5 ways to be frugal while saving the environment

5 ways to be frugal while saving the environment5 ways to be frugal while saving the environmentRecently I read a post very similar to this one. I always try to be frugal and help the environment, so I was compelled to present some ideas of my own. At the same time, I know I need to be better about some of these things.So, this is also a way to hold myself accountable in the areas in which I am slacking.Its really quite interesting because the mora you think about it, the mora you realize that these two ideas are more compatible than you may realize.Follow Ladders on FlipboardFollow Ladders magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and moreSo, what do you do to be frugal?1. Bring Yur Lunch Instead of Buying ItRemember how I said I need to get better about a lot of these? Well, bringing my lunch is what I would call exhibit A. Indeed, there are a lot of days when I feel like I should have brought my lunch, but I simply didnt have the moti vation.Heres the thing, though buying my lunch means using more single-use, disposable items. If I buy my lunch, both the containers I use as well as my utensils will end up in the trash.Thats a big deal since according to the Earth Day Network, takeout orders account foraround 269,000 US tons of pbelastungic wastethat have entered the oceans.And look I get it. Many of us dont think about these things because they dont affect our daily lives.Well, at some point they will affect our daily lives more based on current trends, but still. Even if you just dont care about the growing amount of single-use disposables in our landfills and our oceans, we all know that bringing your lunch to work will be cheaper than buying it.What better way to be frugal than buying your own lunch?2. Be Frugal by Ditching Bottled WaterYes, it is true that tap water can be compromised in some cases. One such case is local to my area, where Chemours hasprovided bottled waterto families whose water supplies ar e potentially tainted by a chemical called GenX.More recently Chemours haspushed water filtersas a solution, but I can understand why people would want bottled water in this situation.And those folks arent alone. Themost recent EPA dataI could find shows that 91.4 percent of water systems in the USmeet all applicable health-based drinking water standards. 91.4 percent is pretty good, but that leaves a very rough 28 million people whose water system doesnt meet federal guidelines.It would be nearly impossible to figure out how many people are actually serviced byeach oneof these systems that dont meet federal guidelines. So I did the next best thing and multiplied the population of the US by the remaining 8.6 percent.Similarly, bottled and canned soda creates unnecessary waste in plus-rechnen to being expensive. Sure, buying a 24-pack of soda from Wal-Mart is relatively cheap, but hitting up the vending machine certainly isnt.As an alternative, I picked up Drinkmateseveral months bac k and I must say I love this thing It helps me cut back on waste, cut back on actual soda, and best of all, its cheaper in the long run.In addition to ditching bottled water, its always a good idea toreduce water usagein general.You Have OptionsAll that said, even the aforementioned people have options. Even for them, bottled water is bedrngnis automatically the one and only solution. In aninterview with NPR, Elizabeth Royte mentioned that a good place to start in your approach isyour right-to-know report or consumer-confidence report.These reports are required if youre part of a community water system, and they will tell you what is in your water supply.Once you know what is in your water supply, you can determine whether different types of filters would remove all potential contaminants. If something basic such as a Brita pitcher wont get the job done, Royte mentionedreverse osmosis filters. These filters remove nearly everything, she says.While these filters arent cheap, they ca n last an extremely long time 10 to 15 years with regular maintenance,says Water Tech. That solution is quite obviously much cheaper in the long run than bottled water not to mention creation far less pollution.I realize this is a complicated situation, to say the least. Still, we shouldnt assume that bottled water is the best or the only solution because that simply isnt true. Do your research and you may find you have other options.3. Use Public Transportation to Be FrugalI realize this is not an option for everyone. If you have it though, you should take advantage. Many commuter trains run on electricity, which is far more efficient than gas. Even the ones that arent electric are typically diesel-powered still more efficient than gas.Its no secret that I like prefer electric forms of transportation over those that pollute the atmosphere. Yes, I have seen some debate over how much better electricity really is given that power plants burn coal and other pollutants in many cases. But I find these arguments counter-productive.Electric trains are themost efficient means of transportation. Conversely, gasoline-powered cars arevery inefficient. In addition, its much easier to regulate a few power plants than it is to regulate millions of vehicles.Thus, if we only have to regulate the pollution being done by the power plants, its much easier to control what enters the atmosphere.And even if you ride a diesel-powered train or bus, the footprint is still much better. After all, diesel is already better than gas. Plus, you are carpooling in that scenario.By that I mean having only one vehicle for several passengers. Reducing the number of vehicles on the road will almost always create less pollution.Oh, and I havent even mentioned the cost. In the interest of the theme of this post, Id be remiss if I didnt do so. Luckily, ThoughtCo. hasalready done that for me.Spoiler alert yes, public transit is probably cheaper than driving. So indeed, its a great way to be fruga l.4. Frugal Living Tip Buy in BulkThis is a great frugal living tip. While I do not have a Costco membership myself, many people in the FI community do. And they swear by it.It may not make sense to have a membership if you are single or have a small family. For larger families, it might be worth considering.I would guess that most of us are familiar with the idea of buying in bulk. You pay more up front but pay less per unit, making it cheaper in the long run.At the same time, although the profit margin is smallerper item,it still works as a business model since you are committing to buying more of them.This is basically the same business model that makes Walmart so successful. They just sell more items in smaller quantities, but at a low cost with slim profit margins. What can we say we like low prices.Coming back to the idea of buying bulk yes, the cost is lower in the long run. What we dont often talk about, though, is the packaging. Consider toilet paper, for example. The redu ction in waste may not be huge. But when you consider having to package four rolls compared to packaging 30 of them, you will inevitably use more plastic on seven or eight packs of four.These small differences can really add up over time.5. Switch to Shampoo Bars (in Bulk if Possible)This is a change I have not yet done myself, but I will in the near future. If you arent familiar withshampoo bars, they are very similar to the shampoo bars many of us know. But, of course, the formula is different so that they are better for washing hair.Needless to say, this one lines up with the overall message here. Not only can buying shampoo bars in bulk be cheaper than buying shampoo bottles, but they are often packaged in paper.That means you eliminate a lot of the plastic you would normally be getting with shampoo bottles.I havent checked my local options yet, but if you can buy them locally at a reasonable price, that also helps. Doing so means you are cutting down on packing materials, which yet again reduces waste.Lastly, and this is just a bonus frugal living tip Ive read that if you use shampoo bars, you should get a well-drained soap dish.The reason for that is because if they sit in water, it speeds up the dissolving process. Getting a soap dish allows you to prevent wasting it.Frugal Living Tips the Environment Will Thanks Us ForThe environment is a complicated thing. Very complicated. Typically when we are done using things, we shove them in a corner of the world where they arent visible. Because they are sort of hidden, we wont necessarily notice the effects of reducing waste immediately.This article first appeared on the Frugal Fellow.