Sunshine’s finally here, and South London is buzzing!
But while we’re all about enjoying those long summer days, let’s not forget about keeping our corner of the city vibrant and sustainable.
Here are our five favourite tips for a summer that’s light for the environment (and your wallet!), and heavy on good vibes:
1. Two Wheels, Zero Emissions: Embrace Cycling in South London
South London’s streets are alive with sunshine, and what better way to soak it all in than by exploring on two wheels?
Forget the crowded buses and stuffy tubes!
Cycling is a fantastic way to get around South London.
Breathe in the fresh air, feel the sun on your face, and enjoy the sights as you whizz past.
Plus, cycling is a great way to stay healthy and active – perfect for those summer ice cream indulgences!
Don’t have a bike?
No worries! Bike rental are readily available for rent all over the city, making exploring different neighbourhoods a breeze.
Even better if you have your own bike, so you can park where and when you want, without paying extras.
Cycling routes are spread all around London.
We have tried from Battersea to Richmond, most of it across the river themes, and was very magical. so green and beautiful!
A must do for any London summer!
2. Pack a Sustainable Picnic
South London boasts some amazing parks and green spaces – think Southwark Park, Peckham Rye Park, or even your local hidden gem.
But please skip the wasteful disposable plates and cutlery.
If we love our outdoors and spending time in them, we really should make sure we leave them green and clean.
It’s so sad to walk in the park and see so much trash.
So pack your bag with containers, plates, and cutlery from home.
The normal cutlery and plates we use at home are more than enough, easy to clean after and zero cost.
Why should we buy new stuff (even the reusable one), when we already have reusable, free things at home?
This, combined with some fresh food made at home (Spanish frittata, sandwiches, pies, cakes – the list of easily transportable picnic food is endless), some fruit and drinks in can or glass bottle, makes the perfect, sustainable picnic.
And believe us when we say the we do love (love!) picnics.
3. From Farm to Fork: Feast on Seasonal Fruits and Vegetables
Speaking of delicious food, why not embrace the bounty that summer gives us in term of fruits and vegetables?
Luckily, June and July are bursting with seasonal goodness, easily accessible in the many groceries and markets in South London.
Think juicy strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries for a sweet treat.
They can even been picked, package free (and price free!) from the huge and very widespread berry bushes present in most green areas of London.
We picked so many blackberry in Brockwell park last year and made jam for the whole winter!
Savoury options include vibrant courgettes, aubergines and peppers
Very popular among our Mediterranean team members (Marco’s aubergine parmigiana is a common talk at lunchtime these days!), they are versatile vegetable that go well on a BBQ, as a sauce for pasta, deep fried, baked…every excuse is good to eat them plenty!
And don’t forget the peas, green beans and broad beans, for a good source of summer proteins.
By opting for local produce at farmers’ markets or greengrocers, you’re supporting local growers, reducing food miles, and getting the freshest flavours possible.
There will be plenty of time to eat those pumpkin and broccoli later on!
4. Stay Hydrated for Free: Refill on the Go
Staying hydrated is crucial in the summer but there’s no need to rely on single-use plastic bottles.
London has a growing network of free public water fountains!
This website provided by london.gov show a map of london with the location of some refill stations.
Even better, the handy “Refill” app [downloadable here] tell you where to find your nearest fountain, so you can refill your reusable water bottle throughout the day.
And, most bar and café will be happy to offer you a refill of your own water bottle or even just a glass of tap water.
We really have no excuses for buy those expensive (it’s just water!!!) plastic water bottles.
5. Escape to the Seaside Sustainably:
Waterloo? London Bridge? Clapham Junction? Denmark Hill? You name it!
South London boasts fantastic connections to the beautiful English coastline, especially in the south coast of England.
Popular options include the vibrant city of Brighton , the historic town of Hastings or Folkestone, or the charming seaside resort of Broadstairs, Ramsgate or Margate.
Most our team is from countries with a real attachment to seaside summers, so we take all possible occasion to go and smell the sea salt and have the breeze in our hair.
