Sustainability is an important consideration when making choices if you want to be a responsible citizen. But how exactly does that look like especially around your home? Here are practical ways to meet your current needs without compromising the future.
Reduce, Reuse and Recycle
These three Rs is the common mantra that goes along with the sustainability movement. However, if you wish to make a real impact, strive to live out these words and not leave them as mere buzzwords. This means being a more responsible consumer of energy. Forgo plastic bags in favour of eco-friendly grocery bags, which you can reuse the next time you shop. Fix broken furniture instead of adding it to the dumps in the landfill.
Mind Your Waste
Keep your waste to a minimum. Also, go for an ecological house sewage system when possible. This kind of system employs natural processes to treat waste. For instance, wastewater is diverted to a managed environment with plants like reeds, lilies and water hyacinth as well as beneficial microbes to help break down contaminants and purify water.
The remaining sewage is treated in a digester where gases from the sludge are also converted into energy and the slurry becomes free of harmful organisms, making it a good fertiliser.
Make Better Brand Choices
As a consumer, you wield enormous power over what brands and types of consumer items get sold off the shelf. Use this power wisely and go for energy-efficient appliances, non-toxic cleaning agents and items made of biodegradable materials.
Additionally, always opt for stuff that you can use for the long haul rather than disposable items. For instance, you’re better off with rechargeable batteries than with regular ones.
Grow a Garden
Why buy when you can grow your own food? If you have enough space in your yard, you can always grow some herbs and vegetables. You can make a compost out of your kitchen waste and dead leaves, and soon they’ll make an excellent garden soil. You’ll be eating healthy without worrying about the rising cost of organic produce.
Utilise What Mother Nature Provides
Mother Nature is very generous if only you can be more receptive of its offerings. Instead of adding strain to your community’s water supply, you can have rainwater collection tanks so that you’ll have ample water for your garden and for cleaning around the house. Also, the sun is a pretty good energy source. You can use solar-powered devices or have a solar water heater installed.
Have a Sustainable Home Design
A sustainable house design optimises the building’s layout and orientation to maximise the use of natural light and heat, reducing energy use at the same time. Non-toxic, recycled or local building materials are also used in its construction. To achieve this, you’ll have to consult and work with an architect who specialises in designing sustainable buildings and properties.
Everyone has a role to play in securing the future of the planet. You can start right in your own home, with whatever capacity you can. The future generation will thank you for that.
