I believed I had a green lifestyle because I drive an electric vehicle, have solar panels on my house, walk to the shops, and rebuilt my grandson's electric motorbike. However, I realised I was mistaken.

I purchase items online because they're inexpensive and arrive within a day or two. However, if they don't fit or I dislike the colour, I can return them, and that's when complications arise. The item needs to be collected by a van and sent back to the warehouse, where someone must check it in and repackage it. This process becomes problematic because the packaging is made in China and may be unavailable in the U.K., and our labour costs are higher, making it unprofitable to resell. As a result, the item is often discarded, either incinerated or sent to a landfill if it's of low to medium value, which results in a significant carbon footprint, potentially worse than owning a fossil fuelled car.
We can all take action on this issue, and the solution is right in front of us: buy locally. If an item is the wrong colour, most local retailers will exchange it and return the unused item to the shelves without any carbon waste. Cheadle offers two excellent ways to combat this return eco disaster: by sorting and selling liquidation stock (mainly returned items) in our market square and Sunday car boot market, or by interacting with the people we buy from by visiting shops instead of clicking a button on a mobile phone.
Am I Really Living an Environmentally Friendly Lifestyle? Last updated 12.12.24
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