And guess what? We don’t even have cars!
And we don’t need them.
Did you know there are often great deals on train travel from London to popular seaside destinations?
Websites like Trainline or National Rail can help you find budget-friendly and eco-friendly train journeys.
And with a railcard, things can get really cheap (check here).
If you are students, under 30, a family, a senior, disable, or even simply have a best friend to travel your summer out with (we have the travel together card, for example), railcards can offers real deals and make your summers cheap, sunny and sustainable.
Conclusion
There you have it!
With a little creativity and planning, you can have a fantastic summer that’s kind to the environment, your wallet, and your South London community.
So, dust off your bike, grab your reusable water bottle, and get ready to explore all that South London has to offer in a sustainable way.
Remember, even small changes can make a big difference.
Here’s to a happy, healthy, and eco-friendly South London summer for everyone!
This article is written by Alishia H., a young woman transitioning from studying in Sixth Form to University. We thank her honest contribution and the time taken to write for our blog.
London is the best city in the UK (arguably the world) for both international and home students, and for good reasons too!
Boasting world-famous attractions, booming with culture and diversity, it’s easy to see why students love London.
But are student prepped for living in a city renowned for its fast-paced lifestyle?
In schools, we are taught advanced maths and in-depth biology, all of which equips us for entering further education.
What we aren’t taught however, is how to stay afloat in an ever-changing community without sacrificing what is supposed to be one of the most important periods of our adult lives.
If you asked students about the importance of maintaining a good credit score, or how to run a household in an economically sustainable way, they probably wouldn’t be able to give you a confident answer, and that’s not their fault!
By just talking to college students, it’s very easy to see how much we wish we were taught, and what our worries are for growing up in London.
So that’s exactly what I did!
Below are 5 examples of skills and knowledge students wish they had, and how we (of all ages) should develop these in order to sustain ourselves.
1. Building a home – what actually counts as essential?
Starting university can be a stressful time, especially if you are living away from home.
Knowing where to start is difficult, even more so when the choices and deals are endless.
Searching online can also be a rabbit hole, as everyone thinks different things are ‘essential’.
Because of this, some students end up buying things they think they might need, just because they “have it home anyways”.
However, living at home and moving into accommodations with new people are very different environments, so what might seem like common sense to have in the home you share with family members, might not be necessary for your new home at university.
To help simplify this, many companies, including UCAS, has tried to compile a list of everything students will need for living away from home.
However, what these lists don’t tell you is how to obtain these items sustainably.
So, here are some things to bear in mind when prepping for move-in day:
Go package-free – bringing your own container when buying household staples (like pasta, rice, flour, etc) is always a great way to reduce single use plastic. Alternatively, find ways to repurpose your plastic containers such as for a mini garden on your windowsill
Try sustainable toiletries – opt for flannels and face cloths over single-use cotton pads to reduce waste
DIY, cleaning edition – try doing things the old fashion way, like using citric acid (which can be found in carboard boxes) to descale your kettle
Second-hand furniture – buying brand-new furniture can be costly, especially if you decide to change accommodations during your course. Choosing second-hand furniture is a more sustainable approach, both for saving money and reducing waste
Refurbished electronics – Tablets, laptops, headphones. Just some of the types of electronics students may need for their course, and buying these brand-new can be extremely expensive. Luckily, websites like Back Market exist – websites that sell fully refurbished devices for a significantly lower price!
Storing household staples in jars instead of plastic containers is an easy way to reduce waste and take a step towards a more sustainable lifestyle
2. All things finance
Ask any student what they wish they were taught, and you’re most likely going to hear the word ‘taxes’ or something similar. And to be honest, fair enough!
Students aren’t taught how to manage their finance, except for the odd lesson on budgeting or brief mentions in Economics.
But taxes really is something that is pretty much never spoken about in schools.
Searching online can also be a rabbit hole, but by checking out this article from Save the Student, you can become an expert in the art that is taxes!
Students are often advised to have a student bank account before they go to uni.
