How You Can Protect the Environment from Home
What makes nature remarkable is that it provides us with what we need—from the food we eat to the air we breathe. However, the United Nations (UN) believes that the environment can no longer sustain our demands. If we keep pushing our natural resources to the limits, we will eventually cause irreparable damages that will affect everyone. In fact, the UN reported that more than three billion people are affected by degraded ecosystems. Additionally, pollution has caused around nine million premature deaths annually, and more than one million plant and animal species are at risk of extinction. Because of this, it’s more important than ever to take action to preserve our environment. Fortunately, we can partake in simple but substantial activities that can safeguard nature, even from the comfort of our homes. Here are four methods you can do as homeowners to protect the environment:
Conserve water
The simplest way to preserve the environment at home is by conserving water. Besides lowering your water utility bills, saving water means reducing your carbon footprint. Because energy is needed to filter, heat, and pump water to your home, you'll lower your carbon emissions if you use less water. Moreover, conserving water means that more water will be left in our ecosystems, which will help keep animals and plants hydrated. To save water, ensure all your taps are properly turned off every after use. It’s also best to refrain from using running water while brushing your teeth and shaving or washing your face. According to the Energy Saving Trust, leaving running tap water for even a minute can accumulate to more than ten litres of water.
Use renewable energy
There are various alternative energy sources today, such as solar, wind, and geothermal. One of the popular options for homeowners is solar panels. A post on why people should go solar by Hoymiles highlights that unlike traditional sources of energy, solar panels allow you to reduce your carbon footprint because they don’t use fossil fuels to generate electricity. Since you rely less on the grid for electricity, you're also lowering the demand for fossil fuel-generated electricity that's detrimental to the environment. Ultimately, renewable energy sources like solar energy lets you live more resiliently and sustainably. Although installing solar panels requires you to spend money, governments and other public agencies offer incentives to homeowners who want to install solar panels for their homes. You can take advantage of these benefits if you plan to switch.
Follow the 3Rs
One of the reliable tips that never gets old is following the three R’s: reduce, reuse, recycle. By practising these rules, you can maximise the use of finite resources and prevent harmful wastes from contaminating the environment and harming animals and plants. There are several ways you can apply the 3Rs at home. For instance, reusing plastic bags and bringing a reusable bag whenever you go grocery shopping can reduce the amount of plastic bags disposed of in landfills. Additionally, instead of throwing out your old clothes, you can donate them to charities or upcycle them as cleaning materials around the house to extend their life cycles and protect the environment.
Compost
Our article on the ‘Top 10 Eco-Friendly Tips for 2022’ shared that the UK produced around 9.5 million tonnes of food waste in 2018. Fortunately, food scraps can be turned into something useful, such as compost. Apart from helping keep food waste out of landfills to minimise pollution, composting allows nutrients to return to the soil, promoting the growth of beneficial microorganisms, insects, and earthworms that nourishes your garden. So if you have a garden at home, you can directly turn food scraps from your kitchen into compost and protect the environment. You can check out our free composting guide here, and browse our bestselling compost bin collection here!
Written by Camila Matthew for evengreener.com.