Small Steps to a Sustainable 2024
In just a few days, it is a new year, making it a perfect time to start new habits and actions for sustainable living. Believe it or not, it does not take much to live more sustainably and adopt eco-friendly habits. To reduce your carbon footprint, you don’t need to relocate “off-grid” or take on a completely different lifestyle. In fact, you can easily reduce your impact on the planet with just a few small changes.
To get you started, here are a few steps you can take in the coming year to make your lifestyle a little more earth-friendly:
- Recycle – This is an oldie but a goodie. Seriously, there is quite a bit of buzz out there about how recycling goes back to the landfill and that the effort is for naught, but that is simply not true. Recycling has value, and although it requires a little extra effort, the return is well worth it. According to Project Drawdown, recycling has the potential to reduce CO2 emissions equivalent to up to 6 gigatons. What is 6 gigatons? If you think it sounds like a lot, you are correct - It is equivalent to removing over one billion cars from the road for a year – phew!
- Grow Your Own – From something as simple as herbs to a variety of fruits and veggies, growing your own food has never been easier and more accessible. Growing your own food reduces your carbon footprint in multiple ways… You are not only saving on gas emissions by skipping the store; you also remove yourself from the chain of emissions associated with mass conventional growing, distribution, and transportation. And to make your efforts even more earth-friendly, you can adopt sustainable gardening methods such as aquaponics, which uses up to 95 percent less water than conventional gardening.
- Swap it Out – There are numerous items that we use every day simply out of habit. Simple choices that we make regarding what we use for shopping bags to detergents all have the potential to make a difference in our carbon footprint. Consider swapping out common things that you use daily for more eco-friendly alternatives. For example, ditch paper towels for reusable and cloth towels. Instead of using plastic bags, consider using reusable bags for shopping and reusable containers for food storage. When it comes to laundry, avoid plastic pods, and look for liquid detergents that have naturally derived ingredients and are plant-based.
- Light it Up – Now is the perfect time to upgrade your lighting. Replacing your current light bulbs with LED bulbs is a super simple and effective way to reduce your impact on the planet. Not only will LED bulbs drastically lower energy consumption in your home (vs. fluorescent lights), but it will also save you money in the long run.
- Compost it – Did you know that in the U.S. alone, wasted food generates nearly 60 percent of landfill methane emissions (source: EPA) – Yes, close to 60 percent! That figure alone should be enough for everyone to get a little curious about composting. And to top it off, other direct benefits of composting include improving soil health, attracting beneficial organisms to soil, and reducing the need for fertilizers and pesticides. Despite popular belief, getting started with composting is actually quite easy, but just as with anything, it takes some time to become habitual. If you are new to it, you may want to start small with micro-composting which only requires small compost bins that fit under a sink. With this method, you can use your compost to benefit the soil in your own garden or drop it off at a local facility. Later, if you choose to expand your efforts, you can always search and find composting options in your city.
When thinking about starting a sustainable lifestyle, it can sound like a major leap outside of your comfort zone, but the truth is that with just a few small changes and steps, you really can make a difference for the planet, and your home.