My First Steps Towards a Greener Berlin

Hello, Alice! Let’s Talk Nachhaltigkeit

It’s still a bit overwhelming, isn’t it? Moving to Berlin six months ago, trying to get my bearings, and now, suddenly, I’m trying to be ‘sustainable.’ It sounds so… official. I was just talking to Alice from my language class – she’s also a newcomer – and we were chatting about whether we’d ever thought about eco-friendly products. “Hallo! Hast du schon mal über umweltfreundliche Produkte nachgedacht?” she asked. “Ja, ein bisschen,” I replied. “Ich bin gerade am Überlegen, wie ich meinen Lebensstil nachhaltiger gestalten kann. Ich auch!”

Honestly, I feel a bit silly admitting that. It’s easy to feel like you should be doing more, right? But it’s a real thing.

Reusable Bags and a Small Victory

The other day, I actually did something! I bought some of those reusable shopping bags – “wiederverwendbare Einkaufstaschen” – at a little market near my apartment in Prenzlauer Berg. “Oh, das ist super!” I thought. And you know what? Alice has them too! It’s a start, at least. But I quickly realised it’s difficult to actually change things, isn’t it? “Find ich auch,” I told her.

I read an article about companies switching to reusable packaging – “auf wiederverwendbare Verpackungen umsteigen” – and it felt like a good step. It makes sense, doesn’t it? If you don’t produce something new because you’re reusing it… “Eben!” I said, trying to sound smart. And it’s great that some companies offer to take the packaging back when you’re done with it. “Die Firma soll ja die Verpackungen zurücknehmen, wenn man sie leer hat. Das finde ich toll, wenn das angeboten wird.” It’s a really good idea.

Supermarkets and the “Rückgabe” System

I heard a few supermarkets are starting to do this, but not all of them. It’s confusing! At the beginning, I was a little overwhelmed by how many decisions I had to make. “Ich bin am Anfang etwas überfordert, wie viele Entscheidungen ich treffen muss.” It’s hard to know which products are really sustainable. “Das kann ich verstehen.” You have to research, right?

But I think it’s a good idea to start small. “Es ist ein guter Anfang, wenn man sich erstmal auf ein paar Dinge konzentriert.” I’m going to try to use my reusable bags more often and, whenever possible, avoid plastic packaging – “auf Plastikverpackungen zu verzichten.” It’s a simple plan.

“Wir müssen uns gegenseitig helfen!”

I was talking to my landlord, Herr Schmidt, yesterday, and he said, “Wir müssen uns gegenseitig helfen!” – “We have to help each other!” It’s true, isn’t it? I think we should motivate each other. “Ich glaube, wir sollten uns gegenseitig motivieren, das alles. Auf jeden Fall!” Absolutely!

It’s funny, though. The first time I went to the Edeka supermarket, I asked for a discount on a package of organic apples – “Biogebäck” – because it came in a lot of plastic. The cashier, he just looked at me and said, “Entschuldigung, aber wir haben keine Rabatte für Bio-Produkte.” (Sorry, but we don’t have discounts for organic products). It was a bit of a shock. I was trying to be so conscious of my impact, and it’s not as simple as just asking for a discount!

Little Mistakes, Big Learning

I also accidentally bought a plastic toothbrush – “Plastikzahnbürste” – the other day! I felt so silly. “Ach du meine Güte!” I almost threw it away, but then I remembered what Alice said – “Manchmal passieren Fehler.” (Sometimes mistakes happen.) It’s okay to make mistakes, right? It’s about trying to do better.

Next Steps – Small Changes, Big Impact

So, for now, I’m focusing on the bags, trying to buy loose fruits and vegetables ( “lose Gemüse” ), and maybe looking into buying some things in bulk – “im Großpackung” – to reduce the packaging. It feels good to be making even small changes. I’m hoping that, little by little, it will make a difference. “Das ist ein guter Plan.”

And who knows, maybe we can make Berlin a slightly greener place, one reusable bag at a time. “Ich glaube, wir sollten uns gegenseitig motivieren, das alles. Auf jeden Fall!”