How to Live A Sustainable Life in China

After being polluted by water pollution, light pollution, solid pollution, white pollution, etc., Mother Earth has suffered various of serious diseases. In order to restore the health of the planet, the concept of sustainable lifestyle has attracted more and more attention from all over the world. As every ordinary person living on the earth, all we can do is reduce waste and save resources in our daily life. Let's take a look at how to live a sustainable life in China!

Use recyclable supplies

In China, whether you go to a convenience store or a large supermarket to shop, the cashier will ask you at checkout, "Do you need a bag?" (qing wen ni xu yao dai zi ma in Chinese) If your answer is yes, you will get plastic bags to hold your goods. The best way is to buy eco-friendly bags in advance, and then bring them when you go shopping.

You can also carry water cups, lunch boxes and other containers at any time for you to use when you go out instead of using disposable utensils. For example, you are allowed to bring your own vessel at Starbucks.

Save at the workplace

In the office, the consumption of paper is extremely huge! You will find that everyone seems to be printing or copying things all the time. If possible, using double-sided printing or copying, or using the blank side of some unnecessary documents to make notes or doodles. For some materials, if they are able to reused with some minor modifications, please don't throw them away directly.

Get a Water Guy

At home, you'll probably want to set up a method of getting drinking water easily in China, so consider getting it delivered to your house by the tǒng (Barrel? Large bottle? Keg? I’m sure you know what I mean). When you finish hydrating, return it to your local water guy who with replace it with a fresh tǒng – cheap, convenient and a low-waste solution!

Use water dispenser

Instead of going to the supermarket to buy lots of small bottles of mineral water, the most environmentally-friendly and cost-saving way to get drinking water is to order large-capacity barrels of mineral water (桶装水 tong Zhuang shui in Chinese). Once finish drinking, you can return the empty bucket to the delivery person and ask for a new one.

Buy Second-Hand

Try not to buy new items if you don't really need it. Through some applications (such as XianYu), WeChat groups, and even foreigners who are about to leave China, you can buy high-quality items you need at a very low price. If you are obsessed with cleanliness or cannot accept second-hand items, invest in high-quality but expensive products that you always use rather than replacing them frequently.

(You can also sell some unnecessary things instead of throwing them away)

Reducing waste and improving resource efficiency will not only allow us to protect the environment, but also save us money to fund our travel or something you want. Whether you are an environmentalist or not, it’s possible to do something for the planet in your own way in China. 

Check here to find out what it is like living in China