Bernard O'Shea: One Nutella jar, an Instagram reel, and five tiny ways to save the earth

After one Nutella jar, one Instagram reel, and a flood of nostalgic comments, I discovered five tiny ways we're all quietly trying to save the planet.

Bernard O'Shea: "According to Repak and the World Wildlife Fund, contamination is one of the biggest reasons recycling ends in landfills."

I didn't set out to become an environmentalist. I set out to clean a Nutella jar—or rather, to perform an exorcism on it. You think it's a simple task—rinse, recycle, done—until you're at the sink with a spoon, a butter knife, and a haunted look in your eye, scraping around the curved inside like you're trying to defuse a chocolatey bomb. I posted a reel about it on Instagram. 

I thought it was a throwaway moment, me expressing that "My wife is right. I'm getting older and weirder.