn more about how you can contribute and find more information on http://www.sustainabilityguidemaastricht.nl/
“All you need to know how to reduce your environmental impact a little bit everyday” - Maastricht For Climate
“As climate change becomes an ever more pressing issue, governments are encouraged to drastically reduce their carbon footprint by 2050 and the citizens to change their daily habits. But what does this mean exactly ? Why are we asked to eat less meat, not take long showers, separate trash or buy more second-hand clothes ? All these new habits seem difficult to implement if we don’t know what we are doing wrong, but it can be really easy with some good tips and background knowledge! Therefore, this guide is meant to give everyone a good overview on sustainability in the domains of waste, food, hygiene and retail.
We sincerely hope that this will help the Maastricht community to be more mindful of the environment and contribute to a long-term amelioration of the Netherland’s carbon footprint! We also hope that you, dear reader, will enjoy reading it and that you will get a clearer understanding of this sensitive topic!”
FOOD
Top tips!
Eating less meat is better for the environment
Keep your leftovers in reusable containers instead of throwing them in the trash
Eat local food that does not need to travel around the globe
Use reusable bags for your groceries instead of the one-time use plastic bags
Eat seasonal fruits and veggies grown locally
Spring: Asparagus, carrots, celery, spring onions, salad, beetroot, cauliflower, raih, broccoli, spinach, strawberries, kale
Summer: cucumber, peppers, eggplant, sweet corn, beans, tomatoes, broccoli, berries, zucchini, cherries, melon, salad, peaches
Autumn: broccoli, pumpkin, carrots, mushrooms, cabbage, apples, artichoke, pears, plums, cauliflower, onions, beans, potatoes, greens
Winter: Brussels sprouts, mushrooms, cabbage, potatoes, carrots, pumpkins, celery, winter squash, onions, apples, kale
Look out for greenwashing because you can get tricked by those ecolabels
In Chile the avocado production has led to droughts and in Mexico the business has been linked to drug cartels.
Children in Ghana and the Ivory Coast are forced to work or are trafficked in the cocoa production industry
Are you sure that the production of your produce did not involve human rights violations?
Places in Maastricht:
Gedeelde Weelde, Organic Market, Ekoplaza, Foodcoop, Foodbank, Yildiz Plaza, LOCOtuin, Sustainable butcher Maastricht, Bandito Espresso, Bisschopsmolen, Mes Amis, Livin’ room, Preps, Cato by Cato, AlleyCat, too good to go App.
CLOTHING
Top tips!
Shopping for fun or by necessity?
Reduce laundry frequency and only wash full loads
Wash cold and quick loads
Shop second hand which is better for your wallet and the environment
Choose clothing made of organic and natural materials or recycled materials
Filter out microfibres
Air-dry your laundry
Limit dry-cleaning
Repair your clothes when broken, don't throw them away.
Sell your clothes
Give it to the Kringloop
Organise a swapping event
Make sure your clothes get recycled
Educate yourself on the human cost of fast fashion! (Documentary: The True Cost)
Places in Maastricht:
Weggeefwinkel De Heeg
Kringloop de Loods
Kringloop Zuid
We-ar Vintage & Design
Ecolinea
Terre des Hommes
Magnolia Thrift Store
Odile Houx
Second Hand 4 All
Vintage Deluxe
Markt
HYGIENE
Top tips!
Reduce packaging
Reduce your water consumption
Reduce the use of cleaning products that contain highly toxic chemicals for human health and the environment.
Be careful washing your products down the drain, they could easily be considered chemical waste.
Use white vinegar as a detergent.
Use baking soda to clean stainless steel for example.
Use savon de marseille to replace dishwashing soap.
Make your own dishwasher or laundry detergent pods.
Swap your toilet paper for recycled toilet paper
Swap your plastic toothbrush for a bamboo toothbrush
Swap your toothpaste for tablets or powder
Swap your liquid soap/shampoo in plastic bottles for package-free bar soap/shampoo
Swap your deodorant for deodorant bars
Swap your tampons/pads for a menstrual cup or organic pads in non-plastic packaging
Swap your disposable razor for a reusable one
Swap your makeup remover and moisturiser for coconut oil and makeup remover towel
Swap your makeup for vegan, organic and plastic free makeup.
Places in Maastricht:
Gedeelde Weelde, Ekoplaza, Holland and Barrett, Lush
WASTE
Top Tips!
Reduce your plastic usage
Repair or resell your electronics
Consider whether you truly need the new electronic device
4 kinds of containers: paper cardboard, transparent glass, coloured glass, PMD
What goes in PMD?
Drinking cardboard packages
Packaging made of thin metal
All types of plastic packaging
Plastic bags
Aluminium foil
What goes in glass?
Any packaging with recycling logo
Any drinking glass containers
Cosmetic glass containers
What goes in cardboard?
You can pretty much put any kind of paper/cardboard into the cardboard container.
What goes in the green trash?
Peels and remains of food
Cut flowers
Leaves
Biodegradable plastic
cork
Please start becoming more aware of your action and contribution to our environment. Start questioning, understanding the consequences and search for solutions. Ask yourself the following questions:
Can plastic be recycled?
What are trash gathering places made for and does it manage waste in a sustainable way?
Please find a PDF version of the sustainability guide here: http://www.sustainabilityguidemaastricht.nl/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/SustainabilityGuideMaastricht.pdf
Find more about Maastricht For Climate here: https://www.maastrichtforclimate.nl/
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