Let’s talk about the elephant in the room. Or rather, the smog in the air.
Living in Pakistan right now feels like a constant battle against pollution. It’s overwhelming. You look outside at the hazy grey sky during winter, read the alarming AQI reports, and think, "What can one person possibly do?"
I get it. I really do.
When faced with massive environmental problems, it feels like you need to move completely off-grid up north or install expensive solar panels just to make a dent. And let’s be real, with inflation the way it is, expensive solutions aren't on the table for most of us.
But here is the good news. You don't need to overhaul your entire existence overnight.
Sustainability isn't an all-or-nothing game. In fact, in the Pakistani context, it’s often about returning to the simpler habits our grandparents practiced before convenience culture took over. It's about "micro steps."
These tiny changes seem insignificant on their own, but collectively, they make a massive impact on our environment—and surprisingly, on your monthly bills.
Here are four manageable ways to start living greener in Pakistan today.
1. The "Shopper" Revolt at the Sabzi Mandi
We have a plastic addiction in this country.
Think about your weekly trip to the grocery store or the local sabzi mandi (vegetable market). You buy tomatoes? You get a small plastic "shopper." You buy onions? Another shopper. A handful of chilies? Yet another tiny shopper.
By the time you get home, you have fifteen flimsy plastic bags that will end up in a landfill or clogging a nullah (drain) somewhere.
The Micro Step: Keep three or four sturdy cloth bags or jute totes in your car or by your front door. The trick is remembering them.
When you go to the mandi, hand your cloth bag to the vendor before he reaches for the plastic stack. It might feel awkward the first time. He might look at you funny. But it works.
If you just swap out plastic bags for one weekly grocery trip, you are saving hundreds of bags a year from entering our ecosystem. That’s huge.
2. Mastering the Art of "Bijli Bachao" (Saving Electricity)
We are already pros at dealing with load shedding. We know the value of electricity because we know what it's like not to have it.
But even when the power is on, we waste a lot of it.
Look around your living room right now. How many little red or green standby lights do you see? The TV, the microwave, the laptop charger plugged in with no laptop attached, the UPS charging constantly.
These are "energy vampires." They suck electricity even when turned "off." In a country facing energy crises, this is wasteful on every level.
The Micro Step: Get a power strip for your entertainment center or computer setup. When you're done for the night, flip the single switch on the power strip.
Unplug your phone charger the second you disconnect your phone. It sounds ridiculous, but if every household in your apartment building did this, the load reduction would be significant. Plus, your electric bill will thank you.
3. Rethinking Water in a Water-Scarce Nation
Pakistan is severely water-stressed. Yet, in many urban homes, we treat water like an infinite resource.
We let the tap run while brushing our teeth. We take twenty-minute showers trying to wash off the city grime. We hose down driveways instead of sweeping them.
We have to change our relationship with water.
The Micro Step: Embrace the bucket bath occasionally. Seriously. It uses significantly less water than a running shower.
If that’s too extreme, start smaller. When you turn on the shower waiting for the water to heat up, put a bucket underneath to catch that initial cold water. Use that bucket to water your plants or mop the floor later.
Don’t let clean water go straight down the drain.
4. The "Local is Laziz" Food Philosophy
We are actually very lucky in Pakistan. We still have a strong culture of eating fresh, seasonal produce.
In many Western countries, food travels thousands of miles before reaching a plate. Here, the kinnow in winter or the mangoes in summer are usually grown relatively nearby.
However, the influx of imported processed foods is changing things. Buying imported biscuits, cheeses, or fruits that aren't in season carries a heavy carbon footprint due to transport.
The Micro Step: Commit to buying local for just one major meal a week.
Go to the local market instead of the hyperstar for your veggies. Buy the fruits that are flooding the stalls right now—they are cheaper, tastier, and haven't flown on an airplane to get to you. Eating seasonally is the tastiest way to be an environmentalist.
The Takeaway
Please don't try to do all four of these things tomorrow. You’ll burn out.
Sustainability is a marathon, not a sprint. Pick just one micro step from this list. Maybe this week, you just focus on unplugging the TV at night. That’s it. Once that becomes a habit, tackle the plastic bags at the mandi.
Start small. Be consistent. Because in a country of over 200 million people, micro steps add up to macro change.
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