However, we are very rarely told exactly why it’s a good idea, except for the old “it gives you 0% overdraft!” (but exactly what that means, no one knows).
So below are some advantages and disadvantages according to Compare the Market, so that you can decide whether a student account is for you.
Advantages:
Agreed interest-free overdraft – Overdraft simply refers to a form of debt that is incurred from spending more than is in your account, with a maximum set by the bank. Most student bank accounts don’t impose this fee until you graduate!
Railcards – some banks offer free 16-25 rail cards which are great for cutting travel expense (explained later)
Cash incentives – student bank accounts may even offer some form of cash incentive or higher interest rates on a minimum sum of money
Disadvantages:
Interest-free overdraft – it may seem odd that this is both an advantage and disadvantage, but the freedom of essentially overspending (to an extent) can affect your credit score (a history of all your financial transactions, expressed numerically to determine your reliability for repayment).
This score can affect your ability to take out a mortgage or credit, and how much interest you are charged on this.
Although it may seem like there are more advantages than disadvantages, it is still important you make a decision on what’s right for you specifically.
Check out the Save the Student website for a ranking of which bank is best and make sure to do your own research to ensure you choose what meets your needs!
Financial literacy is important for people of all ages – managing our finance makes living sustainably a whole lot easier!
3. Living sustainably through reducing spending and waste
London has a reputation for being unaffordable for everyone, but especially for students. However, it’s actually quite easy to survive if you know where to look.
Student discounts are a must – every penny counts when you are living essentially on your own.
Student Beans, Unidays and TOTUM, to name a few, are all free and just require you to link your university (or sixth form if you wish to get it earlier!) email, and done!
You now have access to a huge variety of discounts exclusive for students.
Food shopping might just be one of the most (if not, the most) expensive challenge students face.
Previously, shopping in Lidl’s and Asda used to be the go-to place for all your cheap alternatives.
Although this still technically remains true, there’s an even cheaper AND environmentally sustainable option – Too Good To Go!
By just browsing through the website, you will quickly see that lots of supermarkets and restaurants near you sell their unsold products to Too Good To Go, which you can then buy for a significantly lower price than typical retails.
Not only does this option save you even more money, but also helps to reduce the amount of food wasted by shops and restaurants too, making this a great sustainable option – remember sustainability is about both yourself and the environment!
Food shopping can get really expensive as a student, so make sure you are budgeting and taking advantage of good deals to help with the cost
4. Upcycling, repurposing and wardrobe essentials
Although Fast Fashion Free February has passed, this doesn’t mean that our goal to reduce fast fashion should. Keeping up with trends is not only expensive but also time-consuming and wasteful.
So how can you get out of the endless cycle that is fast fashion?
Well it’s actually quite simple. Really, keeping your bank account stable and your wardrobe current isn’t just about buying less, but buying smart too.
Minimalistic fashion is a great way of achieving this – a philosophy that places emphasis on simplicity and functionality, all whilst maintaining elegance.
Try opting for plain tops and sweaters over multiple statement pieces that don’t really match with the rest of your wardrobe.
It’s these small but meaningful efforts that make a difference in the short and long term!
Good outfits are all about layering, so focus more on base layers, such as turtlenecks – these are good all-year-round items that are sure to get you through the unreliable British weather!
Maybe even try giving your old clothes a patch job, or transform them into a complete new outfit.
Not only can it be a therapeutic experience, but also teaches you the skills for sustaining yourselves.
Limit spontaneous shops, since its these purchases that accumulate over time.
Try visiting charity shops for those chic items instead of what is supposed to be (but really isn’t) the ‘cheap’ option: fast fashion stores – you’d be doing your bank account and the environment a favour!
Charity shops can be gold mines for vintage pieces that could cost a fortune in any other store – save yourself some money and reduce waste produced by fast fashion!
5. Saving on our beloved TFL (and National Rail)
We all love exploring different places, but, more often than not, it’s the cost of our travels (to the environment and our pockets) that stops us.
Travelling across the country can get quite costly, presenting a barrier that means some people are reluctant to explore.
However, there’s an easy way around it!
Try investing in a national rail travel card, which can save you 30% off pretty much all journeys within the UK.
The cost is dependent on which age-category you fit in to, but, sticking with the students theme, 16-25 railcards come in 1-year and 3-years variations, costing £30 and £70 respectively.
Are you a frequent user of the London Underground?
You can actually link your national railcard and London oyster to get up to 1/3 off your off-peak pay-as-you-go travels.
Many of us Londoners are no strangers to late nights and busy mornings.
Anxious commuters running to beat rush hour transit queues and packed trains.
Nervous parents scrambling to get their kids to school on time and then go to work.
Mornings have become synonymous with stress and worry.
Many things fall through the cracks.
Until our body and mind demands a break.
On the other hand, it’s so common now to read about morning routines.
From extreme 5AM workout sessions, to elaborate and beautifully curated breakfasts, everyone is telling us how we should or shouldn’t start our mornings.
But the reality is, these things are not achievable most of the time!
Here at Southstainable, we are all about embracing the chaos, and leaning into it.
This means identifying the things that truly brings us peace, inviting those aspects into our life, and not feeling guilty to drop what everybody else is doing.
We cherish the unexpected, the parts that don’t fit, and the messy aspects that make for a beautiful life.
Living intentionally means creating habits that are simple to follow, that make life easier rather than more difficult, and don’t require a huge bank account or 5 am alarms!
Here are 5 things that we have been experimenting with and have worked for us.
We would like to encourage you to try them, to see if they fit for you, and invite you to make your life a little more intentional.
1. Leave your curtains open.
Don’t underestimate the power of natural light – starting your day with sun rays flowing into your room is the best way to calibrate your circadian rhythm.
Tip: Set a reminder on your phone to open the curtains before you fall asleep at night.
2. Ditch your alarm clock
A blaring alarm at 7AM is enough to make anyone cranky – try setting your alarm to calm music, or your favourite song to make waking up something to look forward to!
Tip: Any song will do, we personally recommend something with no words, with a slow rhythm and happy vibe.
3. Drink an entire glass of water
This one seems too obvious, but despite constant recommendations to increase water intake, most people still aren’t getting enough water throughout the day!
Keeping a carafe of water and a glass near your bed gives you a head start on reaching your water goals, and is a much healthier kickstart to your day than coffee.
Tip: everything becomes easier if you allocate a specific glass to a specific place. Fill it at night and place it in its allocated place, so it is already there when you wake up.
4. Start your day off with a walk
Don’t get us wrong, we know working out in the morning doesn’t sound like something appealing.
However, kick-starting your day doesn’t have to mean a sweat-inducing workout; it could just mean a walk to your local café, or a wander through your neighbourhood.
A big part of living with purpose is being in harmony with your body, not a slave to it.
We recommend making it at least 15 minutes, possibly paired with a good stretch after.
We got in the habit of going for a walk around the house lately and that has really boosted our morning!
Tip: Use your morning walk to visit your local café, and treat yourself with a small snack or fresh coffee to support your local neighbourhood.
5. Use visual cues to help your future self
One of the most difficult parts of the morning is that AM haze.
It can be easy to forget essentials, like bringing your packed lunch, making sure to grab your umbrella, or taking out the bin.
Do your future self a favour by leaving out visual cues the night before, like a lunchbox next to the fridge, or a water bottle on the counter.
Tip: if you know you use the same items everyday, find a place to put them down when you finish using them. If items have a proper home, it will be easier to remember where they are.
Conclusion
A sustainable life entails finding the balance between our mental and physical needs and our life habits and commitments.
Meeting your mind and body’s needs by slowing down and making intentional decisions can make a big difference between living a life that drains your energy and a life that enhances your spirit.
It happens to everyone: we decide to be committed and mindful about our effort to recycle, making our communities cleaner and contribute to making our planet a better place.
We pick up our rubbish, start sorting it out and then…there is no indication if something is recyclable or not!
How are we meant to know now what to do?
If you have ever found yourself in this position, you are not alone.
