Ditch Google, go veggie once a week and switch washing up for a dishwasher: These 10 simple changes will help to save the planet
It's Earth Day this Sunday and these tweaks to your lifestyle can have a massive impact on the environment
WHETHER your eco-guilt was stirred by David Attenborough’s heart-wrenching Blue Planet II or you have been working to make your life greener for a while, now's the time to start making a difference.
You might think that going all eco-warrior will take a load of effort on your part, but it really doesn't have to be that much of a hassle.
In fact, some of the smallest, simplest changes you can make - like using a different search engine or using your dishwasher more often - are the most impactful.
And with Earth Day coming up on Sunday, there's never been a better time to switch up your most damaging habits.
Liz Hutchins, of the UK charity told Sun Online: "The time for change is now – if we don’t act to save the planet, the damage may become irreversible.
"From helping to tackle dangerously polluted air by supporting diesel vehicle-free in cities, to cutting down on our plastic use to save our oceans, there are a number of simple steps we can all take towards a healthier planet."
Switch to an eco-friendly energy provider
There’s a wide choice of green energy providers.
Friends of the Earth recommend and, who will ensure your home is supplied with renewable energy and could even save you money on your annual bills.
Swap plastic cups for travel mugs
We chuck away 2.5billion single-use plastic cups per year, but only one in 400 ever makes it to a recycling plant.
Getting one takeaway drink a day equates to the creation of 10kg of plastic waste per year.
Before the government brings in a "latte levy", why not get used to carrying a keep cup with you?
They come in a range of sizes and materials and will get you a discount on your drink purchases at most cafes and coffee shops.
If you forget your keep cup, opt out of a plastic fitted lid.
Swap ‘energy vampire’ charging for unplugging
We use phone and laptop chargers regularly, if not every day, but there are small changes you can make to your charging habits to save the planet.
They are the most prominent “energy vampires” in your home, wasting precious energy even when you've flipped off the switch.
Always unplug them once your gadget is charged and never leave them attached to an appliance overnight.
A two-hour boost is often all that is needed for full charge.
The typical home has 50 appliances like this and each one is wasting £3 of power a year.
So by switching them all off and unplugging them when they are not in use will save £150 a year - the equivalent of an 18-month Netflix subscription.
Swap reams of junk for paperless
There are endless opportunities to go paperless in 2018: from Kindles to electronic bank statements, it's not hard to cut down on your usage.
Printing double-sided in the office and at home will help, as will saving a box of draft paper to avoid buying more notebooks.
The Imagine All the Water campaign claims that reducing paper waste by just one sheet can save a staggering 350ml of water.
Swap plastic straws for paper, metal or glass
Only a tiny fraction of plastic straws given out with soft drinks, cocktails and cups of coffee are recycled due their small size.
The rest end up in landfill, or in rivers and ultimately the sea, where they are the fifth most common item of rubbish and are capable of harming marine life.
We use them for only 20 minutes on average, but they take up to 500 years to break down.
Opt out of straws at bars and cafes, and invest in paper, metal or glass ones for home use.
Swap your weekly supermarket shop for an online delivery
Save yourself the faff of driving to the supermarket by drawing up a shopping list and ordering an online delivery.
This is essentially car-pooling for your groceries (slashing CO2 emissions by 50 percent) and will help you avoid food waste as well.
The UK’s annual cost of food waste is £13billion – £470 per household – with staple essentials such as bread, fruit and vegetables most likely to go in the bin.
Another great way to tackle food waste is to treat expiration dates as guidelines (rather than instructions) and use apps like and .