How Bad are Bananas?

An eco-warrior friend recently shared some worries about new mum life on her Instagram. As someone who likes to make decisions with the environment — and of course the future of her new baby — in mind, she was stuck in an ethical dilemma; disposable nappies or reusable. Upon flicking through the responses, one caught my eye. ‘Even if disposable nappies were better for your carbon footprint, for your quality of life I wouldn’t use them. The time you spend washing is ridiculous.’ This was then supported by an excerpt from the book ‘How Bad are Bananas? The Carbon Footprint of Everything by Mike Berners-Lee.

Naturally, working for SKOOT, I have a very keen interest in sustainability. We plant trees, lots of them. I use the app in my daily life to ensure that we keep planting even more trees. From reading this excerpt I realised that I don’t actually know the carbon footprint in… well, many things! So, I bought the book. It is a combination of eye-opening numbers, mixed with good humour and wit. A very entertaining read, whilst teaching a very important lesson. Some of your daily habits may shock you, from the food you consume to the tech you use and your self-care routine. The book explains how to make sense of the numbers, the carbon footprint is measured in weight — kilograms, grams and tonnes and is set out in order of magnitude starting with a pint of tap water at 0.2g.

So let’s say, you wake up, cuddle your dog (770kg per year for an average-sized dog) and take a shower (1kg for 15 min shower in an 11kW power shower). You then pop your jeans (11kg) and shoes (15kg all leather shoes) on and grab your smartphone (69kgs per year for 195 mins/day use) before you head out the door (0g on a summers day, 3g on a cold winter day). You drive a mile (530g average UK car) to the coffee shop where you purchase your latte (308g for soya milk, 552g for cow’s milk) in a takeaway cup (110g). The petrol light has come on, better fill up! (173kg 50-litre tank)…

You’re probably not going to add up your daily carbon footprint like this but it is really important to take responsibility for the carbon footprint of your daily lifestyle, and maybe make some small changes to do your bit for the environment!

Oh, and in case you were wondering, bananas aren’t bad at all.