Despite the WRAP’s October 2022 Recycling Tracker report, found that 89% of us are committed to recycling, the same report also found that 54% of people admit that they often don’t know where to put certain items and then end up throwing things in the general rubbish bin that could have been recycled instead.
Or, placing non recyclable material in the recycling bin “because is plastic!” that is in fact not recyclable (not all plastic are, for example).
What makes recycling difficult?
I don’t know for you (and we would love to know!), but for us, there are quite a few reasons that make recycling now sure easy:
We have been speaking around our friends and people in our community and found that many people are not aware of what can and cannot be recycled, or how to properly prepare materials for recycling.
Yes, there is information on the package, but what about when there isn’t?
Many products we import from other country hare in different language and they may not clearly write how to dispose the material.
More often than not, those material then end up in the wrong bin.
We totally understand if after a long day you don’t have the mind capacity of sorting out recycling.
Some materials do take effort, such as when they are required to be separated, cleaned and disposed of in a certain way.
Some of the people we spoke to also think things will be much easier if they are given recyclable materials by society. If everything was recyclable, we wouldn’t need to make the effort (the dream!)
So why are the big names, brand, supermarkets, companies not doing this?
Well, all those point are totally understandable and we are not here to comment on the need for societal changes.
However, we can support you in making recycling easy for us, the individuals, which can make a tiny but significant (because we are many) difference.
Our tips to recycle better in less time
Print out the universal symbols for recycling material
Did you know that packaging, regardless of where they come from, often do not have universal symbols that tell us what materials they are made from?
For example, most plastic items will have a little symbol with an arrow, a number in the middle and often an acronym. For example, 1 PET(E) (Polyethylene Terephtalate) or 3 PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride).
Those material are generally either non recyclable or recyclable, so even if they come from China or the USA, if something has the symbol for PET, it will be recyclable no matter where you live.
This makes recycling so much easier!
You can use our guide (at the end of the post) for the most common type of plastic.
Have recycling bins in different location
Most of us probably have a recycling bin in the kitchen.
But what about bathroom products? They are more often than not the most confusing and a mixture of recycling and rubbish.
And the studio?
Having a pair of bins for each room we use the most of our materials in can massively increase recycling rates without having to pile everything in one place, only to separate things again.
Reduce the non-recyclable we buy
Reducing waste starts with what we buy.
When we go shopping, we often search for the products that have the most recyclable packaging.
Honey in glass instead than in plastic, for example, or fruit in paper instead of plastic bags, or pasta in a cardboard box.
This make recycling so much easier because you will know that most of the things you need to throw away are recyclable anyways!
Yes, we know that sometimes those items are more expensive but they really shouldn’t be, and as consumers we can push the market promoting and buying those products, so that as demand increases, the more they will become common things (and decrease the cost).
Make It a Ritual
It is very easy to mindlessly (because we are in a rush or distracted) just toss something in the bin without thinking about where it should go.
If this is your case, there is a very good strategy to avoid this: having a “I-will-sort-it-out-later” bin.
Toss everything in the same bin and then set a morning to revisit your trash and separate.
So that you don’t need to do it at the moment or if you just had a long day and you don’t feel like it.
It’s like cleaning the house: do we need to clean everything everyday?
Make it a habit to incorporate in your weekend housekeeping schedule.
Like this, you will probably become more focus on it and it will feel less like a burden.
Now we need you
We hope that you will take some of those tips and try them out.
Most of all, we would love to hear about your experience with recycling:
what are your struggles?
do you have any tips for us?
what do you struggle with?
what do you find easy?
By talking to each other and making recycling a communal point of discussion, we can help each other making our community, our planet, a much more cleaner and stress free place
Free Resources: our guide to the most common packaging symbols
Imagine walking along a supermarket aisle with tons of products perfectly packed, all in line, more or less the same.
The store is silent aside from the occasion till beeps. Your fellow shoppers are plugged with earpods, and there is minimal interaction.
You can only hope to learn about a product by trusting what is written on the label.
Now imagine a different shopping reality; instead walking into a shop and being greeting by vivid colours, shapes and sizes of all kinds, smells and aromas that are both familiar and new.
You are enveloped by the warm buzz of people chatting in different languages, cadences, and vibrations from every part of the world.
You can touch the products and ask the vendors anything, about the origins, the materials, and even best ways to pick a good fruit.
Most products are free from plastic, but best of all, they are imperfectily perfect.
Which would you choose?
If you’d choose the second, then you, like us, will love the local markets.
Here in South London we have plenty of beautiful local markets, in every neighborhood, from Brixton, Peckham, Deptford, to Tooting, Wimbledon and Walworth, South London is THE place for local markets.
These markets offer beautiful products which are cheaper than supermarkets, more varied, often sustainably sourced and not wrapped in plastic.
They also often offer products linked to ancient roots, tradition and unique ways of dressing and living.
They are products that are hand made, upcycled, made from the community, for the community.
They represent values, love and culture.
Despite being a great option for shopping, local markets are often neglected.
This might be because of the convenience of the supermarket, including proximity, misconceptions on who should (or would) frequent certain venues, or simply because of brand awareness.
Large companies retain customer bases by establishing themselves so heavily in certain areas that people subconciously feel safe purchasing from them, whether it’s because they know the brand is well-known, or they know their friends shop there!
More than anything, the local markets may appear intimidating, especially to a shopper who is not local. Many may feel a sense of (understandable) anxiety about all of this.
To try to break this barrier, is important to de-mystify local market shopping, and arm yourself with the best practices to shop in a confident and informed way!
Taking the first step will allow you to embrace and include yourself in the community, all while sustaining yourself and your family!
Here are some of our favorite tips for shopping like a local:
Ask the price before you buy
If you are used to supermarkets (or even if you are not), you may find it strange that often there are no explicit prices for products, especially at the butcher or the greengrocer.
It’s also common that prices are expressed only per kilogram, and with some cheeky market vendors, and not being able to weigh things yourself, you may end up paying prices you didn’t expect.
The key here is to ask the price before you buy! Continue asking for estimates while products are being weighed, and don’t be afraid to ask for slightly more or less of something.
Be clear here, and don’t be embarrassed about asking for clarity.
Build relationships with your vendors.
Shopping at our local market is an embrace of community – a profound connection that goes beyond transactions.
It’s about running into familiar faces, engaging in heartfelt conversations with neighbors, and supporting the dreams of local businesses.
Every visit is an opportunity to connect with the beating heart of our community – the vendors.
These aren’t just faces behind counters and they can be your best assets.
Visit the same vendor and they will know what are you are looking for and remember what you like.
They will likely help you pick out the right fruit, or give you a tip on the best cut of meat to buy for a certain recipe.
Above all else, be kind.
At the end of the day, the market vendors are members of your neighborhood, and just a few kind words and familiarity could lead not just to a great deal on groceries, but also a a stronger sense of community!
Our favorite greengrocer in Brixton, Danny’s Greengrocers, always greets us with a big smile, and more often than not, gifts us a few free items!
Bring your own bag and refuse plastic
Plastic bag use is more often than not the standard practice in shops, and changing this means being proactive individually!
Many people today already bring their own reusable bags for shopping, but more often than not vendors offer plastic bags anyways out of habit.
Be polite, but firm in declining; slowly, showcasing that there is not a necessity for these bags, vendors will hopefully stop offering them.
It’s good practice to bring more than one reusable bag, in case you end up purchasing more than expected, and even to bring other containers!
Handing a glass or plastic reusable container to the butcher is a great sustainable hack to avoid waste.
Conclusions
In a world that sometimes feels disconnected, the local market stands as a testament to the power of roots. Utilizing the markets is not just about shopping; it’s about embracing the heartbeat of a neighborhood, finding joy in the everyday, and creating bonds that make our community stronger.
So, the next time you step into our local market, let the colors, scents, and stories embrace you – for in these moments, we find the essence of what makes our community truly extraordinary.
