5 Steps to Start Being More Sustainable

Part of taking on a more sustainable way of living is to change lifestyle habits in favour of new ones that help to protect our planet, whether that involves reducing your single-use plastic consumption, recycling more, or eating less meat and dairy.

Here are five steps to changing your household habits for a more environmentally friendly stance.

1. Make Your Own Compost

Compost is easy and cheap to make and will mean that you can grow your own fruit and vegetables if you have a garden.

Chuck in your fruit and vegetable peelings, eggshells and tea bags for nutritious compost that will minimise your landfill waste.

2. Recycle or re-charge your batteries

It’s estimated that around 3 billion batteries are thrown into landfill every year by the US alone, which is a huge amount.

Instead, opt for rechargeable batteries and a charger – you just need to swap them over every time you need new ones! Batteries can be recharged on average 300-500 times, which is vastly more sustainable than buying new ones every time.

Alternatively, if you want to recycle your old batteries, some charities like Cancer Research will accept battery donations in their high street branches. They are recycled by Ecosurety, who then donate £100 per tonne of recycled material to the charity.

3. Recycle Your Appliances

It’s not always known that you can recycle most household appliances with the right treatment.

Most easily detached electrical appliances can be recycled at your local centre, but for some that are more fixed to your home, you might need specialist assistance to remove them.

For example, you can recycle your old stairlifts with a stairlift removal company like webuyanystairlift.com, which will use specialist training to remove your unwanted stairlift for recycling with minimal fuss.

4. Go Plastic Free

According to statistics, it is estimated that, 79% of single use plastic is still being sent to landfills or oceans, with only 9% being recycled, and 12% incinerated.

Reduce your single use plastic and opt for sustainable solutions like reusable bags and bottles.

Hardwearing stainless steel bottles can last between 10 and 12 years before they need replacing, and you can keep reusing a plastic bottle until it starts to show signs of serious wear and tear like cracking or splitting.

5. Go Plant-Based

This doesn’t mean you have to become an overnight vegan!

Switching to just one plant-based day a week reduces the volume of resources like water, land and oil that is consumed by the animal farming industry.

Now, with the vegan and plant-based demand rising, it’s easier than ever to find alternatives to your meat consumption, as food scientists are continuing to pioneer solutions to the climate crisis by creating meat alternatives and using existing plants to re-create the textures and flavours of the meat.

Do you have any tips for making your home more sustainable? Leave your answer in the comments below!