Nobody expects you to change your lifestyle overnight – that just isn’t practical – but we all must make changes in the next few years as must as posibl.
While we need policy changes from government to tackle the big issues, we can make changes to our own behaviour that will put us on the path to sustainable living. The suggestions here and over the next few pages include just some of the actions we can take as individuals and families to reduce our footprint. The key things to bear in mind are to consume less and to become more energy and resource-efficient.
We start here with a series of small steps that will break your unsustainable habits and make you think about resources in a more sustainable way. If you follow the 14 simple actions, doing one a day, you can become greener in a fortnight. These smaller steps will prepare you for the larger steps that need to follow.
Day 1.
Turn off the tap when you clean your teeth – you don’t need to run the water while you are brushing. The amount you save will be small but it does add up over time. More importantly this is one of those habit-busters – you are training yourself to think differently about resources, using only what you need and wasting less. Once learnt, you can apply this to every area of your life.
Day 2.
Bin the plastic bag – next time you go shopping, take your own carrier bag and refuse the ones offered at the checkout. If you need a bag, buy a ‘bag for life’ that you can reuse.
Day 3.
Turn your heating down by one degree – you won’t notice the difference but you will save energy and cut your bills.
Day 4.
Boil less – when you make a hot drink, don’t fill the kettle to the top but just boil what you need. It’s much quicker, too. Overfilling kettles wastes £1million of energy in the UK every week – see www.ecokettle.com
Day 5.
Turn off all electronic machines left on stand-by – like TVs, videos, hi-fis, DVD players and anything else with a stand-by function. It’s estimated that if everyone in the UK did this we could shut down two power stations with the reduction in required energy. Unplug your mobile phone charger when not being used to charge your phone – the charger still consumes energy if plugged in.
Day 6.
Start to compost. All your organic waste can be composted - either in a heap in your garden or in a special container like a wormery. You could buy one these or make your own. Many councils now provide a brown bin for organic waste which is then collected and composted on municipal sites.
Day 7.
Buy local, seasonal food – and purchase items with less packaging. Start with a few items – it’s not difficult and might make shopping less of a chore. You’ll be surprised how much nice, fresh stuff you discover!
Day 8.
Recycle more! – you may already be recycling your bottles and newspapers, but contact your local council to find out about all the other items they can recycle at their recycling depots. You can also take your unwanted clothes, books and toys to charity shops. They can raise money, you clear clutter and your unused items find new homes and purposes.
Day 9.
Walk rather than drive on short journeys – next time you need to go somewhere less than a mile away – walk there. It’s healthier, cheaper, probably not that much slower once you’ve had to find somewhere to park, much less stressful and will reduce your carbon footprint immediately.
Day 10.
Flush less – fit a Hippo water saver in your cistern and save around 3 litres a flush or around 6,000 litres per year per person. Available from www.hippo-the-watersaver.co.uk – but you can also put a brick in your cistern instead.
Day 11.
Buy planet-friendly, biodegradable detergent for all your household cleaning needs – including laundry, dishwasher, kitchen, bathroom and even your toilet. Ecover (www.ecover.com) is widely available in supermarkets and organic stores or try mail order suppliers like WWF’s Earthly Good catalogue – visit www.wwf.org.uk/shop
Day 12.
Hang your clothes out to dry and try to stop using the tumble dryer. Your clothes will smell fresher if you dry them outside and you will save both money and energy.
Day 13.
Buy energy-saving light bulbs and replace your most often used conventional ones. It costs a bit more upfront but each light bulb can save you up to £7 per year and make 75% energy savings.
Day 14.
Switch to a green and renewable electricity supplier. If you do it online it will take you no more than 10 minutes. Find out more at www.greenelectricity.org which provides consumers with up-to-date and independent information on all of the green electricity tariffs available in the